Kitten has run off on leash please reassure me

[Khanny]

My 5 month old kitten has run off on his leash while my husband was outside with him. Near to home but he's not been out of the garden before and we can't find him anywhere :( We've only had him since January and are totally in love with him. Have we lost him :(

There was something wrong - because leashes and collars aren't foolproof and they break, or get dropped. If it was a foolproof solution, OP wouldn't currently have a missing entire tom cat.

Don't get me wrong, I hope her kitten is fine and the likelihood is that he'll be back soon, but letting out any un-neutered cat, whether leashed or not, is really irresponsible.

Sounds like he’s a pedigree? Wait until it gets darker now tonight.

Come on, let's give the Op a break. Kitten was on a leash. Her husband was trying to be responsible.

Ooh, hope your boy is found soon.

Cats are great at finding their way home! Try not to panic too much. Keep calling and maybe put something on local FB page to see if anyone has seen him?

Yep, social media is probably your best bet at this point. Make it clear that he's un-neutered so that the finder is aware.

Kittens can be castrated/spayed early. Female cats can go into call as early as 4 months old, and male cats can mature sexually at a young age too.

The OP's kitten is 5 months old, likely to be 'curious', and he is old enough to be castrated.

High chance he is hiding somewhere not too far and while crawling out when he feels comfortable. I really hope you find him, I know how stressful this is.

Thank you. I have the door open, he was seen an hour ago but we’ve looked where he was seen and he’s not there now and not coming or us shouting and shaking dreamies x

Thank you. I’m so upset and my husband adores him he hasn’t done this out of being irresponsible x

Thank you x

I would wait until it's getting dark and it's quieter - he's never been out alone before so he's likely to be scared. He'll be more likely to come out when there's less people and traffic about.

You could also try emptying your hoover around the garden, hanging out dirty clothes and spreading used litter.

He’s a house/garden cat and has been roaming round our yard for a couple of months now so I am praying he smells his way home. We are absolutely devastated x

You will have to cat proof your garden when he comes home there’s no way that boy will stay indoors now!

Local Facebook sites got my brothers cat back when it escaped a couple of weeks after he moved back to the area

he was un neutered as well ( I know) and was booked in for 2 weeks later

we think as he was unnutered he was chased away by local tom cats. He was found 2 miles away

Back home and neutered he stays around in the gardens and isn’t bothered by the Tom cats now

hope he comes back soon

Praying he comes home, I’m so upset x

Sorry..you put a cat on a lead? This is a joke clearly

I’m so upset and worried he’s scared and can’t get home. I’ve put his bed outside along with litter and got the back door open x

I’m sure he will come back soon OP, once he gets hungry, or probably once night comes and it’s quieter. If he doesn’t show up by tomorrow afternoon, put up a facebook post and begin a systematic search of gardens.

I know that horrible gut-wrenching fear when they’re lost xx

And as for everyone judging and telling OP what she should have done differently - this isn’t the AIBU board! OP didn’t come here to be judged and told off, she's come for support.

Not that uncommon at all for people who don’t want to let their cats roam.

@Khanny With it being warm it might not come back straight away and might be lying low somewhere cool

I had a CAT go missing for 7 days, think he was locked in a shed somewhere. He was skinny but ok.

if he's not back tomorrow get his face all over Facebook and the like, get knocking on doors and get some flyers printed

Why on earth do you feel the need to walk a pedigree cat on a lead when you say you have a garden?!

in sure he ll reappear when he’s ready - he shouldn’t really have been out if he wasn’t neutered and that includes your garden - problem is he could wander pretty far - I’d post on social media - they are usually pretty good at tracking run away pets down. Unless by pedigree he is a super expensive one in which case someone may not want to admit they have him

Because he’s not yet been done and they didn’t want him to run away because entire males are likely to do that.

Put the contents of your vacuum cleaner outside on the doorstep - strong smell of home. If he’s been outside lots he should be able to make his way back.

If you and your husband walk around the area talking to each other he may hear you and start miaowing. This is how we found our cat after a week, she didn't react when we called her name but she did when we just walked around talking at normal volume.

People are messed up clearly