About "Buddy" our feral cat

I wrote in a few months ago about" Buddy" that appeared on our outside deck, late August, limping and so thin you could see his ribs through his fur. We had to feed him, ending up building him an outdoor shelter, he came in to eat every morning and dinner time. In winter in Montreal, it's dark in the morning and dark again by 5m, so he would see the light and come out to be feed. He has disappeared for 5 days once before,in -30.below tempuratures, but always came back. Since the weather has been better, he has come and gone a lot more, and now I have not seen him for 1 week. I still leave fresh water and treats outside for him,(nothing has been touched) and I am worried something might have happened to him, although, every time I say that,"the cat came back, the very next day" the song???? anyone??? I have a few vacation days, so I will stay up with the light on the back porch to see if he will come back. He is such a sweet cat, made it through a very cold winter and I think he is such a champ that maybe he is just out enjoying the weather, as he spent the winter in a straw filled, insolated Rubbermaid cat shelter

and needs his space. I miss him. -Nancy S.

Holding thumbs for him and you!  Btw, is he neutered?  Not neutered tend to wander much more.

Good luck!

If he is not neutered, he will wander in search of a mate.  One of my ferals did this last summer.  I had taken care of him all winter long and we had developed a great relationship.  I had just borrowed a trap and was set to get him neutered when he disappeared.  I was certain he had died.  I could not believe that he would just disappear.  He was gone for almost 5 months.  I had put up flyers every where and even made a trip to the Humane Society.  It was there they told me an unneutered male will wander from spring through the first signs of fall.  They have a one track mind driven by hormones.  When he did reappear, he was skinny and so worn out.  He would only come and go and his behavior was so different.  This was his first year of mating season when his hormones were raging as he was just a year old too.  Fortunately I was able to trap him and get him neutered.  Unfortunately he is a cat that likes to wander and left once again when the weather turned nice.  I gather he will be back when it turns cool again.  I miss him like crazy, but no he has been spotted in the area.

I hope Buddy will reappear!
 

Agree:  if he is not neutered he will wander looking for love where ever he can find it.

Did you TNR him?  Some counties/states require the animal control department/officer to notify 'registered caretakers' if they find a cat who has been ear tipped.  (I live in such a county; unfortunately, not a high priority.)

Meanwhile, I would check with animal control/pet finder to see if a cat fitting the buddy's description has been found.