Hello, this is my second post on this forum. For the past year, I've been feeding a stray/feral cat named Max. I was able to take him to the vet about a month ago to get neutered. He didn't show up for a few days after that but fortunately he came back about a week later. Lately, Max started hanging around my backyard more often than before. He would spend hours there and I could tell that he was starting to feel comfortable. On September 25th, Max didn't show up on regular feeding time. So I told myself to wait for a few days but it's the 27th now and he hasn't shown up. I am very, very worried because I feel that something might have happened to him. I don't see any signs of him at all. I've checked around my immediate neighborhood and still nothing. He's usually a very predictable cat. Also, I don't live in a cat friendly place- I always see runover cats/dogs/squirrels in my neighborhood on a monthly basis. My question is, is it normal for neutered cats to go missing longer than a few days? When should I start actively looking for him like sending out flyers etc? Should I wait a little longer? I am not really sure what to do.