Need a handhold and some positive missing cat stories please!

[neverbeenskiing]

One my girls has been missing since last night. It's VERY out of character for her to be out for longer than a few hours, especially without her sister.

DH has been walking the streets looking for her. We've knocked on the neighbours doors, they haven't seen her. We've printed posters out and will put them up first thing tomorrow. We've also hung her blanket out on the line and put a bowl of her favourite food outside in the hope that she might pick up on the scent if she's nearby.

The kids haven't noticed she's missing yet. They're going to be distraught. Her sister doesn't seem to bothered atm but they are thick as thieves so I would be surprised if she didn't start getting stressed soon.

I can't stop thinking about all the terrible things that have happened to her. I'm usually pretty stoic but currently recovering from a pretty major surgery earlier in the week, so extra weepy due to pain and meds which probably isn't helping!

Please send me all your positive stories about your lovely missing cats who have turned up and been found safe and well!!

I had a much loved ginger tom go missing for thirteen days before coming home. We were so glad to see him. I remember he was starving hungry and thin, but not especially thirsty. I can only assume he had gone shut in somewhere - where the rain got in?! Hope your girl comes home soon.

Our cat went missing once, we did all the same things as you - there was absolutely no sign of him, and we had given up hope. He had been missing for ten days when my mum woke up and found him at the back door one morning! Very skinny and hungry, but ok. We think he'd been shut in someone's house or garage while they'd been on holiday but never found out.

Have you put a post on your local Facebook group asking people to keep an eye out? These usually get lots of responses and shares in my area.

Keeping everything crossed for you OP, fingers crossed your girl makes it home safely and wishing you a speedy recovery also x

Thank you. We've posted on the local FB lost and found pets and neighbourhood watch groups but no response so far.

My boy was hungry and thirsty when he came back after being missing 11 days.

My DD’s kitten (although she was actually about 4) was trapped in a shed for 5 days. She came in looking exhausted and thirsty. She was fine within a day. Have you asked neighbours to check their sheds?

DH has asked them, not sure whether they will actually do it though. I know next door will but not sure about others. As well as putting posters up tomorrow he's going to put them through neighbours letterboxes, hoping this reminds them to check.

Yep had a cat come back after nearly 2 weeks. Starving and very thirsty but a trip to the vet showed he was fine. We think he'd been stuck in a shed somewhere.

My friend’s cat went missing for five weeks last year. She just turned up on the back doorstep one night, very hungry and skinny, but otherwise healthy. Don’t give up hope!

My cat went missing twice last week the first time he spent 12 hours locked in the car the second time he was locked in the shed for 24 hours! I’ve bought a tracker for him.
Cat tax paid

My ginger went missing for 2 weeks once. He came back looking very fat!!!
Most of my 10 cats went missing from time to time usually this time of year when they can go hunting for a couple of days at a time.
I hope you find your kitty soon.

Thank you all. You've definitely given me hope x

Mine was missing for 8 weeks after moving house. We found him by using posters, posting flyers through doors and Facebook. We went out every night and day for the whole time he was missing. We followed up every single report of a cat fitting his description even if we thought it was too far away. Eventually someone caught sight of him on their doorbell camera and we found him the next day. Keep actively looking. Don't just assume that they can get back to you. All my cats have Pet tracer collars now. Good luck!

We debated getting the pet tracker collars and now absolutely kicking ourselves.

When you find your cat, you should definitely get one. I like knowing where they go.

Oh @neverbeenskiing I know that feeling of helplessness and panic. One of my cats Milo went missing on the 3rd of March just had his dinner, went for what I thought was his evening stroll, and didn’t come back. We did everything, posters, social media, vets, charities and walked the roads and fields (in case he had got stuck in a rabbit hole) around our area every day, nobody ever saw him. I have to say people were really kind and contacted me when they saw cats similar but it was never Milo.

We had put one of his fluffy blankets outside as somebody suggested he would follow his scent and left the cat flap open 24/7.

Six weeks later on the 16th of April I was walking down the stairs and a very thin Milo was walking down the hall meowing. I couldn’t believe it, it was the best feeling ever to just pick him up. He had lost half his body weight and was a bit shaken up but he’s completely back to normal now. So there is hope I have everything crossed that you will get you cat back too.

Something to consider might be empty houses around you neighbourhood I’m nearly 100% sure Milo managed to get shut into an Air B&B just up the field from our house as he wasn’t dirty and didn’t smell, his paw pads weren’t worn like he had walked a long way, he was just very thin, the Vet said he must have had access to water as he wasn’t dehydrated so I’m thinking a toilet as he was drinking from our loo for a while after coming home, he didn’t do that before.

Milo is now festooned with ID he has a chip, a GPS tracker and a name tag, we’re not taking any chances 😊

I really hope you get the same outcome as we did 🤞

Guess who's just sauntered in through the cat flap as happy as Larry?

The lure of summer evenings drew her out! Glad she's home.
One of mine regularly used to vanish for 24 hours in the summer. Once for 3 days which was horrible, then suddenly came home -hungry and thirsty, probably in a shed for a few days.

@neverbeenskiing Oh that’s fantastic news. Must be a tabby thing

Our Artie went missing for a week, we thought we'd lost him but he just turned up like nothing had happened. He didn't look dirty or thin and he was his usual calm self. We were used to him disappearing for a night or two but a week was very worrying. He was neutered so he wasn't romancing.

What a beautiful cat! Glad she's home. Our old girl once spent a bank holiday weekend locked in the local bakery. Goodness knows how she'd ended up in there!

Aww a lovely happy ending! I’m so glad she’s home safe 🥰 she’s beautiful. They do worry us don’t they!

Decades ago I had one go missing for two weeks.

More recently Madam went missing. The next day I got a call from a vet, they didn't think she was lost as they thought I was close by.

My carer picked madam up and I sent the lady who had taken her in some chocolates and she wrote me a lovely card telling me what had happened in the days she was missing.

And now I have read the FT I realise she is home and safe.

Both of mine have been missing at different point, and both were pretty epic! Make sure you have photos on social media and some good identifying info etc "likes rubbing against legs/will respond to a whistle/likes to jump up," and also make sure the chip info isnio to date

One went missing during a storm. We were reunited after 18 months. We gave up some hope have 6 months of looking and sharing on social media. Was the weirdest moment getting a call from a local pet scanner saying "Do you have a cat called Nina? I have her here if you want to come and get her." She'd travelled 5 miles across the city and been spotted by someone who thought she looked too pretty and sweet to be eating houmous from a bin 🤣

Our other cat, who is the biggest homebody ever, was missing for 17 days last year. We live VERY rurally so we assumed she'd disappeared into the wild never to be seen again. Someone shared a photo of her on social media in our neatest town (15 mins away). She was outside a supermarket meowing for attention and following people. Our theory is she must have climbed in a vehicle and ended up hitching a lift into town! She slept for 5 days when she was back!

Now this one is wild and I wish this on nobody, but my friend was reunited with her cat after 10 years! When he went missing she got very involved with local pet rescue groups and became one of the cities most reliable volunteers for collecting injured cats and helping scan pets and reunite them with owners. She would periodically post about her cat as the years went by. One day she got a call from a rescue centre who had her cat; an elderly lady had passed away and she had 20+ cats who needed rescuing, most turned out to be other people's pets she had adopted/stolen and kept as her own!! My friend and her now elderly cat live a very happy life together.

Our mum cat went missing for about 3 days. On day 2 and day 3 we went door to door calling on every house in our area, returning at different times if there was no answer. We asked people to look in their sheds or garages etc to see if she had wandered in and the door had then been closed.

We had come back for a break after being out doing the door to door and she was waiting at the back door She was a very hungry girl.

At this time of year especially I think people have doors open to get stuff out of garages, sheds, greenhouses or anywhere where there is a door and new places to explore and they wander in and then the door gets shut and they can’t get out.

Convinced someone went to check their outbuildings and she must have run out as soon as the door was open.

One of mum cats kittens when he was barely 1 year old went missing for around a week We did the usual door to door.
We then saw him when we peered over a fence. We think he was channelling Bear Grylls and thought he didn’t need anyone to look after him. He could look after himself

He took one look at us and I swear was laughing as he darted off up a tree.
We got his mum and the other kittens together and told them to go find him and to have him come home. (There was mention of the T word if they got him back)

About 30 minutes later we witnessed our lost boy and 2 of his brothers flanking him coming over the back fence.

There you go, she'll have been hunting. It's still horrible waiting for them to come back.
There is so much to see and do for them in summer.