Missing Cat - Any Happy Outcomes?

[Springroll89]

My cat has been missing for 8 days now. He's the sweetest and gentlest fella. We've done the FB threads, knocking on neighbours, flyering. Going to deliver some more today. Walked around calling. Looked for his body on main roads. Etc. I know there are a lot of threads on this topic. I'm just feeling so sad and would love to hear positive stories. We lost a cat on the road a couple of years ago and this actually feels worse. Thanks for listening.

I really really hope you find him.

A friend's cat was missing for 3 weeks. They had given up and were distraught. Sitting in bed one night they hear him come yowling through the cat flap crying. He was gaunt and matted and in a bad way - they think he got stuck in a shed or something. But he came home.

Ours was shorter - gone for 3 days. We are 90% certain that someone in the flats sort of vaguelly at the end of our garden tried to keep him. He came home late one night in the absolute POURING rain, soaked to the skin. We think she got complacent and it was raining and he took the gap when she opened a door or window. He didn't go down that way beyond our garden for a very long time and I'm sure he never went anywwhere near that flat again!

We had one turn up after 2 weeks. He was absolutely fine. No idea where he had been.

Mine was gone almost 6 weeks. I never gave up, I couldn't bring myself. There were no positive sightings until the last week. It was a horrible time, it felt so hopeless but I still went out 3 times a day.

She turned up half a mile away, popped up on someone's ring doorbell, she would take shelter in their porch. Caught her 5 days later.

I've had a cat be missing for almost a month and turn up when someone unlocked their shed and found him. Must have been living on spiders but he was ok and went on to last a good while.😺

Friends had their cat go missing for something like 6 months, with intermittent sightings nearby, then they managed to lure him in food and grab him. He'd been frightened and had just gone a bit feral. When they got him home, next day he was back to his usual self 😃

Thank you so much for your stories. Just what I wanted to hear. And God bless spiders 🕷If he ever comes home I'll be very tempted to put him in a papoose and not let him out of my sight

My DF's cat disappeared for 7 weeks and then turned up. No idea where she'd been, but we were just very pleased she was back home.

One of my cats went missing for I think four or five days earlier this Summer. I was devastated, but he showed up in the end. Throughout, I kept reading the "missing cat" threads on here to stay positive, because every one of those threads ends with the cat showing up. Cats do this, the bastards.

My sisters cat went missing for three days and it was the first time she had let him out at night (6mths old) so she was distraught. She put lots of flyers through neighbours doors asking them to check their garages and shed. He was covered in dirt and cobwebs so she thought he had been trapped somewhere. Tjhinn uts worth putting flyers and signs up. Really hope you find them soon. I've stopped letting my cats go out after 8pm . Litter trays are a pain but its worth it to where they are . Just something to think about . Good luck!

My lovely cat went missing for 2 weeks. Not an intrepid explorer by any means - very much an indoorsy cat - so I immediately feared the worst. Put up flyers, did everything, nothing. Until she was back 14 days later looking like nothing had happened. Still have no idea where she was all that time.

Wishing you the best for your cat's return OP.

Lots of people have a good news story about their missing cat returning, in fact, I think the majority of cats end up being reunited with their owners. It can take some time, so I would say you are still well within the timeframe in which the outcome is most likely to be good.

In terms of my experience - my cat returned after being missing for eight days. What happened during that time is a complete mystery, although I think she was scavenging or being fed, as she did not lose any weight. I, like you, was putting up posters, distributing flyers, walking the streets ... she ended up returning home just after midnight. I had put out some bedding with her scent, plus some worn clothes of mine – who knows whether it made a difference, but I'd seen it recommended.

Please keep us updated - hopefully it will be happy news soon.

Thank you so much. Yes I'm hoping to be one those happy ending threads. I'm so sad I often click to the end to see if it's a case of "I'm so happy for you!" Or "no it's been a year and nothing". And thankfully they do tend to be more positive than negative.

We do keep them (we have 4) in at night with litter trays. Partly because the first cat we had was killed on the road. She only went out at about 7pm. That experience has led to my cat insanity and having 4 cats. (And dodgy jokes from DH that I'm going through the Manypaws). But one of ours starts banging cymbals in the early hours until we open a window. We saw the missing cat that night. Didn't see him in the morning and not since. Cat tax attached. Thanks again 🤞

Is he micro chipped ? If you’ve not done so call round all the local vets and rescues to see if they’ve heard anything , also call the council in case the worst has happened and they’ve picked him up . Hope you get some news soon .

Thank you. I've called the vets, the council and the local rescue places

Hoping he turns up soon @Springroll89 ,
Plus: I really like your DH's joke: there are a lot of people on the Litter Tray who are going through the ManyPaws!!!
All things crossed for your gorgeous boy's return 😻

Oh and he is microchipped. I wish it worked as a GPS

Mine managed to escape - Both of them as I was putting out rubbish at 4 am. They wouldn’t come back despite being called and I couldn’t see them. Eventually found one on someone’s window ledge the next morning and it wasn’t until the following day that I found the the other after walking around the area calling his and his brother‘s name shaking some dreamies. I heard him meowing loudly behind a wall. He recognised my voice and jumped into my arms!

I say, try shaking some dreamies and calling its name.

@Springroll89 Sending lots of love. Mine has been gone for 2 weeks now and I'm heartbroken. Like you I've done all the stuff to try to find her and regularly read the missing cats threads for hope. I feel so helpless, I've no idea what's happened. Lots of love x

@takingcareofme2023 I'm sorry you're going through the same thing and hope we both get good news soon. We all miss him so much - his name is Arthur. It's like he's gone in a puff of smoke. People are being so kind and helpful though. I'm still flyering and I've spoken to so many lovely people. I even had a sweet lady call me yesterday to ask if he'd been found and say she was praying he would come home ❤️

Amazingly, something perhaps wonderful has happened. On my first day handing out flyers I spoke to a man who was out with his young kids on bikes. He said he'd keep an eye out and knew how hard it was as they had lost a cat. Looking for any positive outcomes I asked if it had ever come back. He shook his head really sadly and said no.

About a week later a lady called to say she hadn't seen our cat but another cat had been visiting her garden since November. She wasn't sure what to do about him. Thought he was a stray. She was quite nervous and reluctant to get the cats protection places involved as she thought he looked happy enough and she didn't want him put in a small cage. I suggested she send me a picture to post on the FB groups and tried to convince her to do so saying that someone else might be missing him as much as we're missing our cat.

She sent the photo yesterday, a couple of days later. I wasn't sure if she would. I posted it on a few FB groups yesterday. I had contact from a woman locally sending pictures from 8 YEARS AGO - she said 8 but from some info she's sent it sounds like it might actually be 10 - when her then 2 year old cat had run away when they moved to the area. They look so similar with the same distinctive markings.

I contacted the lady who agreed they looked similar and let me give her phone number to the woman. She went round that evening and the cat came over to her when she called with his old name. He was scared off by another noise so they didn't catch him but she took another picture and it looks like the same cat. She is going to try to catch him, maybe with a borrowed trap from cats protection, and get him scanned to double check.

While messaging the woman mentioned that they had my flyer and were looking for my cat. And that her husband had spoken to me. While out cycling with their 2 young kids. It is likely their cat that went missing so long ago. So it seems like it could be a miracle. And if Arthur hadn't gone missing they wouldn't have found their cat 🤞

Bizarrely we only got Arthur because I found a male tabby cat in a gym car park on a cold wet night. He was hiding under a car and his leg was injured. I took him home and he was so adorable and friendly. I took him to get scanned the next day and they contacted his owner, who was over the moon. He's been missing for a month!

Weirdly I was v sad though, losing him after just one night! We already had 2 cats but that led to us adopting a male tabby. And now he's gone missing. And that has led to another male tabby hopefully being found. It's like a cycle of missing male tabbies

Wow OP there are some crazy coincidences there.. How amazing if you could reunite that family with their pet after such a long time!! I'm praying that you Arthur comes home soon for you 🙏🏻

Thank you. Still no sign. Have heard a lot of positive stories though. I've just got back from flyering and dropping bits of litter through some streets back to our house. I don't think the cats really use the litter trays though so may not have any useful smells on it. But I'm clutching at straws.

The situation with the other missing cat has become rather strange as the lady now doesn't seem to want to let the cat be caught and scanned. She says she does but is being evasive and the woman who wants to check if it's her cat (from 10 years ago!) naturally wants the chance to catch the cat and scan it. Something that is dangled as a possibility, but not really enabled.

The lady told me this morning that the woman told her she thought it was best if the cat stayed with her even if it turned out to be hers. Something I know isn't true. I don't think she realises that we are in contact. It's all very odd. I think she has decided that actually she wants that cat 😶

Just had someone call up twice on 2 different numbers and meow at me. There are no words

I’m so sorry to hear that. Arseholes.

I had someone call up pretending to be an answer phone and then scream.

Some people are just knobs.

Surpringsly it was women doing the crank calls i found.

I'd seen on other threads that it happens so I had been expecting it. Everyone else has been so lovely so it was still not nice.

And now our young calico who's been keeping me sane didn't come in last night. I don't know if the answer as a cat owner is to become zen about it and accept what the universe throws at you. I can't believe it's happened 2 weeks to the day since Arthur went. She's always in at night and on our bed in the morning when we wake up. Hopefully she'll be back soon as I don't think I can go through this again.