He’s not coming home.

[Cheepcheepcheep]

Percy. 7 years old. My most perfect fur baby.

Went missing 8 days ago and he’s never been away for more than one night.

We’ve done the works - flyered the local area, Facebook groups, long walks with treats.

How do you deal with them never coming home? I’ve lost cats to illness before, but never with the not knowing.

My beautiful boy.

So sorry. Have you tried putting his litter tray outside/ tin of tuna? Both these things have worked for me in the past

Don’t lose hope but I know that’s easier said than done!

Thank you lovely. He’s always gone in our garden so no litter tray, and we’re quite rural so worry about foxes with tuna outside.
I just miss him so much, I’m sorry, it’s not a very helpful post.

We've had 2 different cats go missing for 2 weeks and both return. One we think was stuck somewhere, shed, garage etc. The other must have got in a delivery van or tesco lorry etc as he was found about 3 miles away, and normally goes barely out of our garden.
There is still hope. Keep sharing on local FB sites.

He may still come back. Our girl went missing when she was only around 1 year old. We did flyers on lamp posts and in vets. Went door to door for streets around, also rang shelters. Nigh on 3 months later, madam came in through the cat flap. Skin and bone, but she soon put weight on. So, even when common sense says that it is beyond hope, they can turn up.

I hope your beautiful boy returns to you.

God hopes no harm has come to him, all likelihood it hasn’t. Cats aren’t dogs. So resilient and clever, they always find their way home. He WILL be back.

He's beautiful. I do hope he returns to you.

Our family lost a cat for three weeks. We flyered outside what you'd consider a typical cat radius, and a lady called having seen a flyer in a pet store 4 miles away! Went round and the cat was in her garden - we think she'd hopped in a builder's van. Keep looking!

I am so desperately sorry.

The heartbreak is immense. My darling black cat boy was killed on the lane three weeks ago tomorrow. Not sure I will ever be quite the same.

He was a very very special cat and my loyal, funny chatty intelligent cuddly companion of 13 years. I did know what happened to him at least - a neighbour found him and brought his poor body to my door- it must be still more horrific, the not knowing. My grief has been extreme to the extent of physical pain. I understand.

The Blue Cross have an animal bereavement helpline- they are kind understanding and very skilled.

PS I may be encouraging you to despair too soon. I do hope not. But with Tom, I knew within a couple of hours that he was gone forever. I knew it. Impossible to explain.

It's heartbreaking watching a beloved creature decline in health and having to take the ultimate decision. But sudden road death or disappearance is so very much worse somehow.

My thoughts are with you.

8 days really isn't too long.. I have had 1 black and white boy come back after 10 cold October nights... One tortie queen 6 months! Don't give uo searching and shouting. Vet told me out shouting got our Jonah home with a badly broken leg. Managed great on just 3!!

Ours came back after 15 months once 🤷‍♀️

Thank you so much all - I really don’t want to give up hope but it’s hard atm, I can’t imagine anything keeping him from coming home if he wanted to. The idea of him being lost/injured somewhere and missing us is breaking my heart. I’d even take the idea of someone thinking he’s a stray and taking him in (though he’s chipped and details up to date…) if I knew he was warm and fed and happy.

Our 4yo and 2yo keep talking about him and having to do the ‘brave face’ stuff is killing me :(

Everything crossed, DH and I are doing laps of the area each night and morning and I will try very hard not to give up yet.

Thank you to each of you for sharing your experiences. He really is the best cat (don’t we all think that of our fur babies!)

One of my cats went missing and I got her back after two weeks, someone saw my advert and her picture and phoned me as she had been in his garden eating food put out for the birds.

A colleague at work got her cat back months after he went missing via the local vets surgery where he'd been handed in as a stray.

Really hope you get your boy back. 🤞

I have no helpful advice but wanted to say that he is beautiful. The not knowing is so hard. I hope he comes back soon.

@Words so sorry for you loss 💐

I'm in the same situation, my darling girl went out on Thursday night and hasn't come back. It's incredibly unlike her. She never goes out for long, never goes far from the house (literally not more than about 20 feet beyond our garden). I'm feeling even worse because I was away for two nights before she went missing. Did she think I'd abandoned her? DH was at home throughout, fed her etc, so she wasn't neglected. But I wasn't here, and now I might not even get to say goodbye. We've been out looking, shouted for her (but she wouldn't respond to any voice except mine, and wouldn't come out of hiding even for me if that's what she is doing). Done flyers and had no response other than a weirdo messaging and trying to become my friend based on the fact that I put a flyer through his door with my number on it. I don't have that gut feeling of certainty that she's not coming back, but not holding out much hope at this point. Also struggling with what to do re our other cat - normally we shut off access to the cat flap at night, as they're not allowed out overnight. But I can't shut the door on my girl if she were to make it home! But this morning I couldn't immediately find our boy and the sick feeling and panic was awful. (He was fine, sitting in the conservatory watching leaves blow around the garden.) So I've moved her bed down near the cat flap, and I'm going to shut Boycat in starting tonight but put fresh cat food and water by the cat flap in case she comes home. I hope she'd stick around long enough for me to find her in the morning, if she were to come back.

It's just awful, the guilt, the not knowing. If she's dead I need to know, I want her back so we can arrange a cremation and I can get the vet to take a paw print to frame or have tattooed onto me. Our old cat, who died shortly before we got these two, had a sudden road accident and all of those memories are being triggered again. She never even goes near the road, but what if she broke the habit of a lifetime and wandered in front of a car? At least with our old cat he was taken to a vet and we knew within 24 hours, got a chance to say goodbye to him, have his ashes and photograph on our mantelpiece. With my little girl it's like she's just vanished into thin air and I can't for the life of me work out what could have happened. She's normally here in my home office with me, sleeping in her bed, bugging me for food on every Teams call, generally annoying me with incessant requests for food she doesn't really want just to prove that I love her enough to waste food. I want her back here and will never ever complain about her being annoying again!

I'm so sorry!

Mine went missing over 3 years ago, I still check out the local lost cat Facebook page everyday & have a little cry every so often!

I feel like I let him down!

We got 2 new rescues about 8 months after he went because the house was so empty without him!

From my experience of hanging out on the lost cat page there is still plenty of time for him to wander back in! Don't lose hope! 🙏

I hope your gorgeous boy returns home x

My friend lost hers for a year. Turns out she was living in the OAP’s residential home so don’t lose hope. More likely Percy will be ok than not. Fingers crossed for him.x

Oh, I'm so sorry. It's the worry, isn't it and the not knowing. I very much he comes back, thinking of you

Cats tend to come home in the wee hours in my experience - 1-4am when it’s still quiet out.

Mine went missing five years ago. If I were back in your shoes again, only eight days in, I would go to all the immediate neighbours, in person (everyone close enough you think your cat might conceivably have gone there) and ask to search their garden and outbuildings yourself, in their presence. Your cat might come out for you but not for them.
Offer a reward.
I assume you've flagged the microchip as lost already with the company and put up posters and flyers through people's doors.
Get to know your local missing cat groups.
Post on all your local Facebook groups and also for all the neighbouring areas. Bear in mind that all ginger cats look the same especially when a reward is on the table so ask for photos.
Good luck, it's such a horrible feeling and I really hope you get your cat back.
Oh and call highways NOW.

Oh I do hope Percy and all the other little cats come home safely

Years ago my cat was missing for 3 weeks, we'd scoured the neighbourhood, put flyers through doors, and then someone who presumably hadn't seen them before opened their shed for the first time in weeks. He must have survived on insects and rainwater and was filthy but we got him back! Don't give up hope. Percy is lovely. Sending my best vibes for his return.

Aw I’m so sorry, he’s gorgeous.
Our male cat disappeared about 18 months ago. Not a single sign of him.
Last month I heard miaowing in the garden and there he was! He strolled in, ate a mass of food and then bloody disappeared again!
I assume he has a new home!

Six dinner Sid is a real scenario....