my cat is missing will they return?

by jen
(ipswich, qld)

My 2 yr old desexed male cat has gone missing. It has been 5 days since I have seen him. We brought him up on acreage. We moved to a large house block with some bush land behind us approx 8 months ago. We have always tried to keep him to a semi strict routine, but with the loss of my partner 4 months ago, that routine has all but gone. He was showing signs of being unhappy/lonely so, with his interest in mind, I adopted a 9 wk old male kitten 1 month ago to keep him company. They got along very well, but I'm wondering if having the kitten in the house with him may of made him run away? I have also seen him go down the drain/gutter with another of the neighbourhood cats. Could he have gotten lost? I call him every night, have put food out and also a piece of my clothing(for scent I have been told). Is there a possibility he will return?

Reply
Hi
I am sorry to hear of your recent sadness.
Unfortunately you have fallen for a common mistake a lot of cat owners make, when they think there cat is unhappy and would be better with a companion. It just doesn’t work like that for cats I’m afraid.
Unless they are used to being with other cats it is very unlikely that they will be happy to settle down on the same territory as another cat and so yes it may well be that your cat may have felt pushed out and is seeking pastures new. That happened in my family when i was young too. However my cat just moved down the street to a neighbour’s house.
It is very possible that your cat was grieving for the loss of your partner. Although they may not understand what is going on they do know that things have changed and that change needs time to adjust too. I have a page which goes into this a little ore here
cat-grief.html

Having said all of that of course, your cat may well return to the home and that he has simply gone off to explore a wider territory due to the new kitten. 5 days is not that long and I have known some cats even neutered ones to be gone for weeks and still return.

I have a web page which goes things the things you can do to try and find your cat again here

lost-cats.html

Don’t give up hope yet, keep looking for him.

Best wishes kate

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