my cat never came home?

Question

we never wanted our cat to be an outside cat but he had a mind of his own he always stayed near our house he acted like one of our dogs and he always ran with the dogs through the yard but on october 29th he never came home up to how long could a cat come home

Answer 1

Don't give up hope...I had a male cat that would disappear for days to weeks at a time. (The longest was just over 3 weeks) Sometimes when he was gone for longer periods he would return with injuries, once limping and with infected paw pads, so I assumed he was unable to return for a while as it was hard for him to walk. He had always been an outside cat though and seemed to do OK when he was gone, most of the time at least. Another cat my husband and I adopted when we moved to a new place and neighbors found him starving and scared living in the drain pipe across the street (our neighborhood was going to be "torn down" and rebuilt so no one was living here until they changed the plan and redid the houses so we had all just moved here and it was unoccupied for a long time so there was no one to feed or take care of him) and we immediately brought him inside to nurse him back to health when they asked if we could take him in as he was close to death. We live on a military base which offers little in the way of spare food or critters for a cat to survive on, as well as the danger of the animal catchers, so it was that or watch him starve (or get sent to his death when they began to patrol our newly re-opened neighborhood) and he responded well as if he had been a family cat at one time. Often cats on military bases are abandoned by those who are stationed overseas or get loose in the moving process, so I figured he was ownerless, but did look for signs and ads. Months later while talking to a cashier at the store, I was telling her about the cat we "found" when she asked to see a picture. It turned out he had been lost for months, his owners had looked for him as she knew them and remembered his family posting signs, until they had to move out of the area months before we'd moved in. We figured he must've been living outside for about 6 months (in the winter no less!!) based on when he'd been lost and when we took him in!! [Squeaky the cat is now a happy member of our household and is in the best of health. I just wish I could tell his previous owners his survival story!]
You definitely need to call shelters (often-they get new animals daily) and even give them a picture or two of your cat so maybe they'll recognize him if brought in (but don't count on it, call still), find local small papers that will let you place cheap or free Lost Pet ads (many do, the Pennysaver has free ads if there's one local to you), put up posters in your area, maybe even call local vets to see if they recently saw your cat brought in by someone else. If he was trained AT ALL to come to the sound of your voice or a cat call or shaking a can of treats-whatever-you need to go out at night when it's quiet and call for him and make whatever noise he comes to all around your neighborhood as he might have gotten lost and not know how to get home since he stayed in the yard mostly. If he's not fixed, he might have found a female friend and is hanging out near her, but may come if he hears you calling.
Another possibility if he had no collar is that he was brought home by someone who thought he was stray and is keeping him inside.
You don't mention his age, but there is always the chance he was going off to die or that he was in an accident. Hopefully that is not the case, but look now as the longer he's gone the further he may get and the more bad things could happen to him, plus if he's gotten a "new" home, the more attached his "new" family becomes, or if they have kids, they may not want to give him up to his rightful owners.
Please don't give up hope yet...our Squeaky may have made it back home if his first owners had looked a bit more and I'm sure they think only the worst by now, when in fact he is alive and well...and if they came to get him I'd give him back to this day (although I'd miss him dearly!) as I've lost pets and know how heartbreaking it can be. Hopefully if someone has your cat they will do the same.
Best of luck finding him! If you do get him back, you might consider keeping him inside though. I used to think it was unfair or even a bit cruel, but they will learn to deal with it and live much longer and healthier lives. I no longer have any outside cats after losing a very dear one that was chased and kept away by the local dogs when we moved to a new place. He was seen often but never dared to get close enough to the dogs again to come home and I couldn't catch him. It broke my heart!

Answer 2

Have you called the local shelters and vet clinics in the area? Make sure you put a lost report in wherever you can. Although it's now been a while and there is no guarantee that he's going to make it home, I would keep looking.
Did he have any id? (microchip or tattoo) If so then make sure that the info on those pieces is up to date and has your current phone number so it is not just a dead end if your cat is found.
I used to work at a humane society and saw a cat go home with owners after being missing for 4 years (traced a tattoo and called the owners who were shocked!). Obviously, that was a special case and most cats that have been missing that long don't make it home however it is important to not lose hope too quickly and to actively look for your cat.

Answer 3

I had a cat when I was younger that was just a wanderer...he'd be gone sometimes for a week or so, then come waltzing up to the door like nothing happened. Even though he was nuetered.
Though since that was around Halloween I'd be worried.. I hate to say that :/
Someone may have taken him inside or something, just keep looking until you find out...ask your neighbors, go a few streets over, post signs...They can be gone a few days to a few weeks, as long as they know how to get home, they will.
You never really know though. I hate to say it, but there are some sick people out there, and accidents do happen. But don't give up until you find out, and I hope he comes back soon. I always hated it when my cat would get out and would ignore me until she felt like coming home..I can't imagine if she just went missing.

Answer 4

aww thats sad. he could still come back but he is probably dead i am sorry to say. It is odd for a house cat not to come home to eat and visit.You say you last saw him on the 29th? Is it possible that he became the victim of some teenage hell raisers on Halloween or been run over by a parent taking there child trick or treating. It would be easy to miss a cat on the road when your dodging a bunch of kids. allot of things can happen to outdoor cats. They can be stolen,shot for doing business in peoples gardens,they may become prey to .neighborhood dogs and smaller cat could even be snatched by large owls or eagles or hawks. I'm sorry about your kitty. i hope he comes home.

Answer 5

That's sad...he could have been badly scared with Halloween Fireworks and so as you know. A male on the other hand can go courting for a week or so but you are right up against the time limit now when he should be home,All you can do now is get a really good picture poster of him and poster your area... someone local may have him....I really really hope he comes home...good luck

Answer 6

I'm really sorry to tell you this, but it might have gone away to die (particularly if it's old). Cats tend to do this if they know they're going to die - I'm not sure why, but maybe it's instinctive so they don't pass on disease to the other cats. It's happened to my mother years back, and a friend recently. I really hope your cat comes back, and I'm so sorry that it's missing.

Answer 7

Um yeah ok so you "never wanted" him to be an outside cat but you LET HIM OUT - so he forced you to let him be outside? Odds are you cat is no longer alive - sorry to break it to you but that's probably the case. The outdoors is VERY dangerous for cats and not where they belong - http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=indoorsoroutdoors

Answer 8

ask neighbours to check garages as cold might have got locked in,ask vets,put notices up near you,how old was he

Answer 9

ask the neighbors. someone might have saw him and took him in. put flers up around the neighborhhod. call the humane society and call animal control (they pick up rd kill)