[florian]

My 12 year old neutered tom cat went missing in November 2008. We have looked everywhere, searched all neighborhood. Newspaper ads, SPCA .
He only visited the neighbors and never went far.
He had no medical condition that we knew of.
It started raining for 2 weeks after he went missing, could this perhaps have disorientated him and he can't find home?
Could it be that he was sick and went away to die ?
We assume that he was not hurt intentionally, so why would he go off all of a sudden?
Thanks.

[Clough]

Hi, florian!

I'm sorry that your cat is missing! I know how upset I would be if that happened! For all of my life, I've had cats as pets.

Yes, it could be that he was sick or just knew that it was his time to die and then went away to face it.

Did he have a collar on with identification? You mention searching in various ways, but did you also advertise in the local print media?

Thanks!

[florian]

Hi, florian!

I'm sorry that your cat is missing! I know how upset I would be if that happened! For all of my life, I've had cats as pets.

Yes, it could be that he was sick or just knew that it was his time to die and then went away to face it.

Did he have a collar on with identification? You mention searching in various ways, but did you also advertise in the local print media?

Thanks!

Hi
Yes we advertised in 2 local newspaper , no luck!

[Clough]

I wouldn't want to do it and not give up hope, but you may need to face the reality that he's either died or isn't coming back.

He may not have needed to be having some sort of medical problems in order to die. Some breeds of cats don't live as long as other breeds. I think that I've had a least a couple of cats in my life that didn't make it past eight or ten years.

What breed of cat was he, please?

Thanks!

[florian]

I wouldn't want to do it and not give up hope, but you may need to face the reality that he's either died or isn't coming back.

He may not have needed to be having some sort of medical problems in order to die. Some breeds of cats don't live as long as other breeds. I think that I've had a least a couple of cats in my life that didn't make it past eight or ten years.

What breed of cat was he, please?

Thanks!

He was just a normal mixed breed domestic cat, no pedigree

[Clough]

A close and very dear friend of mine called me up a number of years ago because her cat had simply disappeared somewhere outside. My friend was very upset and crying. Her cat never returned. She tried just about as much as you did to find her cat. She wondered about the same things that you do...

With time, will come acceptance. Just like you, I hate to give up. Doing so goes against the very grain of my nature. I hate not knowing that which should and would normally be something that is known. But, I've had to accept that there are some things that we just can't know, even though we've tried our best to know them.

Pets are beings that are so near and dear to us. The last time that I had a cat die, my daughter insisted that I call her when it happened because she knew the sorry state in which I would be. She was correct!

Even now, with writing this to you, I get teary-eyed thinking about that cat! That was in 2004. As a matter of fact, yesterday Saturday, February 7th was the anniversary of when that cat died. I was just thinking about that yesterday.

I can't give you hope about your cat, that is something that is up to you to have, if you so choose. What I can try to give you, is the realization that, even though we might try to be idealists, the world isn't a perfect place and that it's not possible for us to know everything, even though we want to, and that it would be in your best interests to go to bed each night being a realist and accepting that you've done the best that you can for the day, and that tomorrow will be a new day knowing that there are also will be other things that you'll try to know, but because it's not possible to know everything and when we know that we've done the best that we can, many times, we just simply need to and have to move ever onward, upward and forward.

Peace Be With You!

[florian]

A close and very dear friend of mine called me up a number of years ago because her cat had simply disappeared somewhere outside. My friend was very upset and crying. Her cat never returned. She tried just about as much as you did to find her cat. She wondered about the same things that you do...

With time, will come acceptance. Just like you, I hate to give up. Doing so goes against the very grain of my nature. I hate not knowing that which should and would normally be something that is known. But, I've had to accept that there are some things that we just can't know, even though we've tried our best to know them.

Pets are beings that are so near and dear to us. The last time that I had a cat die, my daughter insisted that I call her when it happened because she knew the sorry state in which I would be. She was correct!

Even now, with writing this to you, I get teary-eyed thinking about that cat! That was in 2004. As a matter of fact, yesterday Saturday, February 7th was the anniversary of when that cat died. I was just thinking about that yesterday.

I can't give you hope about your cat, that is something that is up to you to have, if you so choose. What I can try to give you, is the realization that, even though we might try to be idealists, the world isn't a perfect place and that it's not possible for us to know everything, even though we want to, and that it would be in your best interests to go to bed each night being a realist and accepting that you've done the best that you can for the day, and that tomorrow will be a new day knowing that there are also will be other things that you'll try to know, but because it's not possible to know everything and when we know that we've done the best that we can, many times, we just simply need to and have to move ever onward, upward and forward.

Peace Be With You!!

Many thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate it.
Sometimes it just helps to talk about it and I can tell you that I am heart broken.
We still have other cats, but Sebastian is/ was quite a character! We miss him very much.
Keep well !