Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

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

Feel empty, cat isn't coming back

169 replies

allyf92 · 16/07/2021 23:11

My cat disappeared two and a half weeks ago. We found out he'd been transported 20 miles away in a delivery van that he'd climbed in, and since the day we found out where he'd been camping out, he has totally dropped off the face of the earth. People were seeing him up til the day we found out the village he was in, and now nothing. No one has seen him since that day. He must be either dead or travelled somewhere else.

We've put posters all around the area, but it's big wide countryside and he could be anywhere and if he's gone further, people won't know he's missing.

I know I'm not going to get him back. The chances feel too slim. It's too far for him to get back on his own.

I'm totally heartbroken. I've got a 4 month old baby and I can barely sleep, I feel awful, l know I'm grieving essentially, but I still have this lingering hope which almost feels worse as there's no closure. He's only a year old and was my baby. He was there for me for 6 weeks in the first lockdown that I spent completely on my own and we were so close. How can I feel better and get on with life?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
EL8888 · 16/07/2021 23:16

So sorry to hear this. I like to think he’s not dead or travelled somewhere. Most likely he’s loving the weather and living his best life Angry. Not so helpful when you love him and miss him. Wanting to get him back to you.

Dobbyafreeelf · 16/07/2021 23:28

Don't give up hope yet! Two weeks isn't that long. Friends cat recently turned up after almost 7 weeks away. God knows where he went! Cats are good at looking after themselves and also good at finding their way home.
I would keep putting the word out where he was last known to have been and also in the area between home and there. Is he chipped? If so generally no news is good news as if something had happened there is a good chance he would have been taken to a vets and had his chip read.

Original poster
allyf92 · 16/07/2021 23:42

Thank you for your positive thoughts. I think what makes it feel more hopeless is the sheer distance, he's a 45 minute drive away, so he simply won't turn up here one day. I'm reliant on a stranger taking him to a vet and having his microchip checked or someone seeing my posters and catching him. Both seem very unlikely but as you say 2 weeks isn't long in the grand scheme - but it's felt like a lifetime already. He's so silly and friendly, it sounds like the poor thing spent the first week trying to go into people's houses for love and food, only to be chased/shooed away so he's likely left the little village where everyone is watching out for him. If only we'd found out he was a day earlier I know we'd have him back now!!!

OP posts:
SpongeBarb · 16/07/2021 23:51

Cats are very good at keeping undercover. Google 'missing lost behaviour'. My cat turned up 3.5 years after he left my house... Not at my house, we just eventually found out where he was living. He had by this point been adopted by someone else a few roads away. Keep telling them he is missing so they know he is stray if they see him. Can someone in the village be persuaded to put tuna out?

SpongeBarb · 16/07/2021 23:52

Ps don't give up!

Want2beme · 17/07/2021 00:07

Maybe the surrounding areas of that village have Facebook pages for lost pets, or parish sites you could post his details on. Hopefully, some kind soul will see him, take him in and have him checked for a microchip. Don't give up hope yet. There are lots of animal lovers who'll look out for himSmile

Toddlerteaplease · 17/07/2021 00:20

You never know, he could be making his way home too you. I think it has happened. Don't give up hope. Friends of mines cat reappeared after 5 years missing.

TurquoiseBaubles · 17/07/2021 00:47

The great thing about cats is that they always land on their feet! You may not find him, but I bet that tonight he's happily sleeping in someone's house, having eaten a full meal and convinced them he's a mistreated stray! If he's microchipped the first time they take him to a vet they will find out who owns him and may contact you. But even if they don't he'll more than likely be fine.

It's tough on you, but I'd take a bet he's ok, which should be some comfort.

joangray38 · 17/07/2021 02:20

Have you tried Twitter and the online list cat/dog groups that post there?

lollipoprainbow · 17/07/2021 04:27

My rescue cat has been missing for 24 hours and we are beyond devastated. He is such a gorgeous loving boy. It's the not knowing that I can't stand. Hope we get our fur babies back.

Icequeen01 · 17/07/2021 06:24

It may be that someone has taken him in and they are keeping him indoors to stop him straying whilst making enquiries (elderly people may not think about the cat having a microchip). Have you tried to join some FB sites in that area so you can put a post on there asking people to look out for him.

I really feel for you. Fingers crossed you find him.

Icequeen01 · 17/07/2021 06:27

@lollipoprainbow Sorry to hear about your cat. It's not been too long so fingers crossed he will just walk in the door! That's what one of mine does!

Cattitudes · 17/07/2021 06:34

Maybe contact local vets, so if cats matching the description come in then it is fresh in their minds to check for a chip. He is probably either heading home or has settled into domestic bliss elsewhere. Hope you find him soon.

Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 09:25

@lollipoprainbow

My rescue cat has been missing for 24 hours and we are beyond devastated. He is such a gorgeous loving boy. It's the not knowing that I can't stand. Hope we get our fur babies back.
So sorry to hear that Lolli, it's awful isn't it 😢 fingers crossed for you
OP posts:
gamerchick · 17/07/2021 09:27

They're clever and are good at sucking in some cat lover who will take him to scan his chip.

When that's done you'll likely get a phone call.

Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 09:27

@Icequeen01

It may be that someone has taken him in and they are keeping him indoors to stop him straying whilst making enquiries (elderly people may not think about the cat having a microchip). Have you tried to join some FB sites in that area so you can put a post on there asking people to look out for him.

I really feel for you. Fingers crossed you find him.

This is my worry, I've posted on every FB group in the area and posted posters but if someone doesn't use social media or live in the areas I've covered with flyers they might not check his microchip, and then he's just..... gone. I know he'd be ok with someone else, but I don't think he'd be as happy. He really was my little shadow and was since he was a tiny kitten. More like a dog than a cat!
OP posts:
gamerchick · 17/07/2021 09:28

And defit get the word out on lost and found groups in that area.

Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 09:51

@TurquoiseBaubles

The great thing about cats is that they always land on their feet! You may not find him, but I bet that tonight he's happily sleeping in someone's house, having eaten a full meal and convinced them he's a mistreated stray! If he's microchipped the first time they take him to a vet they will find out who owns him and may contact you. But even if they don't he'll more than likely be fine.

It's tough on you, but I'd take a bet he's ok, which should be some comfort.

Thing is, he's so clearly not a stray. He's a well cared for, plump, pedigree Bengal who is clearly very expensive. Someone keeping him would have be wilfully stupid or immoral!!!
OP posts:
Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 09:52

@Cattitudes

Maybe contact local vets, so if cats matching the description come in then it is fresh in their minds to check for a chip. He is probably either heading home or has settled into domestic bliss elsewhere. Hope you find him soon.
I've let them know in the area as that's what it says online, although if a loose cat was brought in would that not be one of the first things they do?
OP posts:
sempiternal · 17/07/2021 09:54

Don't be give up hope.

Our neighbours moved house and a few months later their cat went missing. A few months after that they were told that a cat that looked just like theirs had been found dead having been hit by a car- they made their peace with the fact he had gone. Another few months down the line and he turns up back next door, looking forward a cat flap that no longer existed 😆 We were able do some Facebook searching and get him back to his owners!

EatingAllThePies · 17/07/2021 10:41

My lovely, this once happened to us. 9 weeks later some lovely person took him to A vet as he was poorly. We got him back and he was with us for another 3 years 🤞🏻 for you.

Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 11:02

@EatingAllThePies

My lovely, this once happened to us. 9 weeks later some lovely person took him to A vet as he was poorly. We got him back and he was with us for another 3 years 🤞🏻 for you.
Oh gosh, this is exactly what I'm hoping for 🤞🏼so glad you got yours back. Mines only a year old so we have so many years to spend together still
OP posts:
Cattitudes · 17/07/2021 12:48

The vets would if reported as a stray, might not if just brought in because it is unwell. Also sometimes the chip is hard to find so it just helps them to put the pieces together.

Fluffycloudland77 · 17/07/2021 13:05

I know you’ve got a baby but if you want this cat back you’ve got to go to the area and call him.

He’s a Bengal, he’ll be too nervous to approach a stranger.

Original poster
allyf92 · 17/07/2021 13:33

@Fluffycloudland77

I know you’ve got a baby but if you want this cat back you’ve got to go to the area and call him.

He’s a Bengal, he’ll be too nervous to approach a stranger.

I've spent almost 8 hours driving there and back in the last week with baby in tow, walking down windy country lanes with no pavement and a pram - I promise you I've been trying. Thing is he was approaching people for a week, he's a very friendly and confident Bengal, not nervous at all, so either he's now spooked having been chased away or he's moved on. There reaches a point when there's no sightings of him that I have to decrease my visits to the area, I can't be travelling hours and hours each week when there's no evidence anymore that he's there.
OP posts: