My cat disappeared a week ago

Hello, everyone!

My cat, Mouse, disappered last Monday, and haven't seen any signs of her since. I would really like to know your opinions and ideas on where she can be/what can i do.

Background:

I live on the countryside, in small village, in a valley, with forests and fields all around me. About two years ago i started taking care of an old stray cat, feeding her, until she "moved in" with me (used to be my neighbour's cat but she stopped taking care of her). This April she had 4 kittens, sadly, only one of them survived. Mouse. I've started taking care of her, watched her grow up with me, and ever since then, she never left the property (sometimes went to look for food or to explore in the neighbours but always within sight). She lives outside, with her mother still around, a male cat, who comes and goes as he pleases, and a black female cat in the neighbour who recently moved there and often hangs out at my place. I really grew to love Mouse, spent as much time with her as i could, and she loved it here too. She always had food, place to nap, everything.

Last Monday i was about to leave to work, and was ready to feed them. Her mother was there, but couldn't find Mouse anywhere. I decided to stay home and look for her. But she didn't show up all day. That's when i really started to panic. I started asking people, and they told me she could've gone to look for a male, because she can be in heat (She is 5 month old, and not spayed). My family being as unhelpful as ever told me that probably a fox or a dog caught her and i shouldn't expect for her return. But, i didn't give up. I started asking people in the neighbourhood, in the stores, pubs, everywhere, but nobody saw her. I've looked in the forest, walked on the streets in the whole area, checked abandoned places, went by the river, almost every day this week, and there's no sign of her. I've started reading forums and asking people why could she dissapear and got the following answers.

- She's in heat looking for a male, or pregnant and decided to have her kittens elsewhere

- She got injured, lost or stuck somewhere, trying to find her way back home

- She decided to leave the house because she believes it's her mother's home, and kittens don't stay with their mother

- Neighbours cat chased her away and marked my place as her territory. (They seemed to get along fine, but that cat is very agressive, had kittens recently, and she's always at my place since Mouse left)

- She did get caught by a fox or dog, or hit by car, and is gone for good.

Every day when i wake up, or come home from work and she's not here, my heart breaks over and over again. I need her to find her way back home. Is there anything else i can possibly do? Will she come back?

Oh boy, I hate stories like this and I feel your pain. 

Can you advertise the loss on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Put up signs with a picture, all over street poles, in stores, laundromats, pubs etc.

Also 

Call and put up flyers with a picture in all surrounding Shelters/Rescue facilities

Call and put up flyers with a picture in all surrounding Vets in your area.  

Put flyers in all neighbors doors?

I hope you find sweet Mouse soon.  Please keep us updated.

When she comes back, make sure the first thing you do is get her spayed. xo

I've been through the same thing. Just recently (we are talking last week, he's still at the vet from his injuries) and a few years ago (that one didn't come home). I am right there with you on the pain and uncertainty. 

I agree with all the reasons you've heard. You have two weeks from disappearance until the chances of her coming home start to decrease. Even then you can't give up hope because my sisters cat came home after a month. The good news is that as an outdoor cat already her chances are higher because she is used to the environment but her age does make the finding of a new territory one more of a risk.

Some ideas of things I did with Link:

- Put up flyers in the immediate area, since he is indoor/outdoor it was less likely that someone would be able to just pick him up but there was the chance someone took him in thinking he was a stray with mine. If you can, make a giant sign on neon poster board. Make sure to keep the writing legible and to the point. 

- Call, email or visit vets within a 15 mile radius with pictures and microchip number (if you have one).

- Call, email or visit rescue groups within a 15 mile radius with pictures and microchip number (if you have one).

- Visit neighbors within a 1 mile radius with pictures and ask to check their yards (if injured likely hiding so search even in tiny spots), garages and screens to crawl spaces (maybe basements in your area). I live in a very urban area where we aren't super friendly with neighbors more than 2 houses away so for me this was more like those houses and if I could find someone home. 

- Send out pet alerts through the microchip company (if you have one) and petharbor.com

- Check petharbor.com and local shelters for him daily. When it comes to local shelters you can't take their word for it, physically go check. Also descriptions can be wrong on websites so I did a no filter search and just focused on the pictures. You won't believe the number of cats I'd see pictures of that were mislabeled. There was a Snowshoe type Siamese listed as a "tan" 5 year old cat and if someone knows pointed cats it was obvious he was indoor only because his coloring was what you see with temperature controlled environment. 

- Post at local pet stores or community boards. 

- Check if you have an active NextDoor community in your area (its a app/website for neighborhood communication). 

- Craigslist posting

- If you call in with a specific call, whistle or bell do it daily at dawn and dusk, when cats are most active.

- With flyers or online postings you want to change them at least twice a week with a new picture/new colors of paper to keep the interest going. 

2Cats4everLoved and Kieka

Thank your for your replies and warm wishes.

Like i mentioned i live in a smaller village with only a couple hundred people, i asked around every day, and nobody saw Mouse. It's unlikely that she's in the village, or if she is, she's hiding. It's possible someone i didn't ask yet have her or saw her, but eventually i'll go through everyone.

There are no vets or shelters in a 15 mile radius, no communities or pet stores either. Partly because of that, and partly because of me, she is yet to be microchipped (It's difficult to get her to a vet, and i couldn't organize it).

Part of me already gave up hope, while another part of me never will. She was my first pet i ever made a close and strong connection with, she's family to me and i'd do anything to have her back. I'm terrified that she's hurt of suffering somewhere and I'm unable to find her. But also somewhat positive that she can just be there in the morning when i wake up looking at me like nothing happened.

I was just outside (as it got dark) calling her and looking for her. I stronly doubt she's in the close area, because i've checked everything here every single day since she's been missing.

Link disappeared on the same day Mouse did. He made his way home with a broken leg Friday. Don't give up hope. 

Thoughts and prayers with you. Hopefully its the more benign situation shes in heat and she'll find her way home once it is over. 

Thank you again.

I read that heat cycles last 4 to 10 days. It's gonna be 9 days tomorrow, so she better come back soon.

Here are some articles that give some great help with finding lost pets.  I am so sorry that Mouse is missing. 

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/

ShadowsRescue

Thank you!

It's the end of day 9 and still no sings of Mouse

Positive people are saying she's in heat and will come back soon, others say i shouldn't have hope anymore...

2 weeks. Then you can start having less hope. But cats have come home months after they went missing so don't give up now. 

Day #10. Still no signs of Mouse. One person told me she might've seen her. A larger grey cat, but where she saw it there are other grey cats too, so it's unlikely.

In the next 3-4 days i'm going to keep looking for her, but after that i think it's pointless...I will keep hoping that she will find her way back home, or if she isn't, she's safe and well somewhere.

What really makes me sad are the people around here. I asked approx 100-150 people, and around 60% of them told me straight forward that my cat is dead. The rest either didn't say anything, and 5 maybe 10 people said that she's okay and will probably come back home.

I do have some questions i meant to ask, so if any of you have any experience or knows the answer, please let me know.

- Is it possible for younger (4-6 months old) cats to have a longer heat cycle? Like 12 days and up?

- In case Mouse left my home because of her mother being pregnant, what can i do (in case i do find her and don't want her to leave again)?

- In case Mouse left because the neighbour's black cat marked my place as her territory, what can i do? (I don't hurt animals, and i'm not going to start now, all i've been doing is i walk her back to the neighbour every time she's here, and i don't feed her or leave food out)

- Is it likely for Mouse to be pregnant? At this age, this soon?

- I've read that if a cat is lost/scared, it won't respond to my calls, my smell, or anything. So what can i do if i get to a place where cats might hide but it's too tight for me to look?

- How long will she care/remember where her home is? Is it possible that after a few weeks she will no longer remember me or this place? Even if she shows up it just be a random thing for her?

matearss14 said:

 
Day #10. Still no signs of Mouse. One person told me she might've seen her. A larger grey cat, but where she saw it there are other grey cats too, so it's unlikely.

In the next 3-4 days i'm going to keep looking for her, but after that i think it's pointless...I will keep hoping that she will find her way back home, or if she isn't, she's safe and well somewhere.

What really makes me sad are the people around here. I asked approx 100-150 people, and around 60% of them told me straight forward that my cat is dead. The rest either didn't say anything, and 5 maybe 10 people said that she's okay and will probably come back home.

I do have some questions i meant to ask, so if any of you have any experience or knows the answer, please let me know.

- Is it possible for younger (4-6 months old) cats to have a longer heat cycle? Like 12 days and up?

- In case Mouse left my home because of her mother being pregnant, what can i do (in case i do find her and don't want her to leave again)?

- In case Mouse left because the neighbour's black cat marked my place as her territory, what can i do? (I don't hurt animals, and i'm not going to start now, all i've been doing is i walk her back to the neighbour every time she's here, and i don't feed her or leave food out)

- Is it likely for Mouse to be pregnant? At this age, this soon?

- I've read that if a cat is lost/scared, it won't respond to my calls, my smell, or anything. So what can i do if i get to a place where cats might hide but it's too tight for me to look?

- How long will she care/remember where her home is? Is it possible that after a few weeks she will no longer remember me or this place? Even if she shows up it just be a random thing for her?

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- Things are always variable so the heat cycle could be slightly longer. Keep in mind that it could be a few days after it ends for her to find her way back home. 

- If it was because her mom is pregnant and the whole leaving mother aspect. She likely won't come back. BUT you can help stop it with future kittens by getting them spayed and neutered which should help with the hormone driven things. But even then, it happens that siblings and/or children just leave when they hit 6-8 months old to find their own territory; it all depends on the cats involved. 

- There isn't really a way to keep your neighbors cat away without shooing them away, denying them access to food and (maybe) spraying with water hose. Hear me out on the hose, assuming it is not cold so the cat will dry without any cold related problems AND that we are talking just a water hose without a power sprayer AND it is done as a "go home" just enough to get them to turn around thing if can be effective. We spray the toms in our neighborhood if they are in our backyard; like I said, just enough to get them moving and shoo them out the rest of the way and when it is warm enough that they will dry quickly. We don't completely drench them or anything usually it looks like they got caught by a sprinkler starting up. It's pretty effective in basically making your yard no fun for them without hurting them. And generally, since we try to shoo first and they just ignore us, they aren't startled by it and after one or two times they start running as soon as we grab the hose. My cats have come home wet a time or two and they haven't had long term harm just indigent looks and we figure its either a sprinkler caught them or someone doing the same.  There are deodorizing yard sprays you can buy to get rid of the other cats scents and let your cat reclaim the yard as theirs too. But in general if you just make it uncomfortable for the other cat they will come around less and eventually none.

- Yes, she can get pregnant this young. If she is though the chances of the pregnancy going full term and healthy babies is lower because of age and size. 

- If the space is too tight to look you can leave some food outside of it to try to lure her out or shine a bright flashlight in to look. Link is recovering from his surgery and highly drugged right now. He is still acting like an injured cat and hiding under beds 75% of the time with most of his walking/moving around at night when no one is awake. If you think there is a good chance she'd in a particular area go there near dawn or dusk, put out some food and get comfy with a book to quietly wait to see if she shows herself. 

- My sister in laws cat came home after a month and it was a new house they had only lived at for 6 months prior. He was apparently nearby because neighbors heard him meowing for a few days before he actually work woke her up one night to come in. They are pretty good with territory and finding their way places so don't give up hope. She is likely within a 1 mile radius unless someone accidentally moved her (got in a car or box and they drove off without realizing she was there). 

There are some updates i wasn't aware of until now.

Apparently the neighbour's black cat had kittens a few weeks ago. That i knew. What i didn't know is that she brought 3 of her kittens here to my place. Which i guess makes it more likely that she claimed my place as her territory. My grandmother then called the town's "kitten killer" and told her to take the kitties away. One got adopted and he took the other two (This all happened while i was at work). What i don't know and scares me a lot is, what if he took Mouse too? She obviously isn't a kitten anymore, but that doesn't mean much to an alcoholic d*uchebag i assume.

Another "theory" is that maybe the black cat simply chased Mouse away to have a safe place for her kittens before she brings them over.

Mouse could sometimes be very...aggressive. In the past month she kept attacking her mother. Not in a brutal way, i personally found it cute. Her mother didn't...an old stray cat, full of injuries and now pregnant too, something like this could be a sign of danger. She always simply slapped her and moved on, but maybe now that she's pregnant she saw it as more of a danger than an annoying little thing.

BUT

If any of the last two happened, and Mouse were chased away, she shouldn't be very far away, which means i (or someone) most likely should've found her. And if she's out there and isn't coming home because of the other cats that means i can't stop looking for her. I was already thinking that if i find her I'll move her inside so she won't be any problem to her mother.

It's been 12 days and still no sign of her. Everyone who saw a grey cat directed me to cats that aren't Mouse. And nobody who has cats told me that maybe they saw her. Except for one old lady. And it's kind of a double-hope.

She told me she saw a cat (possibly grey) running in front of her house couple of times last week and always headed upwards to a hill (with some houses there, but it's not really a street). On the 3rd day of Mouse missing, as i was walking to work in the morning, i saw that same cat. It was too far away from me to be able to tell if it was her, and by the time i got there it was gone. But that is the last area i have hope for. So I'm going to check there every day, in the morning and at night time too.

Kieka

Thank you for your reply, and the ideas. I really don't think hose would be a good idea. The weather is getting really cold and winter is close too. Even with warmish water the cat could easily get a cold..and i don't want to harm her. I keep "chasing" her back to the neighbour, but it's not very effective. But Mouse and her always seemed to get along fine, even after she had her kittens...I  don't know. Plus there are the two other cats, and she isn't really trying to chase them away, she's just hissing when they get close, and makes that creepy "humming" noise.

Good luck!

The water probably won't be good from what you say. I live in Southern California (near LA) so its usually warm enough here. Even winter doesn't get very cold during the day. Which just leaves you the shooing away when you see the black cat.

I really hope Mouse is found or that she is atleast safe somewhere else. Lots of love and good vibes your way.

Day #16

Yesterday was when i started thinking about the fact that i might never see Mouse again. That eventually i will have to stop looking, and worrying all day, and think about other things, get back on with my life.

But then, something happened last night that once again gave me hope.

I was outside, smoking, around 10pm, and Mouse's mother joined me. I was looking at the street when i saw a cat walking by towards to the forest. I started calling it like i call my cats, and it turned back, and started walking towards my house, but it didn't stop. So i walked down and went after it, but it was scared of me, ran away and climbed over the fence 2 houses away from me. On my way backwards i saw the black male cat, so i know it wasn't him. Besides them there are only two other cats in the area i know of. The neighbour's black cat, and Mouse. I didn't see much because it was really dark, but i think that cat was too small and too fast to be the black cat. Plus since the black cat lives at the neighbour she would've climbed in there and not one house away. So now i have hopes that it could be Mouse. I don't know why she would skip my house or be scared of me, maybe because it was dark, but i'm going to go back there tonight and see if i can "catch" that cat.

I already spoke to the woman who lives there and she told me there is a cat who goes there every night, but she never saw it, only heard it. She said it's sleeping on a high place, which is one more against the black cat, because it's old and "fat", so i don't think she is much of a climber.

I've heard stories of cats that seemed to "dissapear" but keep going back an nights, and i don't know why, or if could be the case with Mouse, but once again i found some hope...

Yay! Hopefully that was Mouse.

My sister heard her cat meowing outside for a week before he came home. Everytime she went outside he wasn't there so she thought she was losing it. Then one time she happened to be near a window when she heard him and sure enough, there he was. It was a month almost to the day since he had gone. She ran outside, called his name and he saw her and came running. Don't ask me how or why but he was coming by and meowing but not going into the house until she wejt out and called him.

Hipefully your Mouse does the same and comes home.

Altough it's maybe off topic, i thought i'd share my bitter sweet story with you guys.

Last week someone in the neighbourhood told me that their kitten has been missing for 4 days now and they have no idea what could've happened, or where it could be.

This morning, less than two hours ago i got a text that someone saw my Mouse. So i got dressed and went there but didn't find her. Later from a picture they sent it turned out it's 99% that it wasn't her.

But, as i was coming back home, i met my neighbour who told me that she's been feeding this new kitten for a few days now, and asked me if i want it. And it was the missing kitten, who is now back home again after i let the owners known.

It's just so weird how much luck is needed for a cat that is only a few houses away to find its way back home. If i don't go looking for my missing cat, this cat may never go back home...

I just wish i had the same luck

I'll pray that you two find each other again, don't give up, I have a feeling your little one is close. Maybe get on one of those 'swap shop/ buy and sell' free shows on the radio and put a description and plea out there, I have used those with great success, All the luck!

Today i was travelling to another place, and we were passing through a village, about 6-10 km's (3-5 miles) from here. I always look on the yards, and edge of the streets when i'm travelling, looking for Mouse. And just like that, i saw a cat, black-grey fur, with the same marks as Mouse and her mother. She has a thick black "arrow" that went from the back of her head to the end of her tail. I couldn't get a very good look, and by the time we stopped the cat was gone...

I don't know how common that mark is with black-grey fur cats, or if she would go that far...i live at the edge of my village, so if she headed that way, i'm sure she could've covered 5 miles in 3 months (It's not the village next to us, the 2nd one). The cat was on the street, so it didn't look adopted, or having a place to live at, so that could be another sign maybe...

But i don't know anyone from there that well, and because of work, by the time i could go looking it would be too dark, so i'm feeling a bit helpless again, but a bit happy that my cat may be alive...

I don't know if it was really her, she would come back home or not...or how could i get more information..

matearss14 said:

 
Today i was travelling to another place, and we were passing through a village, about 6-10 km's (3-5 miles) from here. I always look on the yards, and edge of the streets when i'm travelling, looking for Mouse. And just like that, i saw a cat, black-grey fur, with the same marks as Mouse and her mother. She has a thick black "arrow" that went from the back of her head to the end of her tail. I couldn't get a very good look, and by the time we stopped the cat was gone...

I don't know how common that mark is with black-grey fur cats, or if she would go that far...i live at the edge of my village, so if she headed that way, i'm sure she could've covered 5 miles in 3 months (It's not the village next to us, the 2nd one). The cat was on the street, so it didn't look adopted, or having a place to live at, so that could be another sign maybe...

But i don't know anyone from there that well, and because of work, by the time i could go looking it would be too dark, so i'm feeling a bit helpless again, but a bit happy that my cat may be alive...

I don't know if it was really her, she would come back home or not...or how could i get more information..

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Can you call local shops or vets in that area to help post your signs in that town???

This news sounds promising.  I'll be rooting for you and your sweet kitty.  I hope you are reunited soon.

Just like mine, we're talking about a really small town. Unfortunatelly i don't know many people there, but i did find some people and asked them to keep an eye out. No vets there either. The main problem is that because of work, it would be really dark when i could go looking (if i'd have a car or someone to take me), which i know is better for a cat, but not for me. So i'm just gonna make as many trips that way as i can and hope to cross paths with that cat again. And hope it is mine.