Where do they go

Our chief tabby, Perkin, is now vanishing at nights as the temperature rises on the South coast of England, another lovely day at 20degrees C.

Does anyone have any idea what cats do all night? We're a little worried but he seems fit and happy when the dirty stopout turns up in the morning. The other three show no interest in getting off the bed at night? Is Perkin a freak?

To find out more about the fat tabbies visit:

http://www.fattabbies.blogspot.com

I don't agree with letting house cats outside.

Some cats sleep under a porch the whole time they are out, others go wandering busy roads, some go deep into woods miles away from home, others play in the back yard. And some do a mixture of all of the above.

I have waited many times for my cats to return from the night... and they never did.

Our cats have access through a magnetic flap and come and go as they like. Their territory is a collection of walled gardens and its really tough for them to get near a busy road. But this is the first time one of them has voluntarily stopped coming home at night.

Are your cats altered and up to date on all of their shots, are they declawed?

I've heard that line before, no busy roads, etc. Still doesn't make a difference to me, house hold kitties belong indoors Or in a secure outdoor inclosure.

Are your cats spayed/neutered? Are there other cats or animals in the area? I can think of two things that outdoor cats do at night -- mate and/or fight! My cats are indoor cats, but I often hear feral cats in the neighborhood fighting at night.

The big cats are due their boosters next month, the little pair in summer and we're getting them chipped at the next visit. They've all been neutered and if I find any person who has declawed a cat I'll happily take my pliers to them in retribution, it sounds like a terrible thing and I assume its illegal in this country (England) anyway.

Our neighbourhood is home to a small posse of black cats, a couple of tabbies further up the gardens and the odd grey. Apart from the odd chase they seem to all get on very well - hopefully there is enough territory for them all.

Perhaps your kitty has found a second home at night. I've heard it before, a nice neighbor thinks kitty is a stray, starts feeding him and "adopts" him all the while wondering what their kitty does during the day.

I'll move this to Behavior for you.

We've toyed with the idea of him being adopted by a nice granny. He is remarkably calm in strange company (the younger cats tend to flee at the sight of other people) It's only been a couple of nights and we'd put it down to it being nice and cool out.

He's a silver tabby that hasn't encroached on our property since the first of April, however, today I was informed by one of the schoolchildren that Myst is seen just about every other day at the school and churchyard, only 1/5 of a mile from my house. The schoolyard and churchyard are on the other side of our street. So he's nearby in the neighborhood and I imagine it's easy for him to return home if and when he has to. What's nice about the school and churchyard is that it's an attractive, expansive property, a great cat hang-out, lit at night, and possibly attractive to several cats. There's a large dumpster (receptacle for leftover school lunches and fish fry remnants?) that could be luring some hungry cats. I hope the cafeteria ladies aren't putting food out for the animals! Myst is unneutered, by the way. Our weather has been beautiful lately; everything's blooming in springtime, and Myst is probably making up for lost time after such a horrible winter, one of the coldest and snowiest. From observing Myst's winter habits, he would want out between 6:30 and 8:00 A.M., return at about 9:00 A.M., play, rest, and sleep in the house until 4:00 or 5:00. He'd then go outside, returning home at 10:00 P.M. and in for the night until morning. The children have spotted him by the school in the afternoon between 2:00 and 3:30 P.M. I would think that cats engage in the same activities and sleeptimes outside as they do inside the house. Your cat could be resting under a hedge or evergreen, sleeping peacefully during the daytime, and roaming about in the afternoon and at night. Cats sleep a lot.

Princess Purr, if you're reading this, your newborn kittens are adorable!

Could someone at the school have adopted my Myst? Could it be one of those dreaded cafeteria ladies? NOOO! It can't be! ~_~ It's highly possible that someone is putting food out for Myst or hand feeding him people food and he's completely content not to return home. Then there's the possibility that someone by the school or church owns the black cat he's been spotted with and he's perfectly happy staying with or near his catfriend. Our neighborhood spayed calico cat, (the only outdoor female cat of whom I'm aware), is still searching for Myst and has been visiting our house and yard every day. I just hope whoever reads this forum doesn't wait too long to neuter or spay his/her cat, because look what happened to Myst. He never sprayed in the house or in his litterbox and after seeing him spray outside for the first time, he just took off. After reading about Perkin, I'm wondering if tabby cats are the wanderers.


As for declawing cats, a neighbor's dear kitten died during a declawing operation. It just turns my stomach when I think of this gruesome and risky operation. Our Myst is an incredible tree climber and I can tell you that during his wild and frisky stage when he was about 6 or 7 months old, he darted up a blackgum (tupelo) tree and decided to stop on a branch so high that he was higher than our two-story house! I couldn't believe it and was ready to call the fire department. He stood on that branch for a while, then slowly and carefully climbed down the tree branch by branch like he was descending a ladder or stairway, scaling down the bottom of the trunk tail first, just like Tigger.

Thanks for your vibes and for thinking about Myst, valanhb!

Myst has found a ferel girlfriend and is caught up in the mating season. This could mean that male cats he was friendly with only a few months ago are now his enemies. Male cats can cause each other great injury when fighting for the attention of a female. Eyes and ears have been lost in these bloody and savage fights. Limbs are bitten and can become infected. It is always better to neuter your cat if you allow them out of your home. I hope Myst is OK.