Runaway cat

hi all!

I've made a search and didn't find any thread regarding this issue, so i hope administrators won't mind me opening up a new thread!

Alright here goes...

I have a neutered male cat, aged 7 and he usually roams outdoors for a few hours in the day and evening but is mostly at home. Recently, he has been hanging out at my neighbour's place a few blocks away and refuses to come home. This has been going on for weeks and months. My neighbour also has cats but she mentioned that my cat and her's don't really mix around.

I've tried bringing my cat home several times, but he doesn't stay for more than 5 mins before running away. I'm feeling so upset!

What could my cat be thinking and what can i do to bring him home and make him stay?

You have to ask yourself several tough questions when this happens- and it does happen quite often-

1. What has changed inside your house recently?

2. Do you have other cats? Has one been recently introduced?

3. What has changed with your time schedule? How often are you home?

4. How much time do you spend with your cat NOW versus before?

It could also be that if your cat is a solo cat he is lonely and in need of company which is why he is seeking out a mulit-cat household

Cats have reasons why they do things that often remain a mystery to us. I remember reading a story of someone who had many cats, all of which went outdoors. One of the cats liked to spend time at different houses in the neighborhood. He started staying away more and more often and eventually only came back once in a while. He was staying at other people's houses and other people were taking care of him. Moral of the story: the only way you can prevent a cat from going where a cat wants to go when they're outside is to keep them inside.

The story is from The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats by J. M. Masson (who is a proponent of allowing cats to roam outside)

HI Hissy, working on your questions!

1. What has changed inside your house recently?
Absolutely nothing.

2. Do you have other cats? Has one been recently introduced?
I do not have other cats and has never attempted to introduce a new cat.

3. What has changed with your time schedule? How often are you home?
My family's time schedule has been the same all the while, my mum home in the day and myself home at night.

4. How much time do you spend with your cat NOW versus before?
I would say about the same. We usually spend ,more time together at night to play.

The only change in his enviroment i can think of is one of my neighbour who has 2 cats has recently moved away. I do suspect and agree that my cat is looking for company but my family do not wish to keep more than 1 cat.

My sister's cat moved away because he did not like his own sister - they were always fighting. My sister tried to bring him home a number of times but eventually gave up and Magnus now has a new home of his own choosing a couple of streets away. It is, I think, in the long run impossible to make an outdoor cat live anywhere but where it wants to, and if you don't give it what it decides is essential (like immediately available company) it will go in search of it.