Cat doesn’t want to come home

[SparklyTroll]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can help with any ideas to get my cat back.

We moved house in August, less than a mile from our old house. Initially we kept the cat in for 3 weeks then let him out. He was ok for a few days and then he found his way back to his old territory and didn’t come back. We found him and brought him home and kept him in again for a few weeks. The second time the same thing happened so we then kept him in all winter and have just started letting him out again. For 2 weeks he was fine coming and going and we thought we’d cracked it. But then Sunday morning he went out and didn’t come back. We’ve been back to his usual haunts many times and have seen him lots of times but he won’t come near us and literally walks away as we’re calling him. He doesn’t seem bothered about food we’re offering or anything.
we’re at a loss as to what to do now, we’ve leaflet dropped in the area asking people not to feed him and had lots of calls from people who have seen him. Will he just come back of his own accord eventually or have we lost him??

Unfortunately he doesn't seem to want to live at his new home. His refusal to go with you suggests he has a food source and probably a potential new owner.

It's upsetting but that's cats for you. They tend to make their feelings and wishes clear. I'm honestly not sure what you can do except for ensure he's getting food and shelter somewhere.

If you do get them back, you are going to have to make them a house cat.

Yeah someone else is feeding/sheltering him I’m afraid. Only thing I can think of is putting up posters or a Facebook post on the local community page with a photo saying he’s yours, kids are devastated, please don’t feed or take him in, you are hoping he’ll come back. Then continue to frequent his haunts and hope you get lucky and he comes to you? I love cats but they can be such little mercenaries!

He's probably just in survival mode, he's scared and confused, normal response would be to run home but its different, my cat did this when she had an injury, she came to the house but wouldn't come in, she did eventually, just keep calling him, shaking his treats and showing him food, he will in the end, his normal safe environment is different, takes time to build trust xx he'll be okay xx

Cats are just as attached to their territories as their humans, I'm afraid. Now he's found his home range again, you are going to have your work cut out trying to get him to accept a new home and territory.

Not quite sure what to suggest really, other than to give it one more try.

He might not be ‘allowed’ in your new territory by a more dominant cat.

This is a good point

Is he neutered?

Ahh that's tough OP. Cats can be stubborn. I enclosed my back garden so my blind longterm foster cat can still go outside and my other cat is also confined to a large back garden. They both seem really happy (& safe) and I've built them loads of wooden walkways along the fence and platforms to sleep and sunbathe on. My blind cat even has his own sandpit toilet lol 😆 is this something you could do? I bought angled brackets and mesh off amazon & myself and my DD did it 3 years ago.

Cats choose their owners.

Either leave him be and get a replacement cat, or bring him home and make him an indoor cat.

I agree that someone is probably feeding him.

I'd keep trying to catch him. Can you dedicate some time to being in his vicinity with some dreamies and seeing if he'll come close after a while of you just being there.

And then I'd keep him inside.

I would ask for advice from a local small cat rescue. They have so much experience with gettingcats used to a new home. They often get asked about missing cats etc.

If they can’t offer any new advice, then I’m not sure what else you can do.

However, from the cats point of view I think you will either need to find someone to take him in in his old area or he needs rehoming somewhere a long way away.

Best of luck, this must be very sad for you and your family.

Could you try using one of those feliway plug ins in your house to help make him more calm when he’s at home in the hope it makes him more inclined to come back?

It's hard when you only move a short distance as they can easily find their way back, and as far as they're concerned- that is their home. I'd leave it a couple of days and then try again with treats and food, if he's not being fed elsewhere then he will get hungry and go to you. I think at that point you need to keep him in again for a long while, because he's clearly got a good memory for his home patch. You could try a catio or fence your garden so he can go out a bit.

Alternatively, if you have details for neighbours in your old area, would you concede him to one of them? Especially if they're feeding him already. There's a cat near us who "rehomed" himself to the local supermarket car park, and his old owners repeatedly tried to keep him home, it just didn't work. So now he lives at the supermarket, has a little shelter there and locals feed him. He's happy, his owners visit him there and the local shoppers love him. Cats are funny, they do what they want.

Thank you for all the responses. We ended up buying a trap on Amazon. Last night my husband set it up and camped out in one of his old spots and within 2 hours we had him. He’s now back safe and sound at home. Very hungry and very tired! He’s lost alot of weight (which luckily he had to lose) so we don’t think anyone has been feeding him.
Now thinking that we need to cat proof the garden which could be very expensive or keep him as a house cat. If anyone has any tips on keeping house cats in the uk I’d be grateful. How do manage it when it’s hot in the summer?! Thanks again everyone!

Ahh glad he's home. if you get a local tradesperson to enclose your garden & buy the supplies online it will be a lot cheaper than paying a company (Protectapet etc) to do it for you. if you have fences around all sides rather than hedging again it's a lot easier. Most cats enjoy some outdoor time etc so a catio at least I'd say rather than just relegated to a indoor only life when he obviously enjoys being outside.

Now thinking that we need to cat proof the garden which could be very expensive or keep him as a house cat. If anyone has any tips on keeping house cats in the uk I’d be grateful. How do manage it when it’s hot in the summer?!

Many house cats are house cats from kittens and don't know any different.

I think enclosing your garden or very large catio is going to only way forward because he's used to roaming.

You can get screens for windows or just open them on the latch or open and close doors - you'd still need to be aware - one of ours may go out if not aware - more to chase of neigbourhood cats than any other reason she comes back quickly - but there are busy roads (and poor drivers) and she will eat strange plants so we try and avoid with vigliance - she not racing out doors as some cats do - and probably shouldn't be indoor cate - but a window open hours she may pop out and explore especially if another cat is about.

Plus indoor cats do need more attention - playing and furniture than outdoor cats.