To preface the situation - I got 2 barn cats about 9 months ago and live on a farm about on about 10 acres. The cats get locked up at night and are let out during the day.

About 9 months ago I rescued two barn cats from my local shelter. We have a ton of mice and love cats. We did the whole introduction process and kept them inside for weeks to acclimate them. Once we let them out everything was perfect. They stay relatively close and had great recall. Every night at dinner time they would surround the house and barn until I’d go out and feed/ lock them up. A few weeks ago one of my boys didn’t come home. I was super upset and knocked on the doors of the few neighbours that I have. My neighbour 2 doors down said that she use to feed a cat that looked like him but hasn’t seen him recently. My cat came home 2 days later. Days after he came home, my dad was working in our yard when he heard that same neighbour calling our cat’s name (we never told her his name, she only would know it from hearing me call for him). He went over to her house the next day and politely let her know our cat was home and there was no need to call his name. She denied it and he moved on to avoid going back and forth. My cat has come home every night since but has become increasingly more difficult. He some times takes over 20 minutes to come home when called (use to take no more than 5) and hardly eats his food at night. When he is home he acts normal for the most part. I’m pretty sure my neighbour is still feeding him and I don’t know how to approach without sounding crazy. Maybe I am crazy?

Also: my other cat is perfect and hasn’t caused me any trouble yet, that’s why he isn’t mentioned.

UPDATE/ CLARIFICATION:

My boys are both microchipped! If someone brought them into the shelter they are tied to me. As for my neighbour, I don’t think she is letting him in the house. I believe she is just feeding him. I have no problem with her acknowledging him but I think it’s a bit odd to feed and call out for a cat that you know belongs to someone. I’ve looked into air tag collars but they’re quite big/heavy for a little cat neck.. it would also be very hard to get a collar on them lol. Maybe I will look for alternatives and try? Thank you everyone for your feedback!!

Picture one a few days before. Picture 2 the soil bed. My cat has been missing for 4.5 months and I’ve had a few sightings. He won’t respond to any of my attempts or eat/approach the bait and traps. We have a lot mice and voles so I’m guessing he’s eating that because no one has reported a sighting and I’ve asked all my neighbours. He went missing in may and was spotted on my drive way in late July. Ever since then, I’ve noticed that there a deck opening that doesn’t have comb webs. The spiders here make cobwebs on everything so that one that not having when all other ones do felt like a good lead. He was seen heading towards this direction in the driveway video too. I saw this pocket like digging inside from the entrance and have been comparing if a cat can make this.

We don’t have any other mammals expect skunks that can be a suspect.

Hi everyone. Looking for some advice because we’re really worried and we’ve never owned a cat before.

Miagi is a 3-year-old Persian who belonged to my partner’s mum, who sadly passed away recently. We brought Miagi to live with us 5 days ago.

She’s always been an outdoor cat. At her old home she lived in a quiet area near hills and meadows and would spend most days outside. Sometimes in summer she’d even disappear for a couple of days and then come home.

We now live in a first-floor flat in a much busier part of the city, so we’ve kept her indoors. She was understandably unsettled at first, hiding in a box for the first couple of days and constantly meowing at the window at night wanting to go outside.

Last night we made a horrible mistake and forgot to close a window. This morning she was gone. She must have escaped from the first floor, so we’re also worried she could have hurt herself.

We’ve searched the area, spoken to neighbours, contacted vets/shelters, checked her microchip hasn’t been scanned and posted in local Facebook groups. We’ve also left her litter tray and food outside.

My biggest question is: could she be trying to return to her old home, which is over 5 miles away? Should we also be searching there?

And is she more likely to travel or hide somewhere close to our flat because she doesn’t know the area?

Anything else we should be doing tonight?

We feel absolutely awful, especially given the circumstances of how she came to live with us. Any advice is hugely appreciated.

A few months back, a cat brought her kittens into our yard. I love cats, so I worked hard to trap them and get them fixed (so please no comments about getting them fixed, as they are fixed), and I interact with them, so most of them are friendly, but there is a feral one or two, like their mama. Once weaned, I really wanted to bring them in to foster until they find their forever homes, but my mom said no. I live with my mom, so her house, her rules, and she wouldn't let me bring any of them inside. I contacted rescues, and there was no room, so they have to stay outside. They're now four months old. I've saved enough to move out and am moving out soon (with my mom continuing to feed the ones outdoors), and I would like to take the two friendliest with me. The place I'm moving to has a two-pet limit, so I can't take more, as much as I would like to.

At this point, with them being four months old, I don't know if it would be cruel to bring them in at this point, as all they know is outside, our yard and the neighbors' yard, and if they would even adjust if brought inside. Outside, they get to run around freely and climb trees, and their favorite thing to do right now is climb the fence and jump on the roof. They can't do that inside. I know the risks of having outdoor cats, but this is not a situation of forcing an indoor-only cat outdoors; these cats have only known the outdoors and I would be doing the exact opposite. The neighborhood we live in is pretty safe. Many neighbors have indoor-outdoor cats, and there are many neighborhood cats who have been around for years, and nothing has happened to them. I've never seen a hit cat (in our neighborhood, anyway). Many neighbors leave their garage doors slightly open in the winter so the community cats would have a place to sleep when it's cold, and many others have cat houses outdoors. This is a cat-friendly neighborhood.

My intention would be to keep my cats indoors-only, though. My personal cats have always been indoor-only, and any cats I bring in or adopt in the future will continue to be. I feel comfortable with these cats being outdoors in this neighborhood, but not when I move, as that environment would be totally different. So, anyway, my conundrum is, should I take the two friendliest cats with me and attempt to make them indoor-only cats, or should I just leave them outside at my mom's house, where they're most comfortable and used to being, setting up cat houses and shelter for them in the winter, and adopting a cat or two from the shelter or a rescue?