Missing 18 year old cat

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Looking for some advice and hoping someone might be able to help.

My sister’s elderly cat, Jack, has gone missing. He’s 18 years old and has never gone far before, so this is really out of character. He was last seen Friday morning I’m becoming really worried.

He’s quite scruffy and skinny looking now due to his age, so I’m concerned someone might think he’s a stray. He refuses to wear a collar and unfortunately I believe his microchip details may be outdated (unsure whether she’s updated them, she says she has but I don’t know)

I’m heartbroken as him and his brother are my childhood cats who moved in with my sister when my dad died as I was at uni. I’m scared he may have gone off to hide and die. Has anyone experienced this with older cats before? Could he just be hiding nearby or would his brother (who is acting normal) be showing signs if something had happened?

I’ve been out today. Calling his name (I’m worried he may be deaf), with chicken & treats. Knocked on houses. I’ve checked everywhere for hours in the vicinity. I’ve rang round vets & left messages (all closed), called the animal rescue, posted on Facebook etc. I’ve told her to leave his blanket outside & litter tray. He usually just chills in the garden. Only problem is there is loads of undergrowth behind her house - I’ve checked as best I can but wonder if he went somewhere to die whether he’s buried under something.

This sounds exactly like what happened to my 18 year old cat. He never came back and the general consensus is that he had gone off as he knew it was his time to go.

I totally understand the worry and upset but with hindsight if he was going to pass soon then in many ways it was the least painful way for us as a family to deal with it.. and hopefully it wasn’t too painful for him too.

There were no tough decisions to be made at the vet or a definite end to his life.

in many ways he lives on in our house as we still sometimes talk about what would happen if he suddenly appeared through the cat flap like nothing has happened.

I hope he comes back but as you know, 18 years is a very good age for a cat and I had started to sense with ours that he was no longer comfortable. I was on the verge of taking him to the vet.

We had a 15 year old cat who was beginning to show his age. He went missing, and we did all the usual telling the neighbours, making flyers etc. Eventually it turned out that he’d gone to a corner of our neighbour’s garden and passed away. It looked like he’d curled up, gone to sleep and not woken up. Given the cat’s age and condition, it’s possible that something similar has happened here.

I have no advice specific to elderly cats I'm afraid but when one of my girls went missing the advice I was given was to hang her blanket (or something else she has slept on) out on the washing line so she could pick up the scent, and to put bowls of her favourite smelly food outside so that the scent might encourage her home. So I put a bowl out front and one out back. It does seem to have worked in our case as she came home, but she is a young cat and in good health. Worth a try though.
I am sorry you and your sister are going through this, its a horrible feeling not knowing 💐