3 missing cats same area over 1 weekend

Bit of a stretch there blaming a farmer, it's not like they're going to give up being a mollycoddled house cat to be 'catnapped' into become a farm cat and actually stick around. The very idea of a farmer running around after cats is laughable when people give them away for free.

They come and go for all sorts of reasons, maybe they get a better deal, a mate or territory, maybe they get lost. Taken or killed by dogs or foxes, accidents, illness, who knows? Maybe consider that before blaming the kids are getting into black magic or moral panic nonsense without any actual evidence.

I once had a cat that went missing for 6 weeks and suddenly returned. Its not unusual for cats to ramble.

Cats are good at finding food sources elsewhere - they are not as loyal to their owners as dogs. There is still plenty of time for the cats to return.

Sounds like there could be a.....

cat burglar......

Very rare for a fox to kill a cat, Minks maybe.

Similar happened at my parents about 10 years ago, all the kittens of one litter disappeared one by one, half of each kitten was found a week or so later, cut cleanly in half, no blood on the kittens fur, organs had been cleanly removed.

They are in open countryside, hundreds of Meters to other houses, but the remains all appeared close by in easily found spots without them looking.

There are some sick people out there unfortunately.

I have no problem with a farmer shooting a roaming dog, after witnessing what a cute 'doggo' can do to a defenceless sheep.

If you have free roaming cats, you should not be surprised if they go missing. That's on you, the owner.

An amazing amount of cats disappeared, and still do, in the part of the UK where I used to live... it coincided with the reintroduction of the Red Kite, whose population is now out of control.

There are some horrible crowds going around at night with dogs.

Prolific in certain parts of Dublin anyway.

You'd know if they were active though.

Utter rubbish - red kites weigh barely 2 pounds and have tiny feet designed for picking up scraps without landing. The idea that they are flying off with cats or anything larger then a small rabbit is obvious nonsense. Their nest sites are well studied in Wicklow and show their main live prey is rats and young crows. Neither do they bother with small garden birds as the are simply not designed to hunt these small agile species. I suggest you read up on them via a reputable source and you will learn that they were never "moorland birds" but were found in large flocks in towns and cities across these islands up to a few hundred years ago and were considered usefull scavangers keeping streets clean of waste food etc. just like their cousin the Black Kite still does across Asia and Africa.

Hi Birdnuts,

Just to address a couple of items;

I did actually say "small pets". As you quite rightly say, they would struggle with a large adult cat and the farmers that shoot and poison them for taking lambs would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.

Despite your assertion to the contrary, I have personally witnessed Kites take small garden birds and once, in an impressive shower of feathers, a pigeon.

I know very well the habitats of these creatures... I was referring to the romantic notions that some people seem to have over Kites and raptors in general.

I don't really need to "read up" on anything, I am friends with ornithologists that know far more than I ever will, several of whom are published themselves.

Please don't address my posts with "Utter rubbish" This is one of the friendlier areas on Boards, a littler bit of civility goes a long way in making this a nice place. If you wish to be abusive the soccer forum is over that way....

Most of the cats in our area take off every year for most of August but we're surrounded by a lot of crop farms and bog and its harvest season so lots of field mice making a hasty exit from the fields. Some will come back within a few days, others could be gone weeks but they all do inevitably come back.

Hopefully yours have come back!

Oh, sorry for claiming that you said amazing amount cats disappeared, coincidentally with the introduction of red kites.

I should have known that you actually meant that cats weren't taken, at all - only smaller pets were and that it didn't coincide with the introduction but rather later in the scheme.

PS you should probably read your own posts before claiming what you said. 😉