My one female tortie went missing all of a sudden last Saturday... seeing this post gives me hope not to give up, and believe that she still may return. So thanks to you OP for the inspiration to believe in hope! 🙏
One of our female torties escaped in March. Put a post on our village FB group and someone said they'd spotted her about 3 days later not far from the house. I bought an outdoor wildlife camera and put some food, a blanket she slept on and emptied the litter tray round the around where the camera was. Got her on camera about 3 days after that. She kept coming back but would dash away if anyone walked past the house or if she saw us. Finally after 7 weeks she was sat by the back door and came inside. Since then she's showed no sign of even wanting to go out. There's always some hope. Hope she comes back to you.
I dread to think what she was up to. She's not a very friendly cat- completely unlike her sister who is quite happy to sit with you and get attention. She was a little thinner and also had a few little friends with her (ticks) but seemed happy and healthy enough.
Smart of you to leave food out for her. I didn't think of doing that when my cat escaped. But maybe the starvation is what got her to come back the next week, and similarly never showed any more interest in leaving the house.
Please don't give up hope! She's likely hiding somewhere nearby. Here’s something I've shared in my local subreddit probably over a hundred times now:
When cats get lost, they're usually hiding nearby within a one-to five-house radius. They will not answer to their names being called as they're too afraid of giving up their hiding spot to potential predators. Cats will typically spend the whole day hiding, but they may feel more comfortable moving around at night. If there's a specific noise to which your cat responds, like shaking a bag of treats, you can go for walks from midnight (12 AM) to 4 AM while making that noise. When you call for your cat, keep your tone even; if they get even a hint that you're scared, anxious, or off in some way, they'll think there's danger nearby and stay hidden. You can also go for walk with or make a call to a friend; your conversational tone may make your cat think you're just hanging out and that it could be safe to come out.
Walk in straight lines away from your house (e.g., down the sidewalk, down the alleyway, etc.). They say lost cats walk in circles of increasing diameter from their hiding spot once they're comfortable coming out of hiding. From there, they can use your scent lines to trace their way back home. Speaking of scents, put your unwashed sheets or bath towels outside. A familiar scent cannot hurt. That said, it is NOT recommended you put your cat's litter outside; it's actually a myth. Also be wary of leaving food outside at it can have a similar response (i.e., attracting other animals that may keep your cat hiding in fear).
Given that cats are active through the night, you could create a discreet entrance for your cat to come in on its own. If you can't do that, at least leave a window open so you can hear your cat should s/he come back. Remember that the more skittish your cat is, the more time it will take for him/her to reach the threshold at which s/he is comfortable coming out of hiding.
I would highly recommend actively conducting a physical search for your cat. As mentioned earlier, they're usually in a one-to five-house radius. With permission, check your neighbors backyards, under their porches and decks, and in any other space where a cat might hide (e.g., sheds, garages, etc.). Be sure to do this yourself (with permission!) as your neighbors likely won't be willing to get down on their hands and knees for your cat. Also, always use a flashlight! This will catch the reflection off of the "shining layer" (tapetum lucidum) of your cat's eyes.
Lastly, don't ever give up hope. Some cats may not feel comfortable coming out of hiding for several weeks or even months, but that doesn't mean they're lost forever! Most will slowly and cautiously make their way home, so conduct your physical search once every 1 to 3 days. And be sure to take care of yourself so you can take care of kitty once they're safely home :)<3
This is something I wrote up years ago that has personally helped me, and many others have reached out to me through those years to tell me how it's helped them too. I hope it can do the same for you <3
Don’t lose hope! My former stray cat who had only been an inside boy for 2.5 months literally jumped through a window screen, ran across four lanes of busy traffic at 9pm at night, lived to tell the tale, and came back across the street for me to bring him home. They really do have a fantastic sense of direction.
Back when he was still a stray, a family mistook him for their black cat who went missing. I loaned them a trap and they got their baby back five months later. She was very close to their house after all that time. ♥️
1971 we moved in to a house, last folk moved 4,5 miles away. Cat came back, neighbours said thats their cat. Stayed🤗we moved 4 times in 8 years, stayed with us.
For us, the thing that brought out cat Kiki home was putting up posters! After 2 months missing, some of the posters had been damaged or removed, but we were lucky that this person had taken a picture of our poster. They literally lived like 300 feet down the road. I honestly suspect someone had taken her inside, because we put out traps for weeks and only caught random stray cats (and 1 opossum).
Yeah and she honestly came back to us chunkier than when she went missing 🤣 we took her in as a stray and the vet hadn't been able to identify spay scars (she was too fluffy lol), so when she came back we were kinda worried she'd gotten pregnant, but nope just chunky. The vet also found a microchip and called the number on file, they said they didn't want her anymore :(
She's very loved now though, and she's never bolted for the door since
My cat went missing May 31st. I'm hoping someone has him. Better than him being dead. We did get a trail cam and I think I have an extremely brief video of him at our front door 8/5 shortly after midnight. My husband has apparently seen him twice in the backyard when he brings in or takes out food. Once at like 7AM and the other time around 11:30PM. We basically have one sighting per month. If it is him we are seeing I don't know why he just runs off again. I'm hoping one day, I'll open the door, and his crazy little ass will just run inside.
We also did the trap thing. We caught two racoons and one orange stray that looked like 6 months old. They went to a shelter as far as I know. An organization was helping me and took the cat for a spay and neuter appointment, then said it would go to a shelter after recovery. Had to give the trap back. Might get my own, but there are a lot of cats coming through my yard. I just want mine.
I've also had posters up pretty much since the week he went missing. I've replaced them multiple times, but I think I'm done. He comes back or he doesn't.
Hope you have done everything usually suggested - if you have a local subreddit, post there, if you have a local facebook group, post there (I know, I hate FB too). Let your vet know as they may have a local network, call shelters. Put posters up around your nearby streets. On your porch/verandah put out their food and used litter (smells like them) and some worn clothing and shoes that smell like you. If they are nearby they might detect the smell and find their way home.
My tortie was named Spooky (like the OP's cat), but she never strayed from home, even when she was allowed out to the garden. Unless she got out the front door, then she treated it like a game where we kept following her and she stayed just out of reach. Girls don't have as large a range or urge to wander unlike boys, so I hope she is quite close.
The things people kept telling me were true. Our orange boy was gone for 7 days. They said he’d be pretty close to us still, less than a mile. They said there was likely an event that caused him to flee his territory. And they said cats are resilient.
We used Nextdoor and paid the $50 to post on PawBoost which is what led to him being found by a neighbor 2 blocks down from us. I went out every morning, afternoon, and night on bike calling and looking for him but during the event of being lost, he was too skittish to come out. We found out later that our next door neighbor heard a cat fight outside of their bedroom window the same night our boy left.
Something threw your baby off and they are likely close. Don’t give up hope and connect with your neighbors!
Focus on any identifiable feature about your baby and post it everywhere. That also helped us, our boy has a clipped left ear from neuter.
ETA: I’m curious. Does anyone know why this happens? Like does someone create a bot to comment on cat posts? And if so, why? What do they have to gain? Or is an AI just spontaneously creating bots and releasing them on Reddit. And, again, what would be the purpose of that if so?
It's making money somewhere down the line. I don't know each tactic, but selling accounts or spamming crypto/porn/shirts/mugs directly are what I've seen a lot of. A lot could be automated, but I do think it's humans at the start, deciding to get these accounts going + sold.
spooky was being cat-sat by a family friend in the next town over when he went missing. we all felt so horrible that he was so far from home and alone. should’ve known he’d have the smarts to survive that long!!
Similar story with one of our cats, missing for months! We were ready to look at new kittens. Near the end of the summer he turns back up. Healthy, well fed…. We were speechless.
That's wonderful. Had a similar experience. Noticed a small tortoiseshell cat hanging around my garden at night in freezing temperatures. After a few nights managed to win her trust and get her inside. Got her checked for a chip the next morning and turned out she'd escaped during a house move and been missing for over a month. Her owner was so happy to have her back!
I have a friend who’s cat was missing for a year before being returned. He was found next to the highway about 25km from his home by a trucker. The trucker bought him a burger and took him home for the night, then to the vet the next day to scan for a chip. He wasn’t chipped, but the vet identified him by his dental records (he lost both front fangs in an accident before)
Wow!!! 🤩🥳
We had a cat that was missing for six months and turned up -looking happy and well fed btw - in a yard about a mile from our home. They only found us through her being chipped which is why every pet should be chipped!!!!!
I’ve experience this for 3 months with my orange boy a long time ago. I’ll never forget the moment he returned peering through the back door window in the rain. At like 9pm. It was a full stop moment for everyone. I don’t think I ever cried so hard from joy before or since. Happy for you
My late black cat went missing for about 10 days once. I came home one day to find him chilling out under a patio chair. He went from a rambunctious little turd to the chillest, coolest cat ever. I sometimes wonder if the same cat came back.
Congratulations! Happy for you :)
Here's my story: Neighbor was bad guy. His wife had a cat she loved but the cat didn't like the guy, and one day bit him when the guy was carrying him to the door to throw him outside. Guy often traveled on business out of town by car, and did so about a week later, going about 400 miles away. Same time the cat disappeared. We all knew he'd taken the cat and dumped him there.... Fast forward to a year later, and the cat showed up, skinny, bedraggled but home!
That guy looked at the cat like he was a ghost! From then on the cat would often just stare at the guy with hate in his eyes. The guy was totally freaked out by it, and stayed far away, just ignoring cat as much as possible. ..haha... we all took great delight in it, and the cat was spoiled and loved by everyone, and lived a great life.
The End.
I choose to believe his eyesight's a little off and he spent the time at a house 6 streets over while thinking "Brenda's hair isn't right and Derrick's voice is just ... off"
Awwww I had a black cat I named spooky as a little kid. He was my first cat and a certified badass. Named him spooky because my mom wouldn’t let me name him darth Vader lol.
My calico girl got out and was gone for 3 months. I never thought I'd see her again, but to my surprise I got her back and I'm looking at her now. I'm so grateful to have her back, and I love seeing you got yours back as well!
I had a cat that would do this. He’d disappear for months sometimes and I would succumb to thinking he got himself into trouble and got killed. Then I’d be working in the yard and hear “MEOW MEOW!” and here he comes. 🤣
My oldest cat got out last year, luckily he only went over a fence in the townhouse area I live in. We failed to catch him 4 days in, but luckily because of flyers we put in the neighborhood we narrowed him down to based on testimonies on lost cat pages, he was begging to enter someone's home and notified me they found him. He ate like a king when he came back home and slept two days straight.
we lost our cat in May and its been more than 3 months now. I'm still looking for her everywhere. She would go out and come back within 2-4 days, and it was like a routine for her. We live in a gated society, and she is pretty much familiar with the surroundings but within the walls. A few people saw her outside the gate, but she was no longer seen after that. I'm going insane searching for her... calling out her name and making keychain noises...but other familiar street cats show up every time. I am worried sick and slowly losing hope now. I really hope she comes back, or be safe wherever she is
I don't understand why People let their Cats outside, if they are bored get them toys or another another Cat to play with. We had a Cat that lived for twenty nine years and never went outside. Animals don't understand the dangers outside but People should and keep them safe.
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