Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

My cat is missing

21 replies

bumpdownthestairs · 29/12/2020 20:51

Evening everyone, I hope you can offer some advice, our lovely cat went missing a week ago, he is spayed, 8 years old and usually goes in the garden but only for 10 minutes or so at a time, never wanders far and is back the patio door wanting in fairly quickly. He was out as my husband let him out as he got back from work late one night, he forgot he was out, went to bed and in the morning was nowhere to be seen. We are devestated. We have posted all over Facebook, had 100's of shares and all neighbours have allowed us to check sheds and out buildings, we cannot understand what has happened and where he is. The weather had been terrible here and I'm passed myself with worry. Dont really know what I'm looking for her, maybe advice to track him down? Any stories of cats turning up after weeks away?

OP posts:
Mzy123 · 29/12/2020 21:02

Maybe something spooked him and he's gone a bit further than usual and can't find his way back. Alternatively he could have been taken in by someone. Go out at night when its quiet and call on him. My cat who is an indoor cat went missing and the weather was awful, constant rain for days. Anyway I found her eventually at midnight in a bush about 10 minutes walk from the house. Keep looking and don't give up until you find him. Put his litter tray outside, apparently they can smell it from a good bit away. I walked the streets day and night and it worked even though I thought that she was gone for ever.

Fluffycloudland77 · 29/12/2020 22:02

I’m so sorry, is he microchipped and the details up to date with your mobile number?.

Keep walking and calling, even though it feels futile. Take a torch, their eyes reflect in it.

Ibizafun · 29/12/2020 23:29

This is so incredibly distressing for you. As others have said, don’t give up, pin his photo on trees nearby and not so nearby- keep walking and calling

1sttimemumtobe2021 · 29/12/2020 23:34

I'm so sorry to hear this. My cat went missing in the summer (thankfully it was good news and he is home now) - it was a few months after we moved in and he was quite young (just over 1). He went missing for a few days but on my talks with neighbours/passers by, people said their cats had gone missing for a few weeks and thankfully it was good news and they returned.

Like a PP has mentioned, kitty litter. If your cat doesn't use that, then dust some of the hoover dirt in your garden - they can track that sense.

I also posted leaflets through peoples doors. I did do posters but due to lockdown people weren't really going out.

chocolatespiders · 29/12/2020 23:37

Try and go out in the quiet of night to call him. Empty hoover into a box and leave in the garden for the scent.
My friends cat went missing for 4 months someone took him to vets and he was scanned and reunited so don't give up hope.

Amboo13 · 30/12/2020 12:03

Oh dear im so sorry to hear this @bumpdownthestairs. Sending hugs. Our little boy cat is missing too since last Tuesday and we miss him so much. It's such a horrendous feeling just guessing what has happened and not knowing. Whats your cat's temperament like?

I've found this website's tips pretty interesting and a new perspective for thinking about things: www.missinganimalresponse.com/lost-cat-behavior/

Original poster
bumpdownthestairs · 30/12/2020 12:09

Thanks everyone, sorry it has taken a little while to get back to you all. To answer a few questions/advice, we have put the litter out, put food out, he is microchipped with up to date details. He is a quite boy, quite timid but friendly once he gets to know someone. Still no sign at all and feel like we have done everything possible to inform people. Oh @Amboo13 I'm so sorry, thanks for that information though. Has there been any sightings of yours at all? It's just so worrying.

OP posts:
Amboo13 · 30/12/2020 12:16

Aww our cats sounds very similar, ous is very ttimid too and wouldn;t really approach someone in the street. We are in the same boat in terms of having heard literally nothing and felt like wev've done all we can for now Sad.

I've made a different thread about mine, but basically the only sighting we have had was someone calling us to let us know a similar description cat had been run over and killed in town. Mum went to identify it but it wasn't Denzel luckily. Still extremely sad though, and she took the cat to the vets to be scanned/identified and stored until the owners can hopefully be contacted. Very bleak times.

Mzy123 · 30/12/2020 12:47

I know it's horrible and a worrying time but it's amazing how many cats return home after being missing. Get out there calling their name day and night, don't give up on them. Remember some older people don't do Internet and could be feeding a cat or taking it in . Cats have been known to return after months.

WhoLettheCatOut · 30/12/2020 15:54

Fingers crossed for you. One of mine turned up after being handed into a vet 9 weeks after going missing and 8 miles away (cat napped, seriously unwell but recovered and lived another 4 years) and another who was missing in a period of horrible weather turned up after 4 weeks at random. It can happen 🤞

Want2beme · 30/12/2020 17:25

I hope he comes back to you very soon. Have you put a missing poster in the vet surgery & local shop?

Emmelina · 02/01/2021 21:25

With everyone working from home and ordering online, there are a lot more home deliveries going on. There’s a chance he hopped into a nice warm courier van and ended up a few miles out. It’s worth posting to pages of nearby towns too, in case he has done this and hopped out somewhere unfamiliar!

violetbunny · 02/01/2021 21:35

He may be scared so may not come when called if he is terrified, even if he normally comes when called. So when you are looking be sure to do a visual check, don't rely on calling (and don't rely on neighbours saying they will look - ask to check yourself).

Have a look at an aerial map of your area and start working outwards from your house in a 360 radius (so think about properties that back onto yours, not just the houses along your road) - sounds obvious but cats might go over fences etc. Make sure you look under decks, bushes, etc.

Mine went missing and was found 300m from my house in someone's garden after 2 weeks, even though I had distributed leaflets along that street no one had noticed him, it was me who found him and only by intense physical searching. So my biggest piece of advice is not to rely on others to spot your cat, get out and do as much physical searching yourselves as you can.

Amboo13 · 03/01/2021 10:16

@violetbunny your story gives me hope. My little cat's been missing for 12 days now and I was hoping that he might just be scared and close by although there have been literally no sightings and my mum (who he lives with) is sort of giving up now Sad. I wondered if your cat came to you when you initially found him? And where was he hiding in the garden?

violetbunny · 03/01/2021 10:24

I was basically trespassing in checking people's gardens along a street 300m from us. Was calling out for him and heard a cat crying out in a way I can only describe as yelling, he most definitely recognised me. He was just in their garden behind a 6 foot fence, but I'm guessing was probably hiding under their house or in a bush as the people who lived there had no idea he was there. In his case, it's a bit different as he's an outdoor cat and I believe he was chased by next door's cat, he was injured and couldn't find his way back. An indoor cat who has escaped will be different.

I found the article below on missing cat behaviour extremely helpful, this lady conducted a study into missing cat behaviour (I also read her original paper but this summarises the findings):
https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/lost-cat-behavior/

Good luck Thanks

yahyahs22 · 03/01/2021 10:48

This happened with my cat last month. Turns out she got in a neighbours van when they returned home from work and got driven quite far from home when he used his van again. I'm praying you have better news than we did

Amboo13 · 03/01/2021 13:51

Ah yes @violetbunny I read that webpage a week or so ago and shared it at the top of this thread too :) Ours is an outdoor access cat who we believe has a very small local circuit he does as he only ever goes out for an hour and literally never goes down the other end of the street. So if he had gone there it'd be really unfamiliar to him and I can imagine him being scared and keeping well away from people.

It's hard for me as I'm not in the same place as where our cat went missing, being trapped in Tier 4, otherwise I'd also probably do a bit more of an intensive search which I think my mum in her 60s isn't comfortable with Sad

Original poster
bumpdownthestairs · 06/01/2021 22:10

Sorry, I have just remembered to come back to this thread. He's still missing 😔 thanks for all the hints and tips, I really appreciate them all. Any news on your cat @Amboo13? 🤞🤞🤞

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 06/01/2021 22:34

I’m so sorry, this is awful for you.

Amboo13 · 06/01/2021 23:49

@bumpdownthestairs so sorry to hear yours hasn't come back yet. Don't give up hope! No sign of our sweet boy either Sad. why are cats such silly little independent buggers!

Lockdownlovernotfromliverpool · 07/01/2021 14:33

Our tortie dcat went for 6 months!! What a shocker when I saw her sitting under a tree 2 streets away one day!!. Another Felix type dcat crawled home with a smashed leg after 10 cold October nights out. Managed for years on 3 legs.
Don't give up op!! Keep shouting every night when it's quiet.. Vet said we kept dcat alive post crash by keep shouting and searching..

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread