Our cat just vanished.

[sc00ter]

My wife and I have 3 cats. Their inside/outside cats but the 2 primary outside cats rarely leave the block. The neighborhood has a pretty high feral cat population so everyone in the area feeds the strays. But our white and black cat, Top Hat, wen't out on Thursday at 3pm and never returned. Its now Saturday and still no sign of him. I'm fearing the worse. He's fixed so I know he didn't run off with a lady. I've combed the area countless times and haven't found anything. The neighbors haven't seen anything weird. No one is currently setting feral traps. No creepy kids in the area or people walking mean dogs. This cat is super skittish and will not approach anyone he doesn't know.

We put out a APB at the local animal rescue, city animal control (check it daily) and have the neighbors on the look out as well. This is the only cat out of our 3 that I would rescue from a bird of prey attack or from a huge snake. The other 2 are annoying.

My wife is in tears as this was her little dude. I would pick him up against his will every morning before letting him out and kiss his ears and rub his head. We've had him for around 3 years and suddenly, POOF, gone. I figured if he got clipped by a car (they speed thru the 'hood really fast) and died in a bush or something I'd find a body. I also walked between all the houses calling him knowing he has a loud meow, figuring he could have got trapped under a crawl space but no luck. This is really horrible and I'm at a loss on what to do now.

Only other pet I've had that "vanished" was a Quaker Parrot that a EX-girlfriends dumb kids let it fly out an open window. I was driving 18wheelers at the time and no one was getting her wings clipped. Had that bird 4 years and she knew a bunch of words and was a feathered friend. I later found out they were illegal in PA state because they're an evasive species to local birds.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

So sorry to hear this, Scooter. My hope is that your beloved Top Hat shows up at the front door soon. And when he does.......that will be the last time he is allowed outside the house as he now transitions into a new world as a house cat! All the best to you and Mrs Scooter during this uncertain time.

 

[Handlebars]

Hoping he returns to you.

 

[dodgeman]

Cats just disappear sometimes. Hard to say what happened. We had two cats for about 14 years and had to put them both down last year, pretty sad and emotional times. They become a big part of your life.

 

[procreator]

Hope your cat returns.

Are there coyotes in your area? A friend lives in the DFW area where there is rapid growth. The neighborhood committee has warned people not to walk or jog at night without a club or baseball bat to fend off coyotes. Need to keep their pets inside from early evening until well after sunrise unless they are accompanied.

 

[sc00ter]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I've always had pets and loosing them is always hard. As I type this my annoying cat is around 18 or 19 years old. He was stray when I got him as a kitten. He's a senior citizen and just wants to snuggle and annoy you ALL THE TIME! I call him stupid names bit I think he's almost deaf (almost spelled death!) at this point. I know when he'll pass on, he's old. Poor Top Hat was young. At least we give our cats a good and healthy life.

And I feel ya on the cat loss dodgeman. We had a guy come to the house and put down my wife's other cat who had a stroke. That was hard on us but the vet had a way with words like Bob Ross had when painting. He really helped put things into perspective.

Really quick, he told this joke. Yes, a joke.
So a service dog dies and goes to heaven and approaches God sitting in his throne. God goes "What have you done for the human race?' and the dog replies "I helped my human find their way thru the dark, ensuring they were safe. I was their eyes and took great pride in my service work." So God says "Your'e in. Enjoy the afterlife faithful dog."
Now a cat comes in and approaches God. God asked "Cat, what good have you done for the human race?" The cat looks a God and says "You're in my seat mister."

 

[sc00ter]

What the heck! He, Top Hat, just showed up at the door! He vanished on Thursday after 3pm and just showed up on Sunday at 10:30, right when Face The Nation started. He has never vanished for more than half a day. He's chunky and my wife spoils him with Greenies, aka cat crack! I suspect we have new kittens in the 'hood. He LOVES kittens.

 

[AlanDB]

Glad to hear you have him back.

 

[Taylor57]

My wife and I have 3 cats. Their inside/outside cats but the 2 primary outside cats rarely leave the block. The neighborhood has a pretty high feral cat population so everyone in the area feeds the strays. But our white and black cat, Top Hat, wen't out on Thursday at 3pm and never returned. Its now Saturday and still no sign of him. I'm fearing the worse. He's fixed so I know he didn't run off with a lady. I've combed the area countless times and haven't found anything. The neighbors haven't seen anything weird. No one is currently setting feral traps. No creepy kids in the area or people walking mean dogs. This cat is super skittish and will not approach anyone he doesn't know.

We put out a APB at the local animal rescue, city animal control (check it daily) and have the neighbors on the look out as well. This is the only cat out of our 3 that I would rescue from a bird of prey attack or from a huge snake. The other 2 are annoying.

My wife is in tears as this was her little dude. I would pick him up against his will every morning before letting him out and kiss his ears and rub his head. We've had him for around 3 years and suddenly, POOF, gone. I figured if he got clipped by a car (they speed thru the 'hood really fast) and died in a bush or something I'd find a body. I also walked between all the houses calling him knowing he has a loud meow, figuring he could have got trapped under a crawl space but no luck. This is really horrible and I'm at a loss on what to do now.

Only other pet I've had that "vanished" was a Quaker Parrot that a EX-girlfriends dumb kids let it fly out an open window. I was driving 18wheelers at the time and no one was getting her wings clipped. Had that bird 4 years and she knew a bunch of words and was a feathered friend. I later found out they were illegal in PA state because they're an evasive species to local birds.

Don't give up. We had a cat disappear outside at night a year or so ago and he returned about a week later. No clue where he went. We assumed he was killed by Coyotes or Bobcats...

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

What the heck! He, Top Hat, just showed up at the door! He vanished on Thursday after 3pm and just showed up on Sunday at 10:30, right when Face The Nation started. He has never vanished for more than half a day. He's chunky and my wife spoils him with Greenies, aka cat crack! I suspect we have new kittens in the 'hood. He LOVES kittens.

This is fantastic news. I hope you consider my suggestion of keeping him housebound. Worries about wondering off and getting attacked by some predator or hit by a vehicle are eliminated. The cat will acclimate to the new routine.

 

[Marci jo]

Whoo Hoo!
Glad your kitty is back.
So typical of cats. I had one that escaped from my house. Just like you we searched & searched. After about a week we gave up. Then exactly 4 weeks to the day the darn cat shows up in the back yard. Very thin but completely unharmed. We figured she was living in our woods catching an occasional bird. Perhaps they truly do have 9 lives.

 

[dodgeman]

He’s back in the fold!

 

[sc00ter]

Marci jo, I have a cat that has way more than 9 lives. He's so old, Julius, that I think he belonged to Jesus before I got him. Julius kept putting his cold nose on Jesus and got shoved away, fell off the cloud and when he hit the ground his wings broke off and he got trapped on earth. I found him and he does the same annoying things to me that he did to Jesus. Every time I think this cat will go to the light, Jesus gives him bonus lives because Jesus doesn't want to get cold nosed again. Julius is old and really looks it but he gets a clean bill of health every year.

Two of my cats are currently on the 'Go play with a huge snake.' or 'Birds of prey are really friendly.' The gray cat Yarg, because she's mean. And Julius because he's been extra annoying. Top Hat has been on this list as well. I tell my cats that snakes grow the catnip and birds of prey do the processing at the factory, and both will give them free tours. No one's been hugged by a stray snake or carried off by a huge bird.

 

[kevinmccune]

Our cats have plenty cover these days, OTH our feathered friends do not fare as well, there are big Red-tailed Hawks, ferocious owls( the anti-Hawk I am told) and a "Pie Bald Eagle" or two( thats the real name BTW), waterfowl and chickens catch hell, not to mention unleashed dogs running amok. My favorite animal shelter cat, finally left never to return after He was diagnosed with a tumor, Gary was His name and He never bothered birds, just the big game rabbits and groundhogs, He ate what He caught too.

 

[Noah526]

It was hard for me to read your story because I once had something similar. I woke up in the morning and went outside to feed my cat, but he was nowhere to be found, I left a bowl of food outside every day for him to eat if anything. Unfortunately, he never showed up. So I'm glad for you that your cat came home.

 

[kevinmccune]

It was hard for me to read your story because I once had something similar. I woke up in the morning and went outside to feed my cat, but he was nowhere to be found, I left a bowl of food outside every day for him to eat if anything. Unfortunately, he never showed up. So I'm glad for you that your cat came home.

Cats know when they are ready to pass, they like to find a nice secluded place to die in peace I presume.

 

[kevinmccune]

Hey sc00ter, what do you think about "Lectrics" trike? I am in the process of making a 'reverse trike and maybe a nice delta will come along that will change my mind.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Lots of cats disappear in my area. Usually lost to mountain lion, coyote, or bobcat. Glad you cat returned. Losing a pet can be a devastating loss.

 

[Rexlion]

My daughter lives a few miles from town but has a neighbor a hundred yards away. The neighbor's orange cat, Stanley, comes over quite a bit and DD feeds and pets it. The grandkids like Stanley also.

One day recently, the neighbor came over all sad because Stanley was lying dead and a bit mangled out on the road, must've gotten run over. So DD dug a hole and she and the neighbor buried the cat with a grave marker labeled "Stanley".

About an hour later, granddaughter came running to DD: "Stanley's outside the door!" Back from the dead, LOL! Apparently the one they buried was some other orange cat, and they don't know whose it was.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

That is both funny and sad!