Longing for my Cat to come home!

Hi everyone,

I need some advice as I am broken inside.

So I recently bought a new house and we moved in about 3 weeks ago. I knew my boy Charlie was afraid because of the new environment so I kept him in, he eventually started to settle in and acted silly again by playing and meowing to me early hours of the morning for some kisses.

I started allowing him to go explore the outsides again, he loved it, he went out at night time for about 4-8 hours and returned home safely every time.

Now it is Thursday and the last time I saw my beautiful boy was Monday morning!

I have no idea where he could be???

I know we have a grumpy old neighbour who would chase him every time he enters her yard! (Not like he is doing anything wrong) but anyway!

do you guys think she could be the reason why he wont come back home??

It has been raining since Monday evening and it hasn't yet stopped, I know he is so scared of the rain, so wherever he is, he is probably fearing for his life!

I am losing hope, if he doesn't return tonight it will be the 4th night he is out in the rain, alone, cold, and hungry!!!!

I cant do this anymore, I miss him, I need him back.

I have set flyers up everywhere (which the rain probably destroyed now) I have knocked on my neighbourhoods doors asking to keep an eye out.

he is neutered and that is why I know it is unlikely for him to wander off for so long.

our hearts are aching.

any advice as to what I should do will help!

thank you!

Melliza

Xx

I had this happen a few months back and after a week or so a great person brought my Callie to me. 

If you have local Facebook groups you can join and get several pictures out do it. Another sight is http://search.petfbi.org/Lost_Found.aspx. Craigslist is another in the lost and found section. 

In the mean time. Take a shirt you have wore and put it outside along with some of his used liter. Put out some food and water also. He could be close but needs some familiar smells to bring him the rest of the way to you. Go outside and talk on the phone. Don't have panic in your voice just a normal conversation. Sometimes that helps. 

I would start checking shelters and rescues also. Put the word out as much as you can. 

I used the PetFBI to post a found cat that stayed in my back yard and the owner showed up the next day. He said she had been gone 2-3 months and was 5 miles away. 

I hope this helps and I hope you find him soon. 

3 weeks isn't very long in a new house. Could he have tried to get back to your old place? He might be heading in that direction, even if it is too far for him to walk.

Is he wearing a collar? Is there anyone in your area who leaves out food for strays? He may have found somewhere else to eat, which could be why he hasn't made his way home yet.

You could try sprinkling a trail of cat litter from his litter box around your house, so he knows that is his place.

Try putting your lost cat posters in those plastic document folders and taping them up, they last much longer that way.

I am so sorry your boy is missing.  Here are some links with ideas to find a lost pet.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248019/tips-for-finding-a-lost-cat

http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/lost-cat-behavior/

https://www.petfinder.com/cats/lost-and-found-cats/tips-for-finding-lost-cats/

He very certainly may be trying to make his way back to your old place.  You might want to circulate fliers there too.

Hello Guys,

Thank you so much for all your advice.

I was lucky enough to hear a small Meeouw this morning at 02:50AM and it was my beautiful boy standing by my bed, waiting for kisses.

I immediately jumped up and gave him a big hug and lots of kisses.

he was wet and dirty, he also lost a whole lot of weight, but he is home safely and that is all that matters.

my empty hole in my heart is now filled again!

I feel like a mom grounding my child haha as I am keeping him in for the day!

I am way too scared this happens again.

do you guys think that's a good idea to keep him in ???

I don't want him to feel unhappy,  but God forbid this happens again, I cant go through the hurt of losing him again!

I cannot be any more great full that he returned.

thank you so much for all your help and advice.

I appreciated it!

Melliza

Xxx

Thought I will share a picture of my beautiful boy Chalie

I am so happy for you that he is home safely.  Inside is best, but you have to be very strict about it.  Providing lots of inside activity is helpful.  Playing with him so that he can still try to hunt, catch and kill!  Also you can try getting a bird feeder and placing it near a window so he can watch the birds.

If he still longs for the outside, you could see about building an enclosure for him.  You also could harness train him and take him out with you.  A pet tent is another idea.

He is one gorgeous kitty.  I hope he stays put!

I am so glad he came home. I would keep him inside. The advice you got from @ShadowsRescue  is great. He is beautiful. 

Great news! I'm glad he's home again.

Yes, please keep him indoors or train him to walk on a harness. It's just not worth the risk of letting him out alone.

Take a look at this article, lots of good advice here.

 [article="33261"]The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside​[/article]  

wonderful news!!!!

I'm so happy for you! Do keep him in and have him microchipped and put a breakaway collar on him.

Great story with a happy ending,  thanks for sharing it with us...........If Chalie is use to some outside time everyday,  it will probably take lots of inside stimuli to forget about that outside world.  Sadly,  it's also possible that he will never take to fully inside,  I know mine would'nt,  Let's keep in mind he made it back once and after that ordeal I doubt he will venture to far in the future......................

SO glad he is home!  And yes, I couldn't advocate strongly enough that you keep him indoors-only, even if it takes time for him to acclimatize, unless he is on a figure-eight cat harness and leash with you at the other end, and/or in his own catio. 

He sure is gorgeous! 

He certainly is a beautiful cat.  I have to say my heart was pounding as I read your first post, wondering what happened.  I should have started with the last post first. LOL  I'm so very happy for you.  I'm sure he's glad to be home, safe and sound.  I love happy endings.  Congrats.

Thank you guys so much for all your beautiful messages!

Charlie is very happy to be home and he even doesn't want to go to the out doors, he wants to stay in by himself, I think my poor baby was traumatized by what happened, he must of gotten lost.

I am feeding him fat again and he is getting Chipped tomorrow

I will most definitely ensure this does not happen again, my heart wouldn't be able to handle the pain!

but I want to thank you guys for the great advise, the best thing I did was subscribing to this site!

and thank you so much @Norachan  for the link, I am going to read it now.

have a good day all!

Xxx

What a happy ending! I'm very glad your beautiful boy came home and hope he will be an inside cat forever!

Please, please keep him inside.  Outdoor cats, even those that are only out of door for hours at a time, are tragedies waiting to happen.  You were very lucky this time and the Universe brought him home.  Next time you may not be so lucky.

Keep him inside.

   Please keep your beautiful boy inside,where he is safe with you. I have lost a couple of cats by letting them roam free. Now I only take my cat out on a leash. The best thing is to let him become used to being an indoor cat. The heartbreak you feel when you loose a cat is too much to take. He will get used to it and lead a happy safe life. The advice on this site is excellent . Getting him chipped is wonderful. You can let him look out the windows to watch the birds,and all the goings on outside. You can create a cattery that he will be safe in. He is too precious to risk getting lost again.

I am so happy your baby boy came home!!!

It's a terrible feeling knowing they are out in the world not knowing if they are safe.

Give him hugs and kisses from me.