Cat I am sitting has not been seen for five days

[Sonolanona]

I'm a cat sitter and having the worst week ever.
I love cats, I have cats and my job is cats.
And for the first time one of my clients has gone missing :(
He's an indoor/outdoor cat with catflap microchip and lives in a rural location (think orchards,stables etc) and I have not seen him for 5 days. His brother is there every time I visit (twice a day) . I have varied the visit times and even gone back three times in the evening but no sign.
The owners are away for several weeks.
I've called all the vets and no cat of his descritption has been brought in, which is good but I'm so worried and sad... I've never had a cat go missing on me before.
All the food is being eaten so maybe he's just coming in when I'm not there, but if I can have some cat returning vibes please...

I have a very antisocial cat who is excellent at hiding - my cat sitter regularly goes weeks without seeing her.

Is not seeing this cat abnormal? Is it a cat you're familiar with?

Have you checked the rooms? My cat is very good at sneaking in to rooms and getting shut in by mistake and I always worry about this when I go away!

If there's a microchipped cat flap, could you ask the owner to check their app to see if they have been recorded coming and going?

Good luck!

One of our cats did this, all the food was going so despite how greedy the other cat is we were fairly confident she was coming in at some point. She was absolutely fine, just being contrary 😼

My cat sitter did several weeks for us before she saw one of our cats because she always hid. However, our microchip cat flap has an app that tracks their movements so we could see she was running out of the cat flap at the back of the house to hide in the garden when the cat sitter arrived and then she'd go back in once the coast was clear so no-one had to worry. Have you messaged your client about this and have they said anything about the cat's temperament/behaviour with strangers?

If they don't have a smart cat flap one option could be (with the owner's permission especially as you might need to connect it to their wifi) to get a cheap CCTV camera to see if you can spot the cat when you're not there?

This one is only £20 and as it's Argos, you could always return it once you've used it.

Buy Tapo C200 1080P Full HD Pan/Tilt Wi-Fi Home Security Camera | CCTV cameras | Argos

Sending cat returning safely vibes.

Cats are so contrary. I once house sat an indoor cat in a flat in NY. It took one look at me and disappeared for a full week. It ate the food I put out and used the litter tray. And occasionally I would be aware of a purring presence on the bed before I was fully awake - that disappeared as soon as I moved or opened my eyes.

I never saw it to speak to. It was perfectly fine, though.

Obviously your ward has more scope - so definitely check every nook and cranny in the house and any outbuildings, ditches. But it’s probably just wary of you.

Our microchip cat flap is a fair few years old and doesn't have an app, but it does have controls on the flap itself which (in theory) show whether each cat last went in or out through the flap and how many hours ago.

Obviously if the cat goes out another way e.g. through a window then it's not reliable.

Pressed post too soon.

Is there any way you can exclude the other cat from the food, so you can be sure whether or not missing cat is returning to eat? My cat hid from the cat sitter for the first 4 days of our last holiday, but he is an only cat and the food was getting eaten every day.

Yes, with an orchard and stables, he could be anywhere perfectly safe and living his best life pretending he's a wild boy but coming in at night for a cosy bed and a snack.

We have one like this, spends 90% of her time outdoors in the summer and tends to come for a feed in the middle of the night before going out again, which is why we got the smart cat flap, so we could reassure ourselves she's OK.

I cat sat for my neighbours last year and saw the cat once or twice in the first couple of days and then he disappeared. Wasn’t even eating the food. I was dreading having to tell the owners, but as soon as they came home he reappeared!

Can you get hold of a camera and set it up near the food bowls? He may just be avoiding you.

We have a cat sitter and when we went away for a week in the summer, she didn't see one of my cats once! He was perfectly fine , he just spends more time out when we are not there.

Little shit is probably hiding, had a cat sitter for years and she only ever saw my boy twice.

Set the flap to 'in only' so that neither of them can get out.

I bet you'll find both waiting for you before long.

You've let the owners know, right? What steps have you taken to search for the cat? Our insurance has a bit about lost cats and will fund attempts to locate. Never claimed as ours turned up after 3 days in a neighbour's garage.

You sound quite passive about a lost cat op, as an owner I'd expect at least a cursory search and knocking on some neighbours doors!

The OP has been extra times and called around the vets. You can search stables and farmland all day and never find a cat that doesn't want to be found.

If it was me, I'd be as embarrassed that one of my cats was giving her the run around as I would worried about it or annoyed with her being passive about its whereabouts.

Buy a cheap camera and set it up near the food. I bet it’s coming in when you’re not there.

One of my cats, particularly in the warmer months, loves to spend most of her time outside. I forewarned my cat sitter that she may not see her at all (and sometimes she doesn’t!) but I can see see that she comes in from the microchip cat flap and can reassure my cat sitter.
As a cat owner (ownee?),I think you have gone above and beyond by going in extra times. Having an indoor / outdoor cat is the risk we take. Hope cat reappears soon!

I think @Shittyyear2025's idea of setting the cat door for 'in only' is a brilliant one. I'd definitely be doing that.

This is why we ended setting up little cameras when we go away as one of my cats in particular wouldnt be around when the cat sitter was here. They are linked to our ring door bell system so we add the cat sitter to the account while we're away and remove her when we come home

My boy cat basically goes out in May and comes back indoors in September! Our girl cat stays at home. The only way we know he is ok is because we have chip operated feeders. He comes in to eat out of his dedicated feeder and then goes out again. We have set the flap to in only a couple of times just to remind ourselves what he looks like. It's very hard not to worry when he is so absent. I expect your missing cat is around and you keep missing each other. A cat cam is probably your best bet.

Cats do funny things when their people go away. I (not a professional cat sitter) was looking after my friend's cat for a few days - popping in every day to top up good and water and empty the litter tray. Well, after the first day there was no need to empty the tray...the cat did not appear to be using it. Was eating okay and seemed healthy. No sign of poo on floors or carpets, although I did not look through the entire house as felt intrusive to be going into bedrooms etc.
Anyway, turns out the cat had been using the kids beds as a litter tray in some kind of protest at being left 🤢.
Their previous cat used to hide when I went into the house.
So hopefully the cat is just hiding and will reappear when the owners come home.

Shittyyear2025.. what makes you think that I haven't searched? Of course I've searched.. across several acres of rural paddocks, outbuildings. I've spoken to both of the nearest neighbours (and have one on Whatsapp) and have contacted every vet in our area of the county! Putting posters up would be pointless... we are very rural with no pavements that anyone is going to walk along.
And of course I've have let the owners know...I update them twice a day with photos. This is my JOB and I don't take it lightly, and am very concerned so could do without snarky comments.
I will ask the owners if they would like me to set the cat flap to in only (I am not familiar with the model so would need to check how) and I don't think the cats have litter trays but would be happy to provide them... bit wary of them toileting somwhere they shouldnt tho as it is a very lovely place!
I really hope he's just off being a wild boy

I cat sit DSis cat when she’s away
Dcat is an outside cat , who disappears until she hears DSis car and then will turn up ( allow DSis to make a fuss of her , eat 2 cat biscuits and then disappear again )
Cats will be cats 🐈

I'd set the cat door to 'in only' just to see if the other cat is still around. If (hopefully) it is, I'd set it back to normal again, so a litter tray wouldn't be needed for long. In my experience, cats who are not familiar with litter trays are very adept at using them when they find they need to be kept inside for a bit for whatever reason.

I’m a cat sitter and if all the food is going every day unless it’s tiny amounts you’re putting down, I’d guess that they’re just avoiding you. Cats can and do hide all over the place especially if their owners aren’t there. Inside sofas, on the top of wardrobes/kitchen units etc etc and if they want to can be very hard to find. Sounds like you’re doing all the right things and telling the owner what’s happening. I’d bet that within 2 minutes of them coming home they’ll suddenly appear.

I feed my neighbours cat when they are away and one week I didn’t see her at all - not once. Food was eaten, cat was apparently fine when they returned but made sure to exit pretty quickly when she heard me arriving! It’s quite possible the cat is around but just not when you are there.

Our cats used to get fed by my dad, who lived next door, when we were away. He often said that they disappeared the moment we left and he didn’t see them all week. They would reappear the moment we came home.