My baby (my cat Toogies) has been missing since two days before Easter. :( Now, I know the importance of making your cats indoor cats. I will never have an outdoor cat again.

I do have some comfort knowing that she lived a very happy life, even thought it was short. I'm praying that she got taken in by a good family who loves her as much as I do.

That cat was my second child.

I should have listened to everyone who encouraged me to make her an indoor cat. I miss my baby so much.

RIP Toogies. :cry:

:hug:

Why do you assume that she's no longer alive? Perhaps she's hiding out somewhere, eating food left out for other pets, scared, but alive. I'm curious: What have you done, if anything, to look for her?

I'm sorry she's missing, and I hope she's alive and will come home soon.

My cat was free roaming outside. I only had my cat about a year and vowed if I ever got another cat, si would be a limited outdoor cat.
That is inside most of the time with some limited cat recess, maybe outside once a week, that kind of thing.

:hug:

Why do you assume that she's no longer alive? Perhaps she's hiding out somewhere, eating food left out for other pets, scared, but alive. I'm curious: What have you done, if anything, to look for her?

I'm sorry she's missing, and I hope she's alive and will come home soon.
The last time I saw her, she looked really sick. She lost tons of weight. I tried to find her to take her to the vet, but I couldn't find her. She was up to date on all of her shots, had been wormed and everything, but she looked like she had feline leukemia, or however you spell that.

From now on, the only exposure my future cats will have to the outdoors will be sitting in the window sill!

awwww :hug:

i know its really sad, but i wouldn't be so sure that she's gone to kitty heaven. cats are funny things, and they might storm off somewhere and move out without letting you know, but they do know how to look out for themselves pretty well- i bet she has just moved in with someone else.

before i was born my parents had this cat called daisy, and for some reason she flounced off one day and didnt come home. needless to say everyone thought the worst and assumed they'd seen the last of her. 5 years my dad heard a weird noise at the back door in a snowstorm (it hardly ever snows where we lived) and opened the door to be confronted by a very annoyed looking daisy, a bit scruffy, with a few fleas, but none the worse for wear. daisy flounced back in the door, and gave my dad a "where the he11 is my dinner and who is this small child (me)" look, and that was that, she was back, lol.

we've also had a cat of ours who moved in with a family a few blocks away, we though he was in kitty heaven till we saw him being fussed by someone in their garden once, a few years later, and a few from the neighbours who tried (unsuscessfully) to move in with us cos they liked our brand of cat food, lol.

i know a lot of people think its better to keep cats indoors, for lots of reasons, and its their choice, but in the UK i think we tend to let them out more- i guess its different in the states- we don't declaw them either.

i think that if i was a cat i'd really want to be able to feel the long grass on my whiskers, the breeze in my fur, chase a few butterflies and roll about in the sunshine, even if it was a little risky for me to mooch too far from home, instead of never experiencing these things and just seeing them from a window. i don't think its in any creatures nature to be confined that much. maybe if you get another cat you could find a middle ground, and find her a safe enclosed spot to be outside in sometimes, ( kinda like a big rabbit run, lol) or get her a leash, lol, i've seen people do it!

i'm thinking happy thoughts for you and your kitty :hug:

Being outside is healthy for a cat's mental well being as I read that indoors cats have more mental problems.
But then they get hit by cars, killed by predators, risk being hurt by cruel people and kill wildlife so having a free roaming cat is definatly a bad idea. Even if one lives where there's not much traffic, then there's more wildlife for the cat to kill.

Limited outdoor time would balance the risks, protect other wildlife with the mental stimulation they get. You train them with food to come back inside after cat recess is over.

A cat lost for five years?....wow, you think she'd gone feral or become attached to new people by then.

From now on, the only exposure my future cats will have to the outdoors will be sitting in the window sill!

I understand how you feel, and my cats are strictly indoor cats. But there's nothing wrong with taking the cats outside as long as they're strictly under human supervision. That means you can put a collar and a harness on a cat, and if the cat doesn't mind, he or she can be taken for a walk! There are also cat runs such as
this (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7336&N=2002+113873) and variations thereof.

Just trying to say that any future kitty you may parent can have the best of both worlds. :)

i am sorry Catgirl. :hug:

I'm sorry, catgirl. People give me funny looks because I only let my cats out on harnesses, but I think it is the best of both worlds. I hope your baby is safe somewhere.

The last time I saw her, she looked really sick. She lost tons of weight. I tried to find her to take her to the vet, but I couldn't find her. She was up to date on all of her shots, had been wormed and everything, but she looked like she had feline leukemia, or however you spell that.

From now on, the only exposure my future cats will have to the outdoors will be sitting in the window sill!

whoa whoa whoa....You mean you SAW her and she looked ill and you didn't go try to get her and and least have her euthanized if she was suffering?

Tell me if I am reading this wrong...

Sorry to hear that, Catgirl. :(

whoa whoa whoa....You mean you SAW her and she looked ill and you didn't go try to get her and and least have her euthanized if she was suffering?

Tell me if I am reading this wrong...
In my OP, I said that I tried to get her to take her to the vet. Maybe I should have gone into more depth. I went into the house to get the cat carrier, and when I came outside, she was gone. I couldn't find her. I was far from a neglectful pet owner. My cat was better taken care of than I was.

Sorry catgirl67. :(

Sorry to hear that. I would be very sad if I lost one of my fur babies.



Being outside is healthy for a cat's mental well being as I read that indoors cats have more mental problems.

I'd like to point out that all of my cats have been indoor only cats and none of them are mentally ill. My neighbors three cats who go outside are much more unstable than any of my cats!! But this isn't the place to argue indoor v. outdoor cats. There's a whole thread for that somewhere.

Dont give up catgirl, you never know, she may come back.
when we first moved into this house, my in laws came over one night and they let my 2 cats run out, they had been indoor cats for year, well they didnt come back, i searched for days couldnt find them, i was hearbroken, we live in a rural area, you can hear the coyotes yipping at night so i was sure they had been eaten.........about a week or so later i look outside and one cat is perched on top of my car in the driveway!!! then about another week or 2 later, im coming home from work from 3-11 and i would always call out for them just in case, well i called and the other one came running out of the woods!!!!!!!
so you just never know, cats are funny survivalists, she may come back,
i hope so

In my OP, I said that I tried to get her to take her to the vet. Maybe I should have gone into more depth. I went into the house to get the cat carrier, and when I came outside, she was gone. I couldn't find her. I was far from a neglectful pet owner. My cat was better taken care of than I was.

That sucks...I wasn't sure..I misunderstood your message

:(

Oh no. :( I'm so so sorry! :hug: I hope she at least had a peaceful death.

:hug: I'm so sorry, catgirl. Don't give up hope, maybe she will turn up soon and you can take her to the vet. Have you alerted local shelters/ vets about her being missing? put up flyers and told neighbors [ect..ect..]?