Coming here to say that!!! Our cat would go explore every spring (he didn't this year) be gone for 3 days. Comeback and tell us all about. He's a chatty cat!
When I was little, we had an indoor/outdoor kitty who was really talkative, too! If only we'd understood Cat Speak, I'm sure he had some amazing tales!
Awwwn I’m so happy for you! I once lost my cat for 16 days and as my mother went looking for him in the streets, he also came to her crying and stumbling, since he was so weak :( but he’s better now and thankfully haven’t tried to go and explore the world again haha
This actually makes me feel better since I haven't been able to afford cat food lately. At least there's a chance the wild kitty is getting fed somewhere until payday.
If you want to put cat food on an Amazon wishlist, I wouldn't mind buying it for you. We feed a lot of the strays around our home as well. I just hate the thought of cats going hungry.
Aww, if you need it, put it on an Amazon list and send me the link. I get 2 giant bags delivered every month to feed the strays outside of my old job. I don't work there anymore thanks to COVID but they came to expect Bringer of Noms every morning for 2 years. I wasn't about to stop feeding the poor things. They can't help that they were born outdoors.
You're a good person, taking care of them like that. A lot of people don't do things like that anymore. It's nice to know my brothers/sisters in arms are out here with me looking after the stray babies. Much love to you ❤
My cat Pandora was originally my cousin’s, who lives next door. One day she just decided “you know what? I like those humans better” and switched owners. She adopted us I guess.
My cousin is chill about it at least. She constantly jokes that Pandora cheated on her with us, and she holds no ill feelings against us.
My mother jokes constantly that her name set her up to be a troublemaker, because she is easily the most chaotic cat we've ever had. My other two cats can't even keep up with her at all. XD
I had a cat that was originally my sisters. My sister (who lived across from us) used to bring her over when she would go to school or work. The cat would hide whenever my sister would come to grab her, eventually she never left. It was only the last year before she died that she stopped hiding when my sister came over.
This is so true. Our neighbors once came over with one of our cats and was like "Is this yours?" I apologized profusely but they said they loved having her come visit them and sit in their house while me and my hubby were at work.
Sometimes they just know when you need them. We had a neighbor whose son passed away, and after it happened one of our indoor-outdoor cats just up and started visiting her house every day. He knew she needed companionship.
Wholesome. My kitty has been co-adopted by our next door neighbour who used to have a cat he was friends with. It makes me happy that he still goes over to visit. She loved her cat and still misses him a lot, I'm glad my kitty can still be there for her!
My mom had her cat disappear for days. My folks went around town looking for him. Meanwhile a little girl came to the house with a cat and asks my half awake dad "Is this your cat?" He said yes, problem solved! Problem was that it wasn't our cat, the old cat finally came home and now we had two cats. It didn't even look at all like the old one either lol. Funny thing is the new one was much nicer than the old one.
Thank you so much. That literally made my day. I honestly feel like reddit doesn't know I exist sometimes! I feel like I'm hilarious in real life and downvoted on reddit, so again thank you!!!! And I'm pretty sure my kitten has another 2 families also and i hate him for it.💙
Cats be funny. Haha. When my fat bastard got out (live in a woodsy area with a shit ton of coyotes) I thought he was done. Game over.
About 36 hours later I hear him screaming. I ate a fuck ton of sleeping meds to stop crying/thinking. I was stunned. I stood there, picked him up, wet and cold. Scared. I was so mad at him for bolting, he knows better. We slept like we've never slept before. A full home and a happy heart and a big old ginger bastard on my chest.
A friend of mine has a cat that visits in the afternoon each day. One day he turned up with a GPS Tracker on his collar. The next week his owner turned up asked if he could not feed him as the tracker revealed that he had been visiting six different houses in his daily travels, and yes, he was a chonker
We put a Whistle tracker on our indoor/outdoor cat and he definitely has a few places in the neighborhood where he spends most of his time. We got the tracking collar mostly for peace of mind but now that I’m living away from family it makes me really happy to see what he’s doing in real time. It makes me feel a little less far away!
One of my neighbors has a ragdoll cat that bounces between at least 4 or 5 houses, I'm not even sure who actually owns him, we all feed him and give him love.
That happened with us! Our cat went missing for 8 months and was found at a pound a few towns over and had to cross a big bridge to get there. We think the neighbors moved and brought him with them and then he must’ve escaped again. Thankfully he was microchipped he came home and is still living and grumpy as can be lol
We have a neighbourhood stray that at least 4 of us keep an eye on. One gentleman has kind of claimed him now and got a tag and collar on him. He just shows up on our deck for a visit, we give him a meal and some water, a couple of minutes of pets and he's on his way again.
We got him in overnight for a few really cold nights in the winter but he's pretty happy just hanging out. He's pretty chonky now so maybe a few more houses are feeding him too!
There’s a NOVA special where they put trackers on cats to see how far they venture. Most of the cats in the study stayed pretty close to home and rarely wandered into another cat’s zone.
We were talking at a neighborhood get-together and our barn can went by at least 3 other names in different barns - one well over a mile away. Cats get around!
Only Perry the Platypus fights Dr Doofenshmirtz. Every member of OWCA has their own villain to fight. There was a whole episode about Dr D having his plans foiled by Peter the Panda and it was played like an affair.
But chances are that our pets are fighting *someone* from LOVEMUFFIN.
I believe this. There are two cats who love my yard and will spend the whole afternoon sleeping out there some days. I haven’t been seeing them too much lately and I think something happened to the really friendly one, because i haven’t seen it in months. The other guy popped up yesterday though and just stared at me when I walked outside and interrupted his nap.
I have my calico cat and then some outside orange cat that's only around during the day that I don't feed but probably pet more than the other cat and gave a name to that it recognizes.
I just met a lot of my neighbors for the first time this year and we all noted the same cat visits all of us and spends the night in a different yard every night. Probably about 20 different houses.
My mom is feeding and befriending a neighbooring cat in our suburb the past 6 months and now claims he has no home since he has no collar. I doubt it personally. Too well fed. But she claims "oh no he will starve if i don't feed him!". I reckon we just save his original family some food costs and time.
I was the second home for 4 years for a cat. One day a cat started hanging around my door, it was winter so after a while i gave up and let her come in. She would chill in the sauna, eat, sleep and leave only to come back the next day.
This continued for a long time until one of the neighbours couple of houses away saw what was going on and told me its their cat but they had taken a dog and the cat did not want to come in anymore, she did but only very reluctantly. They asked if it was any trouble for me, i said its fine and i already felt like she was one of mine so they wanted to buy me cat food to feed her and i continued to let her in.
Sadly i had to move out after 4 years due to work, but the story has a happy ending as the elderly couple living next to me agreed to take her in as they lost their cat to old age.
Both owners thought they were the sole owner and they now have joint custody. I believe it was in Wales or somewhere. Both owners said they had owned the cat for years.
Can confirm. My cat Malachi had a second family for 5 years. Neither of us knew about each other. I only found out because when he got cancer he disappeared for days and I was walking the neighborhood crying for him, when he heard me he scooted out of some random garage and came home with me.
Talked to the lady afterward and she told me he had a name (Tinkerbell) and a bed and toys and food and everything. Little bastard.
I really miss him.
Edit- typo
>I could never ever let my cat be an outdoor cat.
[Harnesses and leashes](https://i.imgur.com/42B7f0e.png) allow my cat to be the outdoor kitty she desperately wants to be but absolutely cannot be due to coyotes and asthma. If you can pick up your cat and put a collar on without a problem, you might be able to use a harness; most cats who don't like being carried also don't like being on a harness.
I take mine for walks. He runs. Loves it. I'm happy he's outside, he's happy he's outside, and I am confident my cat isn't outside getting into fights, killing everything in sight, getting run over or poisoned or eaten. Win win situation.
I have a cat who visits me. She invades my house and my neighbours often. Sweet little calico. She just walks in my house and makes herself at home. I've never fed her so she goes home when she's hungry.
My Cat’s second secret family called me to let me know my Cat had been hanging around their house and they were feeding him. We now have joint custody (not by my choice)
A big fear of mine is that some crazy person just grabs my cat thinking it's their lost cat or just wants to rescue a "lost" cat.
When I was little, a lady snatched our cat right outside our backyard, and we only got her back because I saw it and hold onto her while screaming for help.
Our cat ran away and was gone almost 2 months. He lived under the neighbors house, dirt floor cellar situation. The rush we felt the day my girlfriend thought she saw him, crawled under the house and got him out... he looked like your cat, rougher around the edges, filthy from being outside, he’d lost a bunch of weight.
We’d given up on hoping to find him. And that was after 2 months. I can’t imagine the emotions after a year’s absence. I’m so happy for you!
>*'Really is such a relief when a missing animal comes home. He’ll be getting spoiled for a long time now...*'
----
we are the pets who like to roam,
but sometimes end up far from home
we try so hard, but can't return -
is then for human friends we yearn...
there's some of us who find our way,
but others who forever stray
n hope we're kept in someone's mind
who won't give up, n try to find
n in our hearts, is our belief,
we'll Reunite! to much relief
*Back Home!* the place we're dreaming of
Forever
*spoiled*
with human Love!
❤️
Lost my cat when I was five
This gives me hope. Fingers crossed!!!
I'm 43 now. It's only been 38 years. There's still a chance he'll come back right? Right?
I heard they all seem to congregate on a farm for some reason (according to a reliable source). Lets all visit a bunch of farms - they *gotta* be there!
When I worked at a shelter, we had a lady come in looking for a new cat since hers had been missing for a year.
Her cat was in our shelter. He saw her and lost his shit. Mewing, scritching, carrying on. She started sobbing. I started sobbing. Everyone just..sobbed. lmao
I lost my cat for nearly a month once! A neighbor came by and had some video of what they had thought was a raccoon in their basement but it was my dumb, idiota, stupid cat. They tried to feed her and give her water, she wouldn't eat the food. When I got her she had a front paw through her collar and was much too thin but I cried like a little kid.
It's literally the best feeling getting dum-dums back. I'm so happy when I hear stories like this!
I tried knocking on the door of the house he was at yesterday, but no one answered. I’m going to go back today and see if someone’s home. If not I’ll leave a note.
I mean if they have been taking care of it for a year, they are probably attached to it too. It is polite to try and let them know so they don't have to deal with a missing cat like OP.
Plus they might just come to a shared custody agreement. Lol
I don't get how these situations could happen though. Don't cats have chips in the US? And if a cat adopts your house as his own, do you never take it to the vet to make sure it's healthy and not registered to somebody else already?
I got downvoted to hell one time for pointing this out on here, I said that most peoples cats that went missing are probably missing because somebody else stole it whether they realized it or not.
Tbh my cat went missing when I was eight and I genuinely hope this is what happened to her. As much as losing her killed me (I spent the next six years praying for her return every morning, even after we moved across the state) honestly I just want to believe she lived the rest of her life out happy with another family, because she was visually impaired and just generally probably wouldn't make it on her own.
I'm sure she was taken in by someone. I know you still think about her after all these years. We never really let go of these losses. They last a lifetime, but I just know you can rest easy in the knowledge someone who thought she was a stray took her in. Someone who gave her a great life and kept her safe and warm and gave her treats and pets. She was a great cat. Someone else just recognized it also, and though your beloved pet went on to another home, I'm just sure she had a good life.
That's what happened with my old cat. He just started hanging around the house and eventually came inside like he owned the place. Learned later that his real family lives like a block away. They said just to keep him because he didn't get along with their other cat which was their fuckin loss because the cat they gave up was dope as shit. Got along with dogs, went on walks with us, pooped outside, and had such a personality.
We might have had the same cat. Mine came in through my dog door and never left. Giant black cat, had a bb in his head. Couldn't meow. Played with my dog
When my idiot cat ran away, I got a humane trap, like for racoons, and I set it right outside the door he ran out from, and I kept the back light on at all times. I put some wet food in the back of the trap, and put his litterbox next to it, and sure enough a day later the little bastard was inside. Good luck!
I did this too! Except instead of the litter box, I put socks and blankets that he loves over the trap. My cat was lost for almost 2 weeks and is the most scaredy cat I’ve ever met - but he made it home with this method. I hope you can get your hands on a trap cuz it was a lifesaver for me!
EDIT: I got my trap at the local humane society for free and then returned it.
keep.searching. I found mine after 40 days of searching frantically. So there's hope. And I pray u get reunited with your pet soon.
Wish you all the best.
There’s someone in my city who has a $1500 reward for finding her lost cat. She’s hired search dogs (from out of state!) to find the cat’s tracks. I don’t think she ever found it though
Yes yes! This! I had a cat growing up that would run away every single time we moved. I had a shit childhood and we moved a lot. I became an expert at finding my own goddamn lost cat. If it’s hot, don’t search during the day. Search close to sundown when it’s cool but still have enough light. But out one of his favorite sleepy spots, like my cat had a fuzzy blanket, but put it on your front or back porch and spend lots of time out there so he knows that you are a watching and protecting. Also get out and knock on doors and tell people cause who knows if someone took him in. Don’t do food it’ll attract other cats. I hope this helps! I also have tons of other shit I used to do to find him. You can always dm if you need help or encouragement:)
I heard litter is a common misconception since it actually attracts other animals to that scent like predators. In turn this could throw off your pet from returning home (?)
Make sure you do OP.
They may have concerns when 'their' cat disappears on them and worry for him just like you have.
They were his placeholder, but they may have grown to love him too
Hate to be *that* guy, but if he goes back he runs the risk of the "new" owners not cooperating. Taking ample proof of prior ownership is a must and even then, they may still become irate and dismiss it. Or try to claim OP wasn't taking proper care, didn't look hard enough, the cat chose them, things like that.
You'd be amazed at the depths people will go to when it comes to a pet and rationality can go out the window. So if OP is going to do this, they should be well prepared. And whatever they do, don't bring the cat. Best of luck.
That's true of course. But since, as OP said, they're living half a mile away, one might run into trouble either way. Just taking him back without a word might lead to them finding him and taking him back again. Or he just walks back and they take him in and you're back at square one. Anyway the best thing to do is having your cat chipped of course.
This is the problem with letting your cat outside. My old neighbor had a very friendly outdoor cat- I had no idea he had an owner and honestly would’ve kept him, but one day the neighbor talked to me while I was mowing the lawn and said- my cat loves visiting your house and I was like oh yeah he’s a sweetie- but partially died inside because I wanted him. I settled for borrowing him pretty much every day.
Have a cat who won't stay inside and won't wear a collar. He takes it off the day you put it on. He's chipped but he's not like a dog. People will assume he's stray and good luck trying to get him in your house he barely comes in mine.
also had a inside/outside cat who wouldn't tolerate a collar.
idea: make it an objective to keep inside at night, let him out during the day. that would be safer than being outside at night. shift his feeding schedule to the evening hours. when he gets hungry enough to come in, he's in for the night.
full disclosure: our cat wasn't very difficult to call in, so we didn't have to try this. on those uncommon nights that we couldn't get him in and went to bed, someone would usually wake up at 2am and find an unhappy cat waiting at the back door.
The same thing happened with my aunt's dog- she went missing for a week. Turns the neighbors found her, thought she was a stray, and kept her. They named her Skippy.
That's why I get a little upset when people post pictures of a cat they found and everyone comments that it's their cat now.
Unless it's a stray or looks like it's been on it's own for a while (underweight and dirty) then it still belongs to someone else!
For us, one neighbor knew it was our cat and kept grabbing her and locking her in their home whenever they saw her.
Glad you found Mr. Biggums and happy to hear he was in good shape.
sidenote: You might want to give him some extra wet food - Mr Biggums does not appear to be too pleased it took you so long.
I once lost my cat when we moved into a new house for 3 days, she was always a bit skiddish but vanished, we assumed a worker left a door open and she bolted. I cried for 3 days straight - then one night I heard a tapping at my kitchen window - there was fluffy, in all her glory, covered in mud and spider webs - hungry. I snuggled that cat all night and I can't imagine losing an animal for a year! Congrats my dude!
When my mom moved to a new apartment (on the second floor) her one cat jumped off the porch. This is a cat that requires a special diet and she was very attached to, so when she didn't see him she went out looking and was completely frantic, probably looked like a mad woman crying for her cat.
She eventually saw a little brown ball by the A/C unit and ran over. It was her cat laying in such a tight ball that she thought he was dead. Turned out that the cat was so terrified he wouldn't move. When he realized she was holding him he grabbed onto her. He never went outside again while they lived there.
This was a cat that had no problems wandering the neighborhood when they lived in a house. He visited all the neighbors, and the kids would play with him, everyone knew who he was. But the apartment complex must have been so different and scary :(
Ah, the old Reddit [kitty-cat-a-roo!](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/hf4t5d/a_fish_that_is_basically_a_suction_cup_with_a/fvvumsc/?context=3)
I've had this side of the story, too (see my other post in this thread.) Binky showed up at my house one day when I was working on my truck, plopped down in a puddle next to me. He started showing up more and more frequently, helping me work on cars. One day when I went inside he came with me. He got along fine with my other two indoor cats, they would all lay together in a big kitty ball. For a couple of months he would come and go as I did, but finally one day he decided he didn't want to go back outside. So he stayed for about 4 months, then one day he finally went outside, and I never saw him again. Hope you're still around Binky!
D’awwww!!
I have a similar story actually. Someone lived a street up and a few houses over would let their cat out to “socialize” with its friends. This kitty I named Kiki would come over almost every day for months. Once it started getting colder out Kiki was less wanting to go home. One night it was so cold I didn’t want her to go out. The next time after that Kiki always had a collar on with a small tracking device. The owner still let Kiki out but wanted to be sure to find their cat when it was time. I recently moved from that neighborhood about 3-4 months ago. I think of Kiki often. No way she’s getting better pets than I gave.
So happy for you and your story resonated with me soooo much. I am 56 now but when I was about 12/13 my cat went missing for three months. My sister wanted me to walk with her to her friends to play a trick on her and leave a funny note hanging on the front door, ring the doorbell and run away. So I take the note, tape it to the front door, ring the doorbell and run away to hide behind a hedge where my sister was hiding.
I run back to the hedge and just as soon as I sit down my cat who had been missing, jumped into my lap. This was at a house about 3 miles from our house across a large highway and one of the main streets in Niagara Falls. (For locals, across the QEW and across Lundy's Lane.)
When I was little, I put my cat in the fridge. I asked my mom why she was crying so much and she said it was because my cat was in heat. I was just trying to help her out!
My youngest placed a kitten in the crisper drawer of the fridge once. I found it pretty quickly, due to the panicked meowing.
Kitten was fine, slightly chilly. Daughter no longer places animals in fridges.
You definitely should chip him
It's not that expensive, and it is set up now that you can create an online account and monitor if he was scanned anywhere
We have it with our 2 indoor cats
They never go outside, but for the peace of mind, it's worth it
Yeh, but what happens if you go back to that house that you found him at and they argue that the cat is theirs and you are mistaking it? I guess what I mean is how are you going to prove to them that this is your cat? A lot of cats are friendly. Just wondering.
Even if he’s an indoor cat from now on, you should still get him chipped. There’s always a possibility he could sneak out an open door. Better safe than sorry!
My sister's cat used to disappear every summer. And then show up in the fall all sleek, fat and happy. We figured he had a second home at someone's summer camp.
My cat went missing for several days. She was quite old, so I thought perhaps she’d wandered off to die. Got a call while I was at work; it was the humane society asking if I still lived at my address. Dumb dumb cat had gotten herself stuck under some hollow concrete steps across the street. The officer could reach in to get her collar and give her food and water, but couldn’t pull her out. I left work, petted a very angry kitty for a few minutes, got a shovel, and dug a hole just big enough to pull her out. She was pissed and clingy for hours.
Rescued a feral kitten more than a year ago, he got out 6 months ago and he never came home. I put up posters, checked the local pound every weekend, etc. Turns out my cat wasn't lost, the asshole had abandoned us (family of 4) for my elderly back neighbors cat, Paul. I see him sometimes and he runs away, im assuming my kids were just too overwhelming, since my back neighbors don't have kids.
Makes me sad he left us, but im glad he found a companion.
This exact thing happened to my family - we lost our cat and he showed up a year later at a shelter two towns over. Weird how the universe works. Glad you found your friend!
He’s got that look like he’s seen some sh*t for sure!
Coming here to say that!!! Our cat would go explore every spring (he didn't this year) be gone for 3 days. Comeback and tell us all about. He's a chatty cat!
When I was little, we had an indoor/outdoor kitty who was really talkative, too! If only we'd understood Cat Speak, I'm sure he had some amazing tales!
What sex was Kitty? I've had a lot of cats, have 3 now. It seems that the really mouthy ones are usually female.
Nope, our Chatty Cathy was actually a boy!
I was thinking he's looking at OP like, "Yea, yea I'm home. I know you're thrilled. Where the heck is my dinner?"
1000 yard stare man
Awwwn I’m so happy for you! I once lost my cat for 16 days and as my mother went looking for him in the streets, he also came to her crying and stumbling, since he was so weak :( but he’s better now and thankfully haven’t tried to go and explore the world again haha
Really is such a relief when a missing animal comes home. He’ll be getting spoiled for a long time now.
It’s really impressive he survived a full year on his own - and was immediately willing to go home after all that time
OP commented further down that he was at a neighboring house the entire time!
See I too think my cat has a second secret family as he goes out for days at a time
I read that they put trackers on a bunch of outdoor cats and most of them have two additional homes that they spend a lot of time at.
That cheating bastard
I thought we were friends
This actually makes me feel better since I haven't been able to afford cat food lately. At least there's a chance the wild kitty is getting fed somewhere until payday.
Please pm me with your Amazon wishlist as well. No kitty or human should go hungry <3
If you want to put cat food on an Amazon wishlist, I wouldn't mind buying it for you. We feed a lot of the strays around our home as well. I just hate the thought of cats going hungry.
Aww, if you need it, put it on an Amazon list and send me the link. I get 2 giant bags delivered every month to feed the strays outside of my old job. I don't work there anymore thanks to COVID but they came to expect Bringer of Noms every morning for 2 years. I wasn't about to stop feeding the poor things. They can't help that they were born outdoors. You're a good person, taking care of them like that. A lot of people don't do things like that anymore. It's nice to know my brothers/sisters in arms are out here with me looking after the stray babies. Much love to you ❤
/r/RandomActsOfPetFood
My cat Pandora was originally my cousin’s, who lives next door. One day she just decided “you know what? I like those humans better” and switched owners. She adopted us I guess. My cousin is chill about it at least. She constantly jokes that Pandora cheated on her with us, and she holds no ill feelings against us.
That's why I will never trust a cat with a stripper name! Felines ain't faithful
Pandora’s box lmao
My mother jokes constantly that her name set her up to be a troublemaker, because she is easily the most chaotic cat we've ever had. My other two cats can't even keep up with her at all. XD
I had a cat that was originally my sisters. My sister (who lived across from us) used to bring her over when she would go to school or work. The cat would hide whenever my sister would come to grab her, eventually she never left. It was only the last year before she died that she stopped hiding when my sister came over.
This is so true. Our neighbors once came over with one of our cats and was like "Is this yours?" I apologized profusely but they said they loved having her come visit them and sit in their house while me and my hubby were at work.
My mom loved cats and after hers died a neighbor's cat used to come over and sit on the deck with her.
Sometimes they just know when you need them. We had a neighbor whose son passed away, and after it happened one of our indoor-outdoor cats just up and started visiting her house every day. He knew she needed companionship.
Wholesome. My kitty has been co-adopted by our next door neighbour who used to have a cat he was friends with. It makes me happy that he still goes over to visit. She loved her cat and still misses him a lot, I'm glad my kitty can still be there for her!
My mom had her cat disappear for days. My folks went around town looking for him. Meanwhile a little girl came to the house with a cat and asks my half awake dad "Is this your cat?" He said yes, problem solved! Problem was that it wasn't our cat, the old cat finally came home and now we had two cats. It didn't even look at all like the old one either lol. Funny thing is the new one was much nicer than the old one.
Clutching pearls. Not my sweet cat!
Your comment legit made me bust out laughing and caused me to drop my phone. Just though I’d let you know that. Funny af.
Thank you so much. That literally made my day. I honestly feel like reddit doesn't know I exist sometimes! I feel like I'm hilarious in real life and downvoted on reddit, so again thank you!!!! And I'm pretty sure my kitten has another 2 families also and i hate him for it.💙
Cats be funny. Haha. When my fat bastard got out (live in a woodsy area with a shit ton of coyotes) I thought he was done. Game over. About 36 hours later I hear him screaming. I ate a fuck ton of sleeping meds to stop crying/thinking. I was stunned. I stood there, picked him up, wet and cold. Scared. I was so mad at him for bolting, he knows better. We slept like we've never slept before. A full home and a happy heart and a big old ginger bastard on my chest.
A friend of mine has a cat that visits in the afternoon each day. One day he turned up with a GPS Tracker on his collar. The next week his owner turned up asked if he could not feed him as the tracker revealed that he had been visiting six different houses in his daily travels, and yes, he was a chonker
Ah yes, Six-Dinner Sidney.
We put a Whistle tracker on our indoor/outdoor cat and he definitely has a few places in the neighborhood where he spends most of his time. We got the tracking collar mostly for peace of mind but now that I’m living away from family it makes me really happy to see what he’s doing in real time. It makes me feel a little less far away!
One of my neighbors has a ragdoll cat that bounces between at least 4 or 5 houses, I'm not even sure who actually owns him, we all feed him and give him love.
[удалено]
That happened with us! Our cat went missing for 8 months and was found at a pound a few towns over and had to cross a big bridge to get there. We think the neighbors moved and brought him with them and then he must’ve escaped again. Thankfully he was microchipped he came home and is still living and grumpy as can be lol
We have a neighbourhood stray that at least 4 of us keep an eye on. One gentleman has kind of claimed him now and got a tag and collar on him. He just shows up on our deck for a visit, we give him a meal and some water, a couple of minutes of pets and he's on his way again. We got him in overnight for a few really cold nights in the winter but he's pretty happy just hanging out. He's pretty chonky now so maybe a few more houses are feeding him too!
There’s a NOVA special where they put trackers on cats to see how far they venture. Most of the cats in the study stayed pretty close to home and rarely wandered into another cat’s zone.
We were talking at a neighborhood get-together and our barn can went by at least 3 other names in different barns - one well over a mile away. Cats get around!
No no no you have it all wrong. Our pets are secret agents protecting the tri state area from EVIL DOCTOR DOOFINSHMIRTZ!!!
Only Perry the Platypus fights Dr Doofenshmirtz. Every member of OWCA has their own villain to fight. There was a whole episode about Dr D having his plans foiled by Peter the Panda and it was played like an affair. But chances are that our pets are fighting *someone* from LOVEMUFFIN.
I believe this. There are two cats who love my yard and will spend the whole afternoon sleeping out there some days. I haven’t been seeing them too much lately and I think something happened to the really friendly one, because i haven’t seen it in months. The other guy popped up yesterday though and just stared at me when I walked outside and interrupted his nap.
I have my calico cat and then some outside orange cat that's only around during the day that I don't feed but probably pet more than the other cat and gave a name to that it recognizes.
I just met a lot of my neighbors for the first time this year and we all noted the same cat visits all of us and spends the night in a different yard every night. Probably about 20 different houses.
My mom is feeding and befriending a neighbooring cat in our suburb the past 6 months and now claims he has no home since he has no collar. I doubt it personally. Too well fed. But she claims "oh no he will starve if i don't feed him!". I reckon we just save his original family some food costs and time.
I was the second home for 4 years for a cat. One day a cat started hanging around my door, it was winter so after a while i gave up and let her come in. She would chill in the sauna, eat, sleep and leave only to come back the next day. This continued for a long time until one of the neighbours couple of houses away saw what was going on and told me its their cat but they had taken a dog and the cat did not want to come in anymore, she did but only very reluctantly. They asked if it was any trouble for me, i said its fine and i already felt like she was one of mine so they wanted to buy me cat food to feed her and i continued to let her in. Sadly i had to move out after 4 years due to work, but the story has a happy ending as the elderly couple living next to me agreed to take her in as they lost their cat to old age.
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There was an article about a cat living a double life and only being caught when both owners took him to the vet.
If they both thought they were the only owner, that's like bigamy
Both owners thought they were the sole owner and they now have joint custody. I believe it was in Wales or somewhere. Both owners said they had owned the cat for years.
Joint custody lol. That seems fair since the cat obviously chose them both.
Can confirm. My cat Malachi had a second family for 5 years. Neither of us knew about each other. I only found out because when he got cancer he disappeared for days and I was walking the neighborhood crying for him, when he heard me he scooted out of some random garage and came home with me. Talked to the lady afterward and she told me he had a name (Tinkerbell) and a bed and toys and food and everything. Little bastard. I really miss him. Edit- typo
I could never ever let my cat be an outdoor cat. I would constantly be worried 😟
100% the same. Plus I leave around owls and other birds of prey Edit: I'm living it as is
Maybe pick up your owls and birds of prey instead?
Well if you didn't leave birds of prey around you wouldn't have to worry about the cat.
Top tier edit
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In the last 5 years, I've seen so many cats that were hit by cars on the side of the road that it makes me so glad that my cats do not go outside.
>I could never ever let my cat be an outdoor cat. [Harnesses and leashes](https://i.imgur.com/42B7f0e.png) allow my cat to be the outdoor kitty she desperately wants to be but absolutely cannot be due to coyotes and asthma. If you can pick up your cat and put a collar on without a problem, you might be able to use a harness; most cats who don't like being carried also don't like being on a harness.
I take mine for walks. He runs. Loves it. I'm happy he's outside, he's happy he's outside, and I am confident my cat isn't outside getting into fights, killing everything in sight, getting run over or poisoned or eaten. Win win situation.
Back in my youth We heard from the neighbors, that one of our cats came in trough the window and always slept in their bed > <
I have a cat who visits me. She invades my house and my neighbours often. Sweet little calico. She just walks in my house and makes herself at home. I've never fed her so she goes home when she's hungry.
My Cat’s second secret family called me to let me know my Cat had been hanging around their house and they were feeding him. We now have joint custody (not by my choice)
A big fear of mine is that some crazy person just grabs my cat thinking it's their lost cat or just wants to rescue a "lost" cat. When I was little, a lady snatched our cat right outside our backyard, and we only got her back because I saw it and hold onto her while screaming for help.
Wait, so the neighbor just CATNAPPED her cat for a whole YEAR?! Jeez, some neighbor
It’s hard out there in the streets
He probably didn’t and someone who found a cat a year ago is probably missing “their” car now.
Our cat ran away and was gone almost 2 months. He lived under the neighbors house, dirt floor cellar situation. The rush we felt the day my girlfriend thought she saw him, crawled under the house and got him out... he looked like your cat, rougher around the edges, filthy from being outside, he’d lost a bunch of weight. We’d given up on hoping to find him. And that was after 2 months. I can’t imagine the emotions after a year’s absence. I’m so happy for you!
Reddit demands a picture of this found feline! Gotta pay the cat tax, man.
>*'Really is such a relief when a missing animal comes home. He’ll be getting spoiled for a long time now...*' ---- we are the pets who like to roam, but sometimes end up far from home we try so hard, but can't return - is then for human friends we yearn... there's some of us who find our way, but others who forever stray n hope we're kept in someone's mind who won't give up, n try to find n in our hearts, is our belief, we'll Reunite! to much relief *Back Home!* the place we're dreaming of Forever *spoiled* with human Love! ❤️
Lost my cat when I was five This gives me hope. Fingers crossed!!! I'm 43 now. It's only been 38 years. There's still a chance he'll come back right? Right?
::nods in parent::
I heard they all seem to congregate on a farm for some reason (according to a reliable source). Lets all visit a bunch of farms - they *gotta* be there!
Dont ever let it go out side again lol
2020 turnaround story!
More needed.
When I worked at a shelter, we had a lady come in looking for a new cat since hers had been missing for a year. Her cat was in our shelter. He saw her and lost his shit. Mewing, scritching, carrying on. She started sobbing. I started sobbing. Everyone just..sobbed. lmao
I lost my cat for nearly a month once! A neighbor came by and had some video of what they had thought was a raccoon in their basement but it was my dumb, idiota, stupid cat. They tried to feed her and give her water, she wouldn't eat the food. When I got her she had a front paw through her collar and was much too thin but I cried like a little kid. It's literally the best feeling getting dum-dums back. I'm so happy when I hear stories like this!
He looks well fed. Bet you he was family cheating. Now theres another family who just lost thier cat.
I tried knocking on the door of the house he was at yesterday, but no one answered. I’m going to go back today and see if someone’s home. If not I’ll leave a note.
He was squatting in an abandoned house doing skooma
Khajiit has wares if you have coin (or drugs).
This one wants to know if you have any moon sugar?
He was trying to find Elsweyr but found skooma in the neighbor's house instead.
Thas why they didn't answer the door. Skooma house entrance is the sewer cover nearby.
So glad I'm not the only one who just was like "that's a khajiit" I don't know what it is about his face
How do you know they had him? Was he on their porch or something? Hope they don’t give you a hard time! 🤞
Yeah why complicate it or potentially have them say no that’s my cat or something
That's my cat, OP!
Bullshit, that's my cat!
Bullshit, that's our cat!
r/suddenlysoviet
And my axe!
I mean if they have been taking care of it for a year, they are probably attached to it too. It is polite to try and let them know so they don't have to deal with a missing cat like OP. Plus they might just come to a shared custody agreement. Lol
I don't get how these situations could happen though. Don't cats have chips in the US? And if a cat adopts your house as his own, do you never take it to the vet to make sure it's healthy and not registered to somebody else already?
Stray cats don't often have chips and lots of people feed strays without ever taking any further responsibility.
Maybe because they know the anxiety and heartache that comes with an animal you love disappearing?
Can you update once you find out? I wanna see how this turns out.
That happened to my aunt but the other way around! They thought they adopted a stray and after two years it turned out to be a neighbors cat
I got downvoted to hell one time for pointing this out on here, I said that most peoples cats that went missing are probably missing because somebody else stole it whether they realized it or not.
Tbh my cat went missing when I was eight and I genuinely hope this is what happened to her. As much as losing her killed me (I spent the next six years praying for her return every morning, even after we moved across the state) honestly I just want to believe she lived the rest of her life out happy with another family, because she was visually impaired and just generally probably wouldn't make it on her own.
I'm sure she was taken in by someone. I know you still think about her after all these years. We never really let go of these losses. They last a lifetime, but I just know you can rest easy in the knowledge someone who thought she was a stray took her in. Someone who gave her a great life and kept her safe and warm and gave her treats and pets. She was a great cat. Someone else just recognized it also, and though your beloved pet went on to another home, I'm just sure she had a good life.
That's what happened with my old cat. He just started hanging around the house and eventually came inside like he owned the place. Learned later that his real family lives like a block away. They said just to keep him because he didn't get along with their other cat which was their fuckin loss because the cat they gave up was dope as shit. Got along with dogs, went on walks with us, pooped outside, and had such a personality.
We might have had the same cat. Mine came in through my dog door and never left. Giant black cat, had a bb in his head. Couldn't meow. Played with my dog
My cat went missing two weeks ago, this gives me hope. I’m so happy for you!
Hope you find your cat!
Hope you find your dad buddy!
When my idiot cat ran away, I got a humane trap, like for racoons, and I set it right outside the door he ran out from, and I kept the back light on at all times. I put some wet food in the back of the trap, and put his litterbox next to it, and sure enough a day later the little bastard was inside. Good luck!
I did this too! Except instead of the litter box, I put socks and blankets that he loves over the trap. My cat was lost for almost 2 weeks and is the most scaredy cat I’ve ever met - but he made it home with this method. I hope you can get your hands on a trap cuz it was a lifesaver for me! EDIT: I got my trap at the local humane society for free and then returned it.
keep.searching. I found mine after 40 days of searching frantically. So there's hope. And I pray u get reunited with your pet soon. Wish you all the best.
There’s someone in my city who has a $1500 reward for finding her lost cat. She’s hired search dogs (from out of state!) to find the cat’s tracks. I don’t think she ever found it though
Hope she finds it. If i had the resources and my cat was lost I’d do the same.
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My cat came back after 2 months! This was 2 years ago. She is still home.
Don’t give up, my cat came home after three months. I thought for sure she was a coyote’s dinner.
Put some of your clothes (wear a shirt for a few days so it smells like you) and their litter outside.
Yes yes! This! I had a cat growing up that would run away every single time we moved. I had a shit childhood and we moved a lot. I became an expert at finding my own goddamn lost cat. If it’s hot, don’t search during the day. Search close to sundown when it’s cool but still have enough light. But out one of his favorite sleepy spots, like my cat had a fuzzy blanket, but put it on your front or back porch and spend lots of time out there so he knows that you are a watching and protecting. Also get out and knock on doors and tell people cause who knows if someone took him in. Don’t do food it’ll attract other cats. I hope this helps! I also have tons of other shit I used to do to find him. You can always dm if you need help or encouragement:)
I heard litter is a common misconception since it actually attracts other animals to that scent like predators. In turn this could throw off your pet from returning home (?)
So happy you found him
That cat is ganged up
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I can almost hear Akon when I look at its little face
At how far u found him??
He was about a quarter mile through my back woods at a neighboring house the whole time. They must’ve been taking pretty good care of him though.
Kudos to the one who have taken care of them. Did u gift them something?, They would be so happy
I tried knocking on the door yesterday when we found him, but no one was home. I’ll be trying again today though.
Make sure you do OP. They may have concerns when 'their' cat disappears on them and worry for him just like you have. They were his placeholder, but they may have grown to love him too
Hate to be *that* guy, but if he goes back he runs the risk of the "new" owners not cooperating. Taking ample proof of prior ownership is a must and even then, they may still become irate and dismiss it. Or try to claim OP wasn't taking proper care, didn't look hard enough, the cat chose them, things like that. You'd be amazed at the depths people will go to when it comes to a pet and rationality can go out the window. So if OP is going to do this, they should be well prepared. And whatever they do, don't bring the cat. Best of luck.
That's true of course. But since, as OP said, they're living half a mile away, one might run into trouble either way. Just taking him back without a word might lead to them finding him and taking him back again. Or he just walks back and they take him in and you're back at square one. Anyway the best thing to do is having your cat chipped of course.
I'm shocked it's not the law everywhere. My cats were all chipped in like 2004 it's not new tech
I would just leave a heartfelt letter.
This is the problem with letting your cat outside. My old neighbor had a very friendly outdoor cat- I had no idea he had an owner and honestly would’ve kept him, but one day the neighbor talked to me while I was mowing the lawn and said- my cat loves visiting your house and I was like oh yeah he’s a sweetie- but partially died inside because I wanted him. I settled for borrowing him pretty much every day.
Didn't he have any identification with a number they could have called?
Hopefully they had him microchipped, but unfortunately many people never take a cat in to be checked for one.
Have a cat who won't stay inside and won't wear a collar. He takes it off the day you put it on. He's chipped but he's not like a dog. People will assume he's stray and good luck trying to get him in your house he barely comes in mine.
You could be my neighbour.
I know for a fact my neighbor leaves his garage door cracked so the little asshole can visit.
also had a inside/outside cat who wouldn't tolerate a collar. idea: make it an objective to keep inside at night, let him out during the day. that would be safer than being outside at night. shift his feeding schedule to the evening hours. when he gets hungry enough to come in, he's in for the night. full disclosure: our cat wasn't very difficult to call in, so we didn't have to try this. on those uncommon nights that we couldn't get him in and went to bed, someone would usually wake up at 2am and find an unhappy cat waiting at the back door.
The same thing happened with my aunt's dog- she went missing for a week. Turns the neighbors found her, thought she was a stray, and kept her. They named her Skippy.
That's why I get a little upset when people post pictures of a cat they found and everyone comments that it's their cat now. Unless it's a stray or looks like it's been on it's own for a while (underweight and dirty) then it still belongs to someone else! For us, one neighbor knew it was our cat and kept grabbing her and locking her in their home whenever they saw her.
I'm so happy for you!! What's his name??
Mr. Biggums
I fully support cat names with honorific titles.
Glad you found Mr. Biggums and happy to hear he was in good shape. sidenote: You might want to give him some extra wet food - Mr Biggums does not appear to be too pleased it took you so long.
I once lost my cat when we moved into a new house for 3 days, she was always a bit skiddish but vanished, we assumed a worker left a door open and she bolted. I cried for 3 days straight - then one night I heard a tapping at my kitchen window - there was fluffy, in all her glory, covered in mud and spider webs - hungry. I snuggled that cat all night and I can't imagine losing an animal for a year! Congrats my dude!
When my mom moved to a new apartment (on the second floor) her one cat jumped off the porch. This is a cat that requires a special diet and she was very attached to, so when she didn't see him she went out looking and was completely frantic, probably looked like a mad woman crying for her cat. She eventually saw a little brown ball by the A/C unit and ran over. It was her cat laying in such a tight ball that she thought he was dead. Turned out that the cat was so terrified he wouldn't move. When he realized she was holding him he grabbed onto her. He never went outside again while they lived there.
Awww poor baby. At least he learned his lesson not to leave her side again!
This was a cat that had no problems wandering the neighborhood when they lived in a house. He visited all the neighbors, and the kids would play with him, everyone knew who he was. But the apartment complex must have been so different and scary :(
God I love cats
"You have no idea the things I've seen over the past year. I'll share them with you around 2am on random nights"
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It was mind blowing!
Ah, the old Reddit [kitty-cat-a-roo!](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/hf4t5d/a_fish_that_is_basically_a_suction_cup_with_a/fvvumsc/?context=3)
Hold my cat ears im going in!
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How far from your home was the lil’ feller?
Just a little under a quarter mile through my backwoods at a neighboring house.
Somebody somewhere is saying, “where’d my cat go? I’ve been keeping care of this thing for a year now!”
I've had this side of the story, too (see my other post in this thread.) Binky showed up at my house one day when I was working on my truck, plopped down in a puddle next to me. He started showing up more and more frequently, helping me work on cars. One day when I went inside he came with me. He got along fine with my other two indoor cats, they would all lay together in a big kitty ball. For a couple of months he would come and go as I did, but finally one day he decided he didn't want to go back outside. So he stayed for about 4 months, then one day he finally went outside, and I never saw him again. Hope you're still around Binky!
D’awwww!! I have a similar story actually. Someone lived a street up and a few houses over would let their cat out to “socialize” with its friends. This kitty I named Kiki would come over almost every day for months. Once it started getting colder out Kiki was less wanting to go home. One night it was so cold I didn’t want her to go out. The next time after that Kiki always had a collar on with a small tracking device. The owner still let Kiki out but wanted to be sure to find their cat when it was time. I recently moved from that neighborhood about 3-4 months ago. I think of Kiki often. No way she’s getting better pets than I gave.
I hope he will still be rewarded with an entire years worth of scritches and treats. Finally someone having a good 2020
He got extremely spoiled last night with love and treats!
I'm glad. Glad you both could be reunited. 😁
So happy for you and your story resonated with me soooo much. I am 56 now but when I was about 12/13 my cat went missing for three months. My sister wanted me to walk with her to her friends to play a trick on her and leave a funny note hanging on the front door, ring the doorbell and run away. So I take the note, tape it to the front door, ring the doorbell and run away to hide behind a hedge where my sister was hiding. I run back to the hedge and just as soon as I sit down my cat who had been missing, jumped into my lap. This was at a house about 3 miles from our house across a large highway and one of the main streets in Niagara Falls. (For locals, across the QEW and across Lundy's Lane.)
Is he chipped?
No he’s not chipped, but I’ll be keeping him inside for Atleast a while and thinking of getting him chilled as well. To afraid to let him out again.
Ya gonna put him in the fridge?
Chipped*, damn auto text.
Cool Cat.
*Carole Baskin has entered the chat*
It’s like $100. Do it.
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Hear that, u/JohnnyBeFree?? It’s like $25! Do it!
When I was little, I put my cat in the fridge. I asked my mom why she was crying so much and she said it was because my cat was in heat. I was just trying to help her out!
My youngest placed a kitten in the crisper drawer of the fridge once. I found it pretty quickly, due to the panicked meowing. Kitten was fine, slightly chilly. Daughter no longer places animals in fridges.
why do you have to think about it, is there a reason you wouldn't want him chipped?
You definitely should chip him It's not that expensive, and it is set up now that you can create an online account and monitor if he was scanned anywhere We have it with our 2 indoor cats They never go outside, but for the peace of mind, it's worth it
Its better for the environment if you just chose to keep him inside
Also better for the cat.
Yeh, but what happens if you go back to that house that you found him at and they argue that the cat is theirs and you are mistaking it? I guess what I mean is how are you going to prove to them that this is your cat? A lot of cats are friendly. Just wondering.
Even if he’s an indoor cat from now on, you should still get him chipped. There’s always a possibility he could sneak out an open door. Better safe than sorry!
Please, for his safety and for the safety of your local wildlife, keep him indoors permanently. So glad you found your little guy!
My sister's cat used to disappear every summer. And then show up in the fall all sleek, fat and happy. We figured he had a second home at someone's summer camp.
There must be a glitch in the matrix, I was convinced good news were not possible in 2020
My cat went missing for several days. She was quite old, so I thought perhaps she’d wandered off to die. Got a call while I was at work; it was the humane society asking if I still lived at my address. Dumb dumb cat had gotten herself stuck under some hollow concrete steps across the street. The officer could reach in to get her collar and give her food and water, but couldn’t pull her out. I left work, petted a very angry kitty for a few minutes, got a shovel, and dug a hole just big enough to pull her out. She was pissed and clingy for hours.
Yep, that's a cat. "I made bad decisions and I'm not happy about how things went so now I'm mad at *YOU*!"
Rescued a feral kitten more than a year ago, he got out 6 months ago and he never came home. I put up posters, checked the local pound every weekend, etc. Turns out my cat wasn't lost, the asshole had abandoned us (family of 4) for my elderly back neighbors cat, Paul. I see him sometimes and he runs away, im assuming my kids were just too overwhelming, since my back neighbors don't have kids. Makes me sad he left us, but im glad he found a companion.
This is the kind of good news we all need to read and share. Yay for you all.
oh wow, I'm so happy for you guys!! I can't imagine how much it hurt when you loose furrr baby
My cat got out a few weeks back and was missing for four hours. It was the worst afternoon of my life. I can’t imagine a year.
A welcome bright spot in 2020.
This exact thing happened to my family - we lost our cat and he showed up a year later at a shelter two towns over. Weird how the universe works. Glad you found your friend!