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

Original poster

11 month old cat missing. So worried

66 replies

ChuffingHeck · 20/06/2021 10:00

Our boy has gone AWOL. He did this once in January but was home 24 hours later. It’s now coming up to 48 hours and we’ve not seen him at all. The litter tray is outside and we’ve been shaking his dry food to try and tempt him home.

We’ve contacted the vets and posted on local FB groups but no luck yet. Could really do with a handhold, my autistic son is very attached to him and I’m so worried how he’ll react if our lovely kitten doesn’t come home to us 😭

OP posts:
Rupertpenrysmistress · 20/06/2021 10:10

I am sorry this is horrible. I had some good advice here when my 4 month old, non neutered, non chipped kitten went missing for 3 nights!

I did what you did but, I put posters everywhere, through people's doors, I went out at 3am when it was quiet and called and searched. I put sardines in the garden, litter tray out I taped the cat flap open.

Informed the vets, posted on face boo and missing pets websites. She finally came back on her own, I woke up to her climbing on my chest at midnight. I really hope he turns up soon must be awful for your ds.

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/06/2021 11:03

Keep calling him, can you ask neighbours to let you in their sheds/garages?.

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 20/06/2021 16:22

I’ve just been and knocked on our neighbours up and down the street and also the houses that back on to our garden. Half of them weren’t in but none of the others have seen him Sad

We call for him every few hours and every time I truly believe he’ll come galloping across the garden Sad I think tomorrow I’ll try and print some leaflets to put through peoples doors

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TroysMammy · 20/06/2021 16:41

This happened to me and it's horrible. If you are on Facebook put it on your local Cat's Protection or equivalent page, local vets and Next Door. Go out calling when it's quiet, if he is trapped you may hear him.

Rupertpenrysmistress · 20/06/2021 16:43

That's what I did I found a good photo of her and printed loads. I put them everywhere and posted so many leaflets asking people to check sheds/garages. My pet insurance offered a reward so I added this to the poster.

We were lucky so many people tool the time to keep an eye out for her. It was exhausting. I really hope you have some positive news soon.

SnowdaySewday · 20/06/2021 21:12

Ask your neighbours, including those who's live behind you, to check their outbuildings. Being a weekend, he may well have got into an open shed door.

Put the posters up where you will get regular passing pedestrians e.g. along the nearest routes to school.

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 20/06/2021 22:32

@SnowdaySewday I’ve been around the neighbours and the ones who’s gardens back on to ours. None of them have seen him. Will be putting posters up tomorrow. It’s just so upsetting.

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Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 21/06/2021 00:04

We put a camera by the window to see if he was coming back overnight and the motion detector alerted us to something in there, we’ve had a look on the camera and another cat has come into the house. We’ve chased it off but it’s pissed in our living room. I’m wondering if this is why he’s gone. I need to keep the window open to allow him to come back but he won’t come if this other cat keeps coming 😭

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Northernlurker · 21/06/2021 08:46

I do hope he comes back soon. We lost ours over night and she just turned up, in a neighbours shed!

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 21/06/2021 09:02

Still no sign of him Sad

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Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 21/06/2021 19:27

Put leaflets through our neighbours doors today, it’s been 3 days and my son really isn’t coping without his pal 😞 I just feel like if he was able to come home he would have by now 😞

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Fluffycloudland77 · 21/06/2021 19:55

Try not to give up hope, cats are little survivors.

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 21/06/2021 20:02

I do hope so @Fluffycloudland77

He’s still so young, just less than a year. We went all over searching for him today, we live behind a scrap yard and the owner said I can have a look around tomorrow to see if he’s in there, but also warned me that there’s foxes in there too who might have gotten a hold of him Sad

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JollyHolly30 · 21/06/2021 21:44

My beautiful persian boy (sadly went for a long sleep last week) once went missing too. He was gone for four nights and I was absolutely distraught as he'd never been out all night, preferring to mostly always be indoors with us. I put posters everywhere, and smaller printed leaflets on every car window I passed. Had a huge reward advertised etc

On the 5th afternoon I was in the kitchen when all of a sudden he appears at the patio doors pawing at the glass. I have never felt relief and happiness like it!

He had wood shavings all over his fluff and so we came to the conclusion that the builders who were using the underground car park as a workshop, had probably locked him in their storage cupboard. He was ravenous when he returned, and so happy to see us. I so hope that your little guy just appears back as JJ did, ASAP. It's such a worry, I'm keeping all my fingers crossed that he's on an adventure and will be back with you very soon.

Please keep us updated. Thinking of you!

Mzy123 · 21/06/2021 21:57

Mine was missing for 3 days and nights. House cat and it was horrible. I walked the streets calling on her all day but no sign of her. I finally found her under a bush at midnight. She was clearly hiding during the day because she wasn't that far away, about a 10 minute walk but lost and couldn't find her way back. Foxes in our area as well and I was convinced that they had got her. So my advice is to go out when its getting dark and keep calling and checking everywhere you have already checked.Also take a torch as the light can reflect on their eyes.I do hope that you find him soon.

jessabell · 21/06/2021 22:05

Fingers crossed he soon appears back. Our cat went missing for a few days.When he was 1 year old. He now 15 years old he likes to stay inside with the occasional visit to the garden.

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 22/06/2021 15:37

Day 4. We had a wander around the area today shouting for him and shaking a bag of dry food. Also put our living room rug in the back garden to try and help him find his way home.

No sign of him yet. I’ve been reading threads on here and posts on Facebook and it seems like most of the time the cats come home but it’s starting to feel like ours isn’t going to be a happy ending Sad

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Mzy123 · 22/06/2021 15:55

Oh don't give up. Its still early days. Did you get to look around the scrap yard? He could have got stuck somewhere. Keep looking for him. In all liklihood he isn't that far away. Has there been any sighting of him at all?

Original poster
ChuffingHeck · 22/06/2021 16:33

No sightings locally, I did have a good look around the scrap yard and took the bag of dry food to shake as well but no sign or sound of him. It’s so hard to stay positive isn’t it, I just hate the not knowing.

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Mzy123 · 22/06/2021 17:23

I know, its horrible and hard to stay positive. Is he a friendly cat who would go up to someone to get fed? Cats are pretty resilient. Is he big/small for his age? Get back out tonight when its getting dark. Where i eventually found mine was somewhere i had checked lots of times during the day and in the garden of a door I had knocked on already. They hadn't seen her. So keep searching.

GoodVibesHere · 22/06/2021 18:26

Don't lose hope, my cat (now sadly deceased many years ago) went missing for two whole weeks! I put posters up with my phone number on them and went around the streets calling her every night. After two weeks I got a phonecall from someone saying she was in their garden looking very hungry! I was gobsmacked but delighted.

TurtleBay28 · 22/06/2021 18:34

Have you contacted the council?

We had a boy cat who would always wander off the longest was about 1 year! I opened the back door one day to find him waiting there to come in.

Sometimes they disappear for a few days then come back. Don't give up all hope he might return and when he does you can give him a little telling off for being so cheeky.

WaltzingToWalsingham · 22/06/2021 18:34

It's quite unusual for cats to be attacked by foxes, so try not to worry about that. Foxes tend to be smaller than people imagine, and cats and foxes generally ignore each other when their paths cross (as they frequently do, at night).

I think the scrap yard might be worth checking again. What sort of scrap does it take? Could your cat have got stuck in an old fridge, washing machine, car? Would the owner allow you to open scrap appliances in case your car is trapped?

TurtleBay28 · 22/06/2021 18:37

Also when we were moving our cat bolted and the e went looking for him around the area.

He was hid in some bush behind the house. You'd never have seen him it was only because we kept calling him and I heard the faintest meow and knew it was him. Didn't actually let me get him until 2 days later. He kept running off.

Get people to check their sheds and garages too.

Mzy123 · 22/06/2021 19:22

Agreed that it's worth checking the scrap yard again. Also when I was looking for mine, I saw lots of foxes and also cats nearby the foxes and the foxes didn't appear at all interested in the cats. Also, cats can move very fast if necessary. Keep looking for him.