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'm sorry you don't have good news OP. I keep checking your posts 😢. Wouldn't it be a good idea if when pets are microchipped a tracker was also installed?

@Freysimo it would be so amazing if the microchip could just act as a tracker. No issues with the potential dangers of collars. Hopefully one day that will happen.

Thank you all for the kind words. I think it's just a weird feeling as I do even now spend some time feeling positive. But when it hits you it is v sad. I was talking to my brother at the weekend and he was surprised I was still handing out flyers. I'm not doing nearly as much as I was but still sometimes. At what point do you stop? At what point do you take the posters down? I feel like in my head it's a film and we're going to get to the tearful reunion bit soon. Or even the denouement of his sweet little body being found. But it just doesn't happen.

Hope you're ok @takingcareofme2023 xx

I've even got a new kitten as in my head that's when he will come home. It's like there's a narrative arc. I got a 6 month old one who's skin and bone and v v timid. He's different to the others we have had who have always been robust and charged around the place. I wanted one who had had a shit start to life. So in my head there's that good thing. We "rescue" a badly treated kitten. He has a happy life. And I'm drumming my fingers on the table going "right, time for Arthur to appear then!' but I just need to accept I have no control.

I do worry a bit that having such a scared new cat may not have been the best move as he's not the easiest and maybe a straight forward one who is just pure joy is more what we needed. But that wasn't the point. And he's still a sweetheart and I can see him getting better slowly.

I need to get over this insanity and just count my blessings x

I used to live fairly near Cheshire Oaks, a designer outlet park. Once I spotted what I thought was a fake cat asleep in a store window, only for the assistant to tell me it was real and even had its own social media page. I used to love looking at the pictures-she and a loving home but used to hang out at the Oaks. She then went missing and lots of posts asking to keep checking-nothing. That was in 2023. A couple of weeks ago, a post popped up-she’d been found! Thanks to distinctive markings and a microchip. She’d been missing for 2 and a half years. Look up Gimli, Queen of the Oaks. Don’t give up. Live your life with your newbie. You have done the most you can. I worry about our cat outside but she loves being out so much-but that’s the risk we take.

Thanks @PrissyGalore yes I saw that one, it was so lovely and also incredibly encouraging ❤️

I think my newbie has that wobbly cat syndrome. Had to pick him up yesterday and put him in the litter tray he was trying to get into. He'd knocked something over and come stumbling in then fell on his side. He's definitely different to the others. He will need a lot of love.

I had some wonderful news yesterday. I mentioned in earlier posts about how a woman who had received one of my flyers contacted me about a cat who had been visiting her garden. She wouldn't get him scanned and eventually she agreed to send me some pics to put onto the local FB groups. Her likely owner contacted me that day about her cat - missing ten years ago.

It turned into a bit of a saga as the lady obviously decided in the end that she didn't want to give the probable owner the chance to catch him and scan him. Even after she'd been round a few times and seen him.

Anyway there are a lot of twists and turns I won't go into, and a bit of a weird breakthrough a week and a bit ago. But the owner called me yesterday to say she finally had her cat back. You can imagine how happy and overwhelmed she is. If Arthur hadn't gone missing this cat wouldn't have been reunited. And I'm also very happy about it, but can you imagine how she is feeling? It's just so wonderful and such a reason to smile xx

My cat went missing for a week and turned up the day before I gave birth to DS. The dog found her behind the shed. She's been grounded ever since but doesn't seem too bothered about not going out.

Have you informed the microchip company? They will put an alert on her chip to inform anyone that scans her that she is missing.

@Springroll89 - your generous reaction to the story of the other reunited cat and owner speaks volumes about you as a lovely person. I hope so much you get your Arthur back and that wobbly new boy gives you joy.

@Springroll89 I second @Puppylucky . I so hope you get him back.But you have done something lovely by taking on a new boy. And another owner who doubted they’d ever see their companion again is happy thanks to you. And I do hear stories of cats turning up quite often-microchips have made a lot of difference.

Thanks @CharlieUniformNovemberTango2023 microchip has been updated to lost for more than 2 months now

@PrissyGalore @Puppylucky ❤️ 😘

Hi, no news here, keeping on keeping on but finding it hard. Sorry I didn't see your posts asking if I was ok @Springroll89 , thank you for asking. Lovely to read the stories of the reunited cat and of your lovely little kitten. 💐 Xx

Oh @takingcareofme2023 I had hoped to login and see you had had some good news. That's all it is isn't it. Keeping on keeping on.

I was reading some Reddit advice about what not to say to a friend whose cat has gone missing. One that resonated with me was that actually continually saying "don't give up hope! Never give up hope!" Isn't that helpful after a while. Because eventually you have to try to come to terms with it. And if by some miracle they make their way back to you that is wonderful. But being in a constant state thinking about it isn't sustainable long term.

Having said that I still do fish for hopeful stories when I mention to people that my cat is missing. I find it hard though when the story comes back (as did yesterday) "don't worry, mine came back after a week!" not to say. Yeah. A week. I wish! Toto, we're not in Kansas any more.

I'm afraid our new addition is not proving to be a happy story. He isn't thriving, is very wobbly still and peeing and pooing outside the litter box. I was going to say a lot but I don't think he pees and poos as much as he should to be honest.

He doesn't play, he's v sweet and purrs but he is so shaky and skinny. He sort of just sits there. He doesn't clean himself that I've seen. He can't jump up onto things and you really have to watch him. He'll fall off a table if you're not careful.

I took him to the vets again yesterday as I cleaned up some pee and it was quite viscose. I wondered if a UTI might be why he isn't using the litter tray much.

She weighed him and was worried that he'd actually lost 100g in a week (I had hoped for some good news weight wise 😔) which she said was very concerning and a lot. He's 6 months old but tiny. She gave him some fluids and antibiotics but said she was very concerned about him and said I should contact the cats place to ask them to try to assess him again.

I said that I'd already asked that and they had said they don't do that. They can take him back but that's it. The vet said he should go back as the investigative treatments he needs wont be cheap. She kept saying she was very concerned and that he may end up (well, you fill in the blank).

I was going to call the cats place this morning to see if they could look at him again, but my very kind parents have said they will help with the costs so I'll call the vets this morning and ask them to do the investigations 😢

I'm so sorry to read your update OP. Poor you and poor little soul. You are so good to want to help him, but kindly, be prepared.

The place that you got this kitten from @Springroll89 should be ashamed of themselves as he obviously was not fit for rehoming , I’d be wary of spending lots of money on investigations . Sorry you have no news about your cat 💐

Oh this is heartbreaking @Springroll89 - you really are due a break - I really hope that the little boy's health takes a turn for the better. Sending you positive vibes.

So sorry to hear the update about your new kitty @Springroll89

I always look at this thread hoping there has been a happy reunion 😥

@Springroll89 I'm sorry on so many levels. The little kitten sounds as though they have such a sad story. However, that little kitten has known your love, and is a lucky kitten.

My mums cat went missing one day. She was about 10. Days, weeks, months and then a year passed. After about 20 months we were at County Hall about 3 miles away taxing the car. This stray cat came up to us, we exclaimed as she looked like our lost cat. We called her name and she rubbed herself around our legs. We picked her up and examined her. It was our cat as she had been in a fight as a kitten and had the same patch of no fur on her tail! We took her home where she lived happily until the grand age of 22!

I havent read the other posts, so not sure if its been advised already. But tell another cat that yours is missing. Describe it, give its name and tell the cat how much yours means to you and it will go out and find your cat. Its an old Japanese thing that works. Give it a try and good luck! I hope you find him X

It was a very emotional day yesterday. Apologies, this is an essay.

Before deciding to try some treatment ourselves (with my parents kindly saying they would help if needed) I had already emailed the cats place. They called me in the morning and were very supportive. They stressed that if surrendered they would ensure he (his name is Louis) had the medical care he needed, but they couldn't do that unless he was given back to them.

On the call I said at least he'd had a few weeks being in a home and being loved and she very sweetly stressed that it's not only medical care. They love their cats and treat them as their own. She also stressed that she happened to have a pen available and that isn't always the case.

I was torn but decided initially to take him to the vets as planned. I saw a different vet this time who immediately was even more concerned than the vet the day before because, in the space of less than 24 hours, he had developed a serious heart murmur which definitely wasn't there on the last check up. She said there is no way it would have been missed and later confirmed with the other vet that it hadn't been there. She could feel it with her fingers. That along with him being so emaciated and unsteady mean there is something seriously wrong.

She was so helpful trying to go through different potential problems and different investigate options. Unspoken but heavily implied is the putting to sleep option. And also (spoken) the option of surrendering him for the cats place to treat.

We decided to do some bloods and IV fluids and then make a decision when the bloodwork came back. Not long after the news came back that she thought it very likely he has dry FIP. Apparently it is very rare and until recently was 100% fatal. But there are new and very expensive (thousands) treatments. They have also stressed repeatedly that they aren't sure whether insurance would cover it to any extent partly because he was skinny and had eating issues before we got him. Although that appeared to have passed and he had been eating again. I had been looking forward to chunking him up with tuna and love.

Anyway. There was back and forth on the phone. Lots of passing on info between the vets and the cat place and trying to interpret what the vet was saying without her wanting to be too blunt. It seemed to boil down to:

Option 1: surrender to the cats place who had confirmed they could take him, would treat him, would love and care for him.

Option 2: put him to sleep.

Option 3: find an expert and the relevant drugs. She didn't know where from. She was saying things like "this one is £700 for the first lot. This one is £2k" etc etc

So in the end I went back to collect him, got a tearful hug from the vet, dropped him at the cat place where they were very kind and had a long chat with tissues. They said they would update me yesterday afternoon but I've not heard. I have emailed them and also said that if in the unlikely event he survives can we adopt him again?

I am basically expecting to hear today that he needs to be put to sleep. I am just hoping that as a charity they have access to lots of well meaning people who give expensive medical care for a fraction of the price.

It was a very tearful day. I should stress that we've adopted 5 cats from them previously (one died on the road and one is currently missing) plus Louis, and my parents have adopted 3 over the years. They have always been fantastic and supportive. I believe them when they say that his eating issues had been addressed and he had been given a clean bill of health and passed as ready for rehoming. He didn't have any wobbling issues. I think he just happened to have the FIP triggered for some reason and then went downhill pretty fast. It's just a gut punch to have had this happen when dealing with Arthur being missing. I don't blame them.

@newmama2023 the cats in the area have been on notice about Arthur for a while now, Japanese style

❤️

@Springroll89 hugs to you. What a time of it. Sending healing vibes for Louis. I've told my cats about Arthur to see if the Japanese trick works from afar.

They called. He was put to sleep some time last night. The decision was made that with his heart problem he wouldn't be able to stand the treatment. He was just a little heartbeat really

So sad to read of little Louis 💕🐾. Sounds like he had lots of love and care all around him. What a time you are having, so hard. Lots of love xx

Oh that poor baby. But he knew love.

I'm so terribly sorry 💐

Louis