Charlie the Tom cat isn't coming home!

We've had our beautiful black cat Charlie since he was 10 weeks old & he was the runt of the litter. This does NOT show now- he is huge! We didn't have him neutered because we were getting our female cat spayed, so he still has his man bits intact. He's never sprayed or shown any problems, so we thought nothing of it... Until recently
We live in the country side surrounded by fields to run around in & places to sleep for the cats. This meant that we didn't see a whole lot of them, but they'd routinely come home morning & night for food and fuss. But now Charlie won't come home at all[emoji]128542[/emoji] It's a small village, so we'd know if he'd tuned out to be injured or god forbid, dead.. And no one has seen him for at least 3 weeks! Is it possible he has gone feral?! He is treated like a prince when he's here, they have all I can provide & more, so it wouldn't be down to neglect. There's plenty of food out there, he is capable of bringing home baby rabbits and things...
I'm panicking as we are moving soon & I need to know what's best to do[emoji]128542[/emoji]

have you put up missing posters for Charlie? Call all vets and shelters to see if anyone has turned him in?

because he's intact, I am sure he's out taking advantage of the females in heat, causing more unwanted kittens and increased cat population. I suggest you get him neutered soon as you get him back.

So sorry to hear about your lost cat.  It is a heartbreaking feeling.  I don't think that he has gone feral because you've had him since he was so young.  When males are intact they are so driven to find females and reproduce that this comes before any other thing in their lives.  I've seen cats go without food for days when they are actively mating.  The other issue is the fact that they will fight to the death with other Toms.  If you live in the country there are usually plenty of other Toms around as foes.  Now, it could be that the female he found is quite a ways away.  In this situation the males will usually take up residence near her until she cycles out of heat.  This could be a week to ten days.  Then he could have found another female so it can take them some time to make their way back home.

Keep looking for him.  Walk through some places he liked to frequent and call to him.  Then drive wherever you can think of, stopping at farms and such, calling to him.  Kitten season is coming to a close so it does seem odd that he has been gone so long.    Another caring family could have taken him in thinking he was abandoned, too.  How long before you move?

Keeping my fingers crossed for his return!

Thank you Dandila, I didn't realise just how bad male cats would be! There are very few female cats in the village and fields connect between us and the surrounding villages so he could even have gone 2 or 3 miles without having to be on a road :/
We have put up posters and such and searched for him everywhere (where we can get to at least!)
We move at the end of September/start of October, so it's not long! It would absolutely kill me to leave not knowing where he is out of my three cats, we had the closest bond when he was a kitten because he was very shy & skittish. Boy has he changed now!

I'm sorry to hear your cat is missing. Like Dandila said, intact males will travel miles to find a female. The average territory of an intact male is around 15 acres, but they will travel much further than that if they smell a female on heat. Have you tried putting posters up in all your neighbouring villages? Have you checked farms in the area that might have un-spayed barn cats?

I know you don't have any problems with him at home even though he is still intact, but male cats are at a much higher risk of being killed on the road or by a predator because they travel so far. They're also at higher risk of FIV and Feline Leukemia, both of which are spread by cat bites, because they fight with other toms.

It was responsible of you to get your female cat spayed, but Charlie has no doubt fathered lots of kittens and those feral born or unwanted kittens face a very sad future. Get him neutered when he comes home, OK? You'll be doing the best thing for him and you'll save yourself lots of heartache in the future.

Very true, Norachan.  The two Toms I've neutered this year are nothing but mushball homebodies now.  It really changes their bad traveling habits and fighting behavior.

I'm so sorry! My cat at home is named Charlie and I would be devastated if I couldn't find him. 

I'm not sure how effective this is but I have heard of people doing this and it won't hurt to try.

You can try leaving out his bed or something that has his scent (the cat's) outside of your home or nearby so the cat can detect the scent. Maybe something with your own scent too. Again, I'm not sure how effective this is but it wont hurt to try! I wish you lots of luck and I hope your feline friend comes home soon

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

My toms have often disappeared for several days at a time courting a local lady in season, but not weeks, and usually coming home briefly to refuel. I hope that your poster campaign will bring results.

I wish you luck!

Yours, Peter

Peter Carter said:

 
Hi! Sorry to hear that.

My toms have often disappeared for several days at a time courting a local lady in season, but not weeks, and usually coming home briefly to refuel. I hope that your poster campaign will bring results.

I wish you luck!

Yours, Peter

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Hi Peter,

Welcome to The Cat Site.

For all of the reasons in the posts above and more, please get your cats neutered. They will live much longer and there will be a lot less kittens suffering in the world.

have you tried visiting anyone living closest to you? someone may have taken him in thinking he was a stray cat. i know you live in the country, but is there anyone living at least close to you?

Did you ever find him?