hello, i am new here, i hope you can help. my cat has been missing for almost 20 hours. I searched the neighborhood all morning and afternoon, i posted flyers and dropped them off in peoples mailboxes, cryed, prayed, called the animal shelter. she doesn't usually stay out for more than 2 or 3 hours, and then it's almost always in our yard or our neighbors(who love cats)
this is the first cat i have ever had, (lots of dogs, though.)is this normal cat stuff ? do they do this? someone told me her cat left for 3 days and then showed up like nothing happened.
any advice would be apprieciated. i've lurked here before and i know how helpful and supportive you guys are for each other.

Thank you.

I can't really offer any advice since my cats are strictly indoors only, but :hug:

It's possible she got stuck in someone's garage. That has happened to my parents' cats many times. Ask your neighbors with closed garages if you could check. I think someone else found one of their cats sleeping in the back of their car. I'd call the animal shelters daily in the meantime.

Same here, but I do know that it's not totally uncommon for a cat to be gone for more than a few hours. I know how stressful it must be, you can't help but worry.

There is this one cat that lives across the street (outside) who is "friendly" with only me, my boyfriend and the lady who lives in the house across the street. He is very vicious and skittish to people and other cats. We take care of him and play with him when he is actually around. But anyway, every once in a while he will disappear for literally weeks, then he will just show up one day hopping down the sidewalk with his tail straight in the air, meowing like nothing ever happened. I think he has a beach house or something, lol.

Putting out flyers and calling shelters is a great precaution to take, just don't make yourself crazy... I know it's hard not to because she's your baby, but I'm sure she will be fine. Cats are weird like that. Good luck and keep us posted.

Cats do sometimes just do that, or get into messes and come back. Put out some food to (hopefully) attract her, put up signs, check local animal shelters. Does your cat have a collar with an ID tag? Is she neutered/spayed?

This link has really good advice on how a cat's temperment affect their behavior when they're "lost" and how to make flyers and posters if applicable. http://www.lostapet.org/missing_cat.shtml

thanks for the advice. i left a message at both animal shelters in our county (i do fundraising for one of them so that's good.) from what i am hearing most cats will go missing for a few days every once in a while. she just had all her shots last month, as she's a year old, and she's fixed and has claws. she has a collar, but it's one of those breakaway ones so that might not help.

Kattfink: i feel better knowing she's probably at the beach house. Mitzi is a pretty tough girl, avoids people but when she's in our yard she gets really mad at the strays.

blue plastic straw : that's great site. i am a little more concerned now but i will pick up some traps tommorrow from the shelter, and am thinking she might be hurt, or she's just feeling she's a big cat now to hang out with the strays in the patch of woods behind our place. thanks again.

I feel a little dramatic, being new to the boards and all, but thank you for the support. i guess i was a little desperate for sympathy and support from people who know it's not just a cat. blessings, Michelle
ETA: to everyone, thanks!Meatless, TY for the hug.

My experience with looking for dogs, is that it's really best to send someone to the animal shelter, preferably with a picture of your cat to leave behind. Sometimes shelter's get so busy and what not, that calling may not be enough. Also, you may want to call the local vets, many of them will take in strays, or if someone did find your cat they may have taken them in there.

I will pray for you on a hopeful note I had a cat that was lost for over a month we where able to find him and we had him for 12 more years till he passed.

My experience with looking for dogs, is that it's really best to send someone to the animal shelter, preferably with a picture of your cat to leave behind. Sometimes shelter's get so busy and what not, that calling may not be enough. Also, you may want to call the local vets, many of them will take in strays, or if someone did find your cat they may have taken them in there.

thanks. i did that after they called (i left a message) saying they found a female calico cat, it was the wrong one though.

i called the vets, i ran out of printer ink and just went to kinko's and they made me really large flyers, i'm posting those at the vets in the am.

I will pray for you on a hopeful note I had a cat that was lost for over a month we where able to find him and we had him for 12 more years till he passed.

prayers are always appreiciated. my hope is that she got chased out of her territory, and is working her way back. everyone's been teling me the same thing, she could be gone for a while and pop back up.

it's 9:00 pm here, and we're going out now to look again. i've been crawling under porches all day.

It's pretty common for kitties to take off galavantin around the area. Usually they just pop back in when they are ready, probably at your front or back door.

It's pretty common for kitties to take off galavantin around the area. Usually they just pop back in when they are ready, probably at your front or back door.

To give you some hope when I was young we had our 12 year old cat disappear for 3 months and then just show up like nothing had happened.

Once my two cats got out because I had a crappy door that didn't close properly and I didn't lock it. After frantically searching the area for an hour I spotted the old one about 20 feet from the door, turning in circles and looking confused. I took her back in and looked for my kitten (then 5 but still my kitten) for another hour. I found her in front of the building wandering up the stairs (my door was in back).

Maybe if you spent some extra time looking around your property and the adjacent ones she'll turn up close to home? It seems that alot of cats don't like to go very far, being territorial animals. I don't know what else to suggest, but I hope you find her/she finds you soon.

I really hope you find your cat soon. This is another reason why I am pro-indoor only cat. The cat may know how to get home and all, but there are some pretty cruel people out there :(

Her name is Mitzi? Odd, my grandfather's cat's name is Mitzi and she's missing too..

I hope you've found your cat!!

If you haven't, don't assume that somewhere is too far for the cat to have wandered. I lost a kitten once because I spent too much time looking for her close to home to realize she had wandered way down the street to the park (where someone picked her up and took her home).

To give you some hope when I was young we had our 12 year old cat disappear for 3 months and then just show up like nothing had happened.

I fathom it's journeys............

To give you hope, we also had a cat that was gone for two weeks when I lived with my parents and they allowed him outdoors. He was simply on the prowl, even though he was neutered. He came home one rainy night, a bit dehydrated and hungry, but otherwise fine.

MitziKatt is safe home. she was trapped somewhere(we suspect in a house that is new construction at the end of the block. it's empty) I had just got home from making my neighbors open up all their sheds and basements and 45 minutes later she streaked in like all get out, meowing and complaining, thirsty,hungry, and really dusty. it was like seeing a ghost. i definitly think she was trapped because her claws are worn down in the front and wasn't hurt at all, just dusty. not woods or outside type dirt. and after she ate and drank and cuddled with me for like an hour, she checked out every room in the house, then walked the perimeter of the yard(on the halter), then took a nap with me.
i had been on the website that BluePlasticStraw had given me and there is a link to a "cat profiler" who evaluates your cat's personality, and after talking to her she suggested that the cat would be either trapped or hurt and hiding, but really close.she was really sweet and really helpful. i had checked all the garages and sheds of my neighbors, but never thought to check that house because of the construction going on next door.

anyway, she's home:vebo: :nana: :bobo: , thank you for you support and encouragement. it helps to have a lot of people tell you everything will be okay. in appreciation, i am posting my spicy blackeyed peas and greens receipe.
Going forward, she's only outside supervised, and in by dark. we are going to start walking her on the halter so she can explore a bit and looking into GPS collars or microchipping. It was a lesson alright.

thanks again!!!

I'm glad this had a happy ending, and that you're taking steps to prevent it from happening again. :)

Her name is Mitzi? Odd, my grandfather's cat's name is Mitzi and she's missing too..


is your grandfather swedish,german,austrian? it means "little cat" or "kitty" in a austrian dialect.(all those countries seem to have some words in similar.)

i hope he finds her! I'm sending good energy his way.

I'm glad this had a happy ending, and that you're taking steps to prevent it from happening again. :)

thanks. they would have to medicate me. i was a wreck.

your avatar makes me smile! i love baby cats!

thanks. they would have to medicate me. i was a wreck.

your avatar makes me smile! i love baby cats!

I can imagine. I've dreamed that my cats got loose and woke up bawling.

My avatar is my son, Chewy. He's no longer a kitten, but he's even cuter now than he was then. :)

I'm so glad Mitzi is home safe and sound! Yay! :pibo: :vebo: :nana: :bobo: