Hi all, I've been lurking for a while, but this is my first ever post. I'm hoping for some reassurance....
This morning my 16 year old cat went out, and didn't come back before my partner or I left for work, despite us going out looking for him and calling his name. We had to leave for work, meaning that the cat is now locked outside until one of us gets home, which will be at least 4pm.
This worries me as we've only been in our new house for a few weeks, the cat has only been going out in the new area for a week and usually he prefers to stay indoors and sleep all day - he'll occasionally go outside for a few hours, but spends most of his time indoors by choice.
Hopefully I'm worrying about nothing (I am a worrier), but I keep imagining the worst case scenarios (what if he thinks we've moved again or left him, and goes elsewhere and doesn't bother coming back? Or spends all day crying on the doorstep?)
He is my first cat and a rescue - what do you experiened cat owners think of this?