Cat has gone awol

Glowing

My cat has gone awol since yesterday. I'm heartbroken.

She is usually locked in overnight but she never came home yesterday - i know there are arguments for and against letting your cat outside, i really don't want to hear them now, but some reassurance would be lovely.

How normal is it for a cat to stay out this long?? I've called all the local vets btw, and no joy.

Thanks

P.S She's a microchipped, one year old (reddish) tabby female .. Dundrum area

planetX

Don't lose hope yet, I've had a cat go missing for an entire week who never usually even missed a meal. Having said that, take a walk around and check out the roads near you. After a few days you could try putting a notice up in a local shop? I hope she comes home.

seamus

No, I wouldn't worry too much just yet. She could easily have made her way into someone's house and gotten locked in accidentally, happens all the time.

Get in touch with the DSPCA and they can notify you if anyone hands her in.

Lollymcd

Sorry to hear about your missing kitty. Is there any chance you could put up a pic in case someone sees her?

CptMackey

I have 2 cats. Once they got around a year old they started to wander off.
They weren't neutered and they kept heading off for up to 3 weeks. Then they would come back wrecked tired and sleep for about a day. Then they got neutered and they dont stay out as long but still head off for a few days at a time

So i wouldn't worry about it. Cats tend to wander. She will be back.

Glowing

Thanks everyone. I'm sitting here at work trying not to cry.

She's been spayed already - and here is a photo! I hope I won't have to upload another one and she'll be there waiting for me when i get home.

IvySlayer

Don't worry, it's only been a day. Probably having an adventure. My cat once went on a 4 day trip.

Put the food bowl outside. Call out her name/squeak her favourite toy.

And when she comes back, make a huge fuss over her

Dixie Chick

My cats have both gone missing on me, once for 9 days and once for a day and another time a day and a half. Cats do this, its their nature. I would definitely take a good walkabout while its bright but she could just be hunting mice and got carried away!

let us know when she is back, she will be flaked out and ravenous!

joyce2009

i wouldnt worry too much yet staying out over night is not unusual ,,my girl would stay out some nights and come back the next day smelling of perfume:rolleyes:,,shes stopped now i dont know if its her age or her admirer has moved..She'll probably be sitting waiting for you when you get home...

The Sweeper

Put descriptions and a picture of the cat, on fliers, in the local vets, but also local petrol stations, supermarket notice boards, and in the letterboxes of your neighbours / people along your road.

Put a description of her in the local pounds / animal shelters / DSCPA or anywhere else someone might take an animal they thought was stray or injured.

Go pound the pavements around your house looking for her - check under hedges, or anywhere she might have holed up if injured - that's hidey spaces, sheltered nooks etc. Borrow a dog from a friend and take it along on a leash - they can be good for finding lost cats.

Worst case, call your local council and see if you can find whoever looks after cleaning the roads, in case she's been killed by a car. It's not a nice thing to have to do, but it's better to know than always wonder.

Fingers crossed she turns up safe and well, and good luck finding her.

BrigR

Don't give up hope! Our lad, who would never stray from his bowl for long, went missing last Feb in the snow. I was worried sick and heartbroken. We went through the neighbourhood with flyers and put up posters. Tue morning he was back, hungry for his breakfast but not starving. He's a very attractive and affectionate cat. I suspect someone kept him in as a stray and convieniently overlooked the collar and name tag. He probably took the first opportunity to cut his holidays short and come home to mammy and daddy. The relief! I think I carried him all day. Hope that you feel the same relief soon.

juanyjuans

I've kept cats for over 20 years and they have often escaped only to come back up to 5 days later.

Leave some food at the door as she may return at night when the door is closed.

Glowing

SHE CAME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D

My fiance came home from work to find her in her usual spot, like nothing ever happened!! Little brat decided it was too cold I guess and came back through her cat flap sometime during the day. I have never been more relieved in my life!!!! :D:D:D:D

Thanks everyone for your words during the day, kitteh is now grounded until she is 18

catmad

Delighted she came back safe and well and she is a magnificent looking cat. My cat wandered off for three days and came back as bold as brass. They break your heart the scamps.

mymo

She's gorgeous, is she brown tabby and ginger tabby mixed, thats what pic looks like to me. I've never seen a cat with those markings, stunning.
And one of ours that we adopted this time last year likes to stay out the odd night, sometimes doesn't come back until midday the next day(we think he was put out at night by previous owners as at first it was a problem keeping him in at night.) I resorted to no food after 3pm so by bedtime he's starving and comes back in.:D

Glowing

Aww thanks! Yeah, she's really foxy in colour, very unusual! Great little personality too, apart from her need to wander!



Wonder where she ended up last night? And it was FREEZING too!

mymo

Wow, she really is stunning.
If she's anything like our chap, one freezing night out and he makes sure he's not out all night again for a while.:D

Magenta

She is beautiful OP, such a pretty little face. I am so glad you got her back.

Lollymcd

I am so relieved she came home, I'm so happy for you! She's adorable!

joyce2009

delighted shes home,,,they would scare the life out of you sometimes.:rolleyes:..what a beaut though very unusual:)

BrigR

That's fantastic news! She's a real beauty with such a sweet face.Yeah, sometimes you wonder where they're hanging out... What we found out when our cat was missing: After hanging up the posters we got some phone calls from his fan club in the estate and got some intersting insight. The next door neighbour came over to investigate. Then we found out where he spends the nights we think he's out. In her bed. He kicks her out between 3 and 4 because he fancies a ramble and the kitchen in our house will reopen at 5.30...

CamillaRhodes

It's as if my cat, Lulu, read this thread at the same time I did, as she did a legger yesterday afternoon and I haven't seen her since

Have been calling her constantly during the day, went round the neighbourhood looking for her, but nothing. She has gone walkabout before, but my concerns are (a) she's nearly always back in time for breakfast (and no sign of her this morning) and (b) we only moved house about 2 weeks ago. I kept her indoors for the first week, but I'm worried she might be lost and simply not know her way home

She has a collar with my number on it, but if by any chance anyone's in the Stoneybatter area, please would you take a look at the attachment and see if you recognise her? (Her front leg doesn't always look like that, she'd just been shaved when getting spayed).

Thanks, i'm getting more and more worried

Glowing

Oh no Camilla, I know exactly what you're going through!!!!!!!!!!! It's the worst feeling in the world ever!

She's a very distinctive cat, and the fact she has a collar with your number is a good thing because people won't asssume she's a stray and keep her (which is what I was afraid of!)

Post your kitteh up on www.lostandfound.ie and email the DSPCA just in case ... but I'm sure she'll turn up just like Scribble did, and you'll be curled up together in no time.

Do you have any neighbours near your old house who you could ask to keep an eye out for her in case she decides to go 'home'?

CamillaRhodes

Thanks so much Glowing - Lulu came home some time between 8.30 and 11.30 tonight Very, very relieved to see her - and she's grounded for the next while. She's behaving a bit 'freaked out'; I was thinking she might have been scared by one of the other neighbourhood cats who I've seen staking out our back yard, which I guess used to be their territory until Lulu, Stevie and I moved in. Guess we're gonna have to go slow to convince Lulu this is her territory now and she shouldn't be intimidated by the neighbours

Thanks so much again for the support - the positive words in this thread helped keep me (relatively) calm during the last 24 hours of stress!

Glowing

Aww that's absolutely brilliant news!! I wish we could put GPS taggers on the kitty's so we could know where they are all the time... I dread to think what I'd be like with a child! :O

P.S Lulu is a really cool name!

franksm

good news thread, I love it.

Trackking devices are getting smaller and smaller. Curently dog-collar sized, but it's only a matter of time that they become small enough for a cat collar.

Glowing

franksm wrote: »

good news thread, I love it.

Trackking devices are getting smaller and smaller. Curently dog-collar sized, but it's only a matter of time that they become small enough for a cat collar.

Yeah!! I already did my research on that! Give it 5 years, and we'll be plugging sim cards into our cat's bums

Dee_animallover

Just reading this now - delighted you cat came back! She's gorgeous. Was going to post to say not to worry - one of my cats went for 16 days (due to us minding a strange dog) and came back - a bit hungry but grand, other cat went for 8 days and came back and acted as if she was there all the time! It doesnt stop you worrying though as you will always wonder "well what if this time......"!!

boomerang

What a relief, Glowing - I am delighted for you that she's home safe and sound:o

McKuntmissioner

Glad to read that everything ended well, for both "missing" kittehs in this thread.