How long should I wait for my cat to be missing before I get worried?

My oldest is my wild child. She was a stray and has never lost that "must be outside to hunt and explore" thing, and I'm fine with that since we live in a pretty safe neighborhood where lots of people have outdoor or outdoor/indoor cats and there isn't a whole lot of traffic or anything. But she always  comes home. Sometimes she stays out a few days and comes trotting back to bring me a dead bird and get some loves but she always comes back. Over the years she's started staying out longer and longer but the longest she's ever been away was a week (as opposed to the longest before that being about 4 days). The last time I saw her was almost 2 weeks ago and I'm starting to get worried. 





I've looked around the neighborhood in all her usual spots and the neighbors are the lookout too but so far no luck. She hasn't come when I've called (and this is a cat who I've seen run top-speed halfway across the block when she heard me call her name) and she hasn't shown any signs of being in the immediate area. She has a collar and tags but no microchip so I'm worried if she slips her collar anybody who finds her won't be able to figure out where she lives. I want to check the local shelters and all that but I'm worried I'm just being paranoid. The last time she was gone for longer than usual I freaked out and checked every shelter and vet's office in the city and filed a missing pet report only to have her show up on the front porch the next morning.





My question is, how long should I wait before getting really worried about her? I know she's a very adventurous cat but she's been gone almost twice as long as ever before. I'm getting really worried that she got hurt and can't get home or she slipped her collar and got taken to a shelter or something but I don't want to make a big deal out of it if she's going to come back tomorrow. My family thinks I'm crazy for worrying about her so much because she's "just a cat" and she'll "show up eventually".

I'd be worried already.  Sorry, that's just me.

hope everything is AOK and she comes home soon

I would start putting up fliers and contacting neighbors.  If she is friendly maybe someone has taken her in.  Also check shelters in your area.  She may have been taken to a shelter.  Since she is outside so much, I would suggest getting her microchipped.

Thank you for the replies, everybody. I thought I'd post an update. I was recently told by a neighbor that she saw Isy playing in my front yard the other day while I was at work and she seemed fine, so I'm a little less worried now. I am going around to shelters tomorrow just in case. I've also looked into microchipping and it'll cost about $90 for both the chip and a lifetime maintenance plan with the same company that runs my dog's chip, so I'm planning on getting that done for Isy as soon as she comes back. Money is a little tight right now but I can pull enough out of savings to get that done so I can rest a little easier when she goes out adventuring. I'm also planning on getting my other two kitties chipped as well as the money is available, but as Isy is the one who likes to run off she's the one I'm most worried about.

did she come back? if so...after how many weeks? because mine is missing too. 2 weeks and 6 days.... and im so worried

No, there has been no sign of Isy since my last post here. I did get one reply to the posters with a possible sighting but it didn't go anywhere. She's been gone almost 3 months now and I'm still heartbroken.
I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. I know how much it hurts. But there are stories of cats coming back after months or even years of being missing, and that's what's been giving me hope. Are you putting up posters and checking shelters? If not definitely start. It really helps spread the word around and gets a lot of people on the lookout. I hope you find your kitty soon.

aw. sorry to hear that too. it really is depressing. i havent started posting posters but will do so tomorrow. but i asked my neighbors if they saw him and only 1 said yes. but that was when on his 1st missing day. but after that up to now, my neighbor told me she didnt see him again. I hope for the best for our pets. I really do need some doze of hope to keep on

I've had cats disappear and show up months later, a problem may be that they got into a truck or van and traveled some distance. Get on the radio and ask for help, they usually have free time on 'swap shops' or 'pet patrols' and cover a big area. Keep checking at the shelters also, sometimes people bring in animals months after they show up in their neighborhood. I'll pray for you both, all the luck!

Another update.

It's going on 6 months since the last time I saw Isy. She's still reported missing at every local shelter and I try to go to all of them at least once a week to look at all the cats that have been brought in. There have been no other replies to the posters or ads or anything. I have ads posted on craigslist, posters all over the area and in shelters and pet stores, and posts circling Facebook with no luck. If she's still alive either somebody has her and has managed to miss them all or is purposely ignoring them, or she's gone way far away from where anybody who might see them could come across her.

A part of me doesn't think she's coming back. I'm starting to believe that she's been gone for some time now. I'm still looking and if I do find her she will always have a home with me, even if it's years from now, if she shows up on my front porch one day I won't even ask any questions, but I have that gut feeling that she's gone and I'll never know what happened.

I am so sorry that you have not found Isy yet.  Please do not give up on hope.  I had a cat go missing for 8 months and then just show up.  You just never know.  You are in my thoughts and I hope the best for you and Isy.