Feel empty, cat isn't coming back

[allyf92]

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?

Yeah but you’d give a Bengal back when the constant noise got to you.

Someone tried to kidnap mine but dh stopped it. He always joked he should have let her take him and demand £2k to have him back.

@CovidCorvid

Sadly with him being a pedigree he will be an attractive cat and someone may have decided to keep him. I think keep up with the FB posts, posters to all local vets as well. If someone has kept him he will have to go to the vet at some point - vets don't routinely scan but if they know there's a bengal missing they might.

I've considered that at length and that's a possibility. Thing is, I've really publicised that he's lost and he would never ever be able to be kept indoors so I really feel someone would spot him, whether or not someone was slyly keeping him and feeding him.

The area he went missing is very lovely as well, full of people who are animal lovers and desperate to get him back to me and people who are frankly very well off and could get their own Bengal if they so desired!

@allyf92 thanks hope you get your fur baby back too, I was beginning to lose hope when I found him.

[quote lollipoprainbow]@allyf92 thanks hope you get your fur baby back too, I was beginning to lose hope when I found him. [/quote]
How did you get him back? Did he come home on his own?

@allyf92 I found him in the bushes in the communal garden/car park area. I'd been calling him in there for the past few days but nothing, I went out there again Monday teatime and thought I'd give it another try by calling him and checking under the bush where it is cool and shady and lo and behold he meowed and appeared, I was gobsmacked! I do wonder if he had been shut in and got out but couldn't find his way back to our house.

[quote lollipoprainbow]@allyf92 I found him in the bushes in the communal garden/car park area. I'd been calling him in there for the past few days but nothing, I went out there again Monday teatime and thought I'd give it another try by calling him and checking under the bush where it is cool and shady and lo and behold he meowed and appeared, I was gobsmacked! I do wonder if he had been shut in and got out but couldn't find his way back to our house. [/quote]
That's great. I've been reading about the behaviour of lost cats and often they just get nervous and will hide even if they see you. No use for me when I can't leave my baby to be checking hedgerows down windy country lanes!

I have just returned someone's cat who has been missing since March! Don't give up yet. Good luck

Ah I'm in Oxfordshire too - you might have heard of the story of the people feeding a cat in their garden up here, who they eventually caught and discovered had jumped in a delivery van in Brighton! Safely reunited, so there is hope.

Please keep us updated.

Keeping everything crossed for you x

Thank you TickTock and Original, they're lovely anecdotes and give me a bit of hope. I just feel totally helpless now. At first I could DO stuff, posters, flyers, social media, walking around asking people. Now I've done everything and it's been two weeks of no sightings of him. I just feel totally rubbish and sad

Could you look at which town/villages are on the way back and pop something on their social media just in case he is trying to head home.

He's chipped which is the best thing you can do. It's quite possible someone will take him in and want to keep him, but most cats need to see a vet sooner or later and then they will discover the chip.

I'm literally trying to catch a stray grey cat (Kent) at the moment. There are a lot of cat lovers around. It's very possible one will find your cat. He could come back to you at any time

My cat went missing for 12 weeks. I assume she jumped in vehicle and spent that time trying to get home as out town/village is tiny and surrounded by miles of open fields. It's the only thing that makes sense. So don't give up, he may still come home.

UPDATE - there was a sighting of him crossing a country lane a couple of minutes away from where he was last seen. The problem is it's a road bordered on one side by a massive field and the other by a private woodland of a massive estate, god knows how many acres so it's still very much a needle in a haystack situation! I went down today to scout it and am in contact with the groundskeeper and will go and search around it with the baby in the carrier tomorrow. I think next step is cat traps.

Does anyone have any suggestions for effective ones?

@thecatneuterer might know.

Or a local cat rescue might tell you a good brand and what to do.

Does he appear to sounds of packets being rattled or tins being tapped?

@AngelDelightUk

Does he appear to sounds of packets being rattled or tins being tapped?

Normally yes, I didn't have any luck walking down the road today but most likely he was much further in/asleep so couldn't hear me. Normally if I called and shook treats he'd come running, but he's been living wild for a while now so who knows if he'd feel confident to do so :/

If you google 'lost cat behaviour', lost cats tend to stick to the same small area and come out at night looking for food. They often don't respond to calling because they go into survival mode. When I lost a cat (who strayed no further than two roads away) all sightings were early morning or late evening. I agree that a trap may help but you need to get him eating in the same place ideally. Could you seek help from someone local?. Also cats get terrified in a trap do please seek advice from cats protection on how to do it. Good luck. I think this is really hopeful news

Ps although my cat strayed only two roads away he was new to my house, so didn't know the area hence the comparison, as I was thinking he could be anywhere.

@Gregwiggle

If you google 'lost cat behaviour', lost cats tend to stick to the same small area and come out at night looking for food. They often don't respond to calling because they go into survival mode. When I lost a cat (who strayed no further than two roads away) all sightings were early morning or late evening. I agree that a trap may help but you need to get him eating in the same place ideally. Could you seek help from someone local?. Also cats get terrified in a trap do please seek advice from cats protection on how to do it. Good luck. I think this is really hopeful news

Thank you for the info! The person who owns the land that he's staying on is putting out dreamies by the house every evening and they're gone by the morning, so we're hoping it's him. I went there today and we walked as much as possible of the lane (it's 90acres!!!) but no sign - really is like a needle in a haystack.

Cats protection league are trying to get a trap ready ASAP so will get it out at the house as soon as possible and hopefully it finally does the trick.

Forgot to say - I found the owner of the private land he was seen coming out of, and it was actually the same lady who first rang me to say she'd seen him back when he first arrived in the village weeks ago! So he's almost definitely stayed in the same area the whole time which is a good sign.

Ooh this is all really positive.

I defo reckon it's him eating the dreamies. Get her to put some biscuits out too, or tuna! It is nice that she is looking out for him.

I think I also remember reading, and in my experience this was the case, that cats like to stay near a house (even if hidden) because they know there is a chance a human will feed them

Everything crossed for you, OP. What a nightmare. I think you're being absolutely heroic.

@Gregwiggle

Ooh this is all really positive.

I defo reckon it's him eating the dreamies. Get her to put some biscuits out too, or tuna! It is nice that she is looking out for him.

I think I also remember reading, and in my experience this was the case, that cats like to stay near a house (even if hidden) because they know there is a chance a human will feed them

That makes a lot of sense! He loves people as well but they have cats so I can imagine him watching them from afar wistfully 😂

@felinelucky

Everything crossed for you, OP. What a nightmare. I think you're being absolutely heroic.

Thank you so much! He's only a year old, I hope this isn't an annual occurrence as it has been absolutely exhausting in every sense!

We will keep our fingers and paws crossed for his safe return @allyf92. I would try a trap where you think he is before he decides to move on again .