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-   -   What could cause a cat to disappear? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=470501)

  • May 12, 2010, 11:58 PM
    kiterunner
    What could cause a cat to disappear?
    Two wild young cats showed up at my house a few months ago. They slowly begin to get use to us since we fed them. So, we took the girl in to the vet and got her spayed first. Right when we were about to get the boy neutered he was sadly hit by a car by some careless driver. A couple months after the girl cat was spayed boy cats would try to mate with her so we had to keep her away from them as best we could and try to collect a urine sample to see if she had a urinary infection. She has been known to disappear for hours at a time but she always comes back by the end of the day to get some food. However, recently she slept in my room with me but I put her outside in the early morning and when I awoke she wasn't outside. I wasn't too concerned but then night came and she was no where in sight. The next day came and still no where to be found. By nightfall still no sight of her. I don't know what happened to her and I feel terrible because I was becoming very attached to her and I love her a lot. She's been gone only 2 days but its not normal for her to be gone this long. If she had been killed by a car like her brother I would think she would have been in the street like we found him. If she was killed by a dog I would think she would have came home to die. Does anyone have suggestions of where she could be?
  • May 13, 2010, 05:52 AM
    smoothy

    If she was killed by anything how would she be able to come home? It would have to be a Zombie to do that. What you may mean was injured... but even then its going to seek what in IT'S mind will be a safe place. That may or may not be your house.

    It IS possible something did happen to her, but it is also possible that it was feral enough it just decided to be somewhere else.

    There really isn't a lot you can do outside of just wait and see.
  • May 13, 2010, 05:53 AM
    JudyKayTee

    I wouldn't necessarily believe that she would come back home to die - hopefully she wandered off and is living with someone else. You may never know.

    The World is a dangerous place for outdoor cats.
  • May 13, 2010, 07:00 AM
    kiterunner

    She was a feral cat but she did love me enough to return to me and I was the only person she wasn't feral around. However, you are right that if she was killed she couldn't return but I would think that if she was killed she would be lying on the street somewhere closeby because she had a brother who was too feral to really touch but we found his body closeby in the road.
  • May 13, 2010, 07:16 AM
    smoothy
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kiterunner View Post
    She was a feral cat but she did love me enough to return to me and I was the only person she wasn't feral around. However, you are right that if she was killed she couldn't return but I would think that if she was killed she would be lying on the street somewhere closeby because she had a brother who was too feral to really touch but we found his body closeby in the road.

    Having been through this with several dogs (we lived in the sticks) IF they were able they would try to find a safe place to lay down. THat likely would not be an easy to find spot. The only ones you would see on or near the road are those killed outright or injured too badly for them to move to a safe spot. That would be an instinctive action.

    An old neighbor of mine had a similar situation with two feral cats she fed... sometimes they would disappear for days or weeks... they usually eventually returned... until something happened to them. As you mentioned ONE was eventuyally found dead on a nearby street, the other, nobody ever found.
  • May 13, 2010, 02:12 PM
    hheath541

    Feral cats are unpredictable. She may have just wandered off and not bothered to come back yet. She may have been injured and crawled off to hide. She may have been taken into someone's house. She may have been picked up by the humane society.

    Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do but wait, and hope she comes back.
  • May 13, 2010, 08:32 PM
    kiterunner

    Yea... I really hope she comes back soon. I miss her a lot.
  • May 13, 2010, 08:36 PM
    hheath541

    If you usually put food out for her, just keep doing so. If she comes back, she'll be expecting the food to be there.
  • Jun 28, 2013, 07:01 PM
    Iluvsleep2day
    I hope your cat eventually got back home to you! I realize this is an older post, however I would like to let anyone reading this for answers to know that, happy, healthy, well cared for cats don't just decide to go live somewhere else. Cats are very loyal when treated with love and respect! The only exception would be if they were ill or injured and knew they were dying. In that situation, every cat is different. Some will stay close and pass away near home, some will come crawling to you in an attempt for help or to receive the comfort of your voice and touch. To the person who posted this question, if your cat was trusting enough to sleep in your bed with you, she wouldn't just decide to go live somewhere else!! Something, out of her control, would have stopped her from returning. Cats will wonder, but if they're from a happy, loving home where they are respected, loved and cared for properly, they will always come home! if they can!!
  • Jun 28, 2013, 07:06 PM
    Iluvsleep2day
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Iluvsleep2day View Post
    I hope your cat eventually got back home to you! I realize this is an older post, however I would like to let anyone reading this for answers to know that, happy, healthy, well cared for cats dont just decide to go live somewhere else. Cats are very loyal when treated with love and respect! The only exception would be if they were ill or injured and knew they were dying. In that situation, every cat is different. Some will stay close and pass away near home, some will come crawling to you in an attempt for help or to receive the comfort of your voice and touch. To the person who posted this question, if your cat was trusting enough to sleep in your bed with you, she wouldn't just decide to go live somewhere else!!! Something, out of her control, would have stopped her from returning. Cats will wonder, but if they're from a happy, loving home where they are respected, loved and cared for properly, they will always come home!, if they can!!!

    I have been taming feral cats since 2007.
  • Jun 29, 2013, 08:24 AM
    JudyKayTee
    Please start a thread on just how you do this work - feral cats are a big problem in my area. I am aware of no one who has been able to make a change in their behavior.

    I'd really appreciate some thoughts. I have 3 hanging around my house right now - and they are wild!

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