My Cat Went Missing For Ten Days... What Should I Expect From His Behaviour?

Hello.

My 9 month old cat went missing for 10 days and yesterday was the day I was reunited with him. He was found up the road in some ladies Garage, it was a very hard job getting him out of there as it was full of new kitchen stuff and furniture, cobwebs and spiders but the hardest part was the fact that the garage hasn't been touched since this ladies husband had died, and she obviously didn't want us moving anything as I could very well understand. Her opinion was to just leave the garage open so he can just go out, this was not happening because I proberly wouldn't see my cat for weeks and by the look of him he wouldn't even lasted a week.

I got him home and he seemed a bit confused, he ran up stairs and started to meow ( I think this must have been because maybe he realised where he was ). He jumped on the bed and started head bunting my face and we were rubbing noses like we used to do, I then got up started to go down stairs and he follows me meowing ( All seems back to normal ).

I gave him some food and had eaten it all and also he had some water. Today he doesn't seem to want to eat, I have given him some goats milk and he was at the water bowl drinking which I was proud of, but the thing I'm concerned about is him not wanting food like he normally did, he was a well fed cat and now he's really skinny.

Would his appetite improver? is he just stressed? Does anyone have a clue about cat behaviour after being returned home from being lost?

Thank you ATS'ers

a reply to: BloodSister

Has he been fixed? Because this is somewhat normal tomcat behavior. He must have found something to eat and drink to have lasted that long and they sleep a lot so maybe he spent most of the time sleeping.

Get him fixed and then keep him indoors from now on, or he'll go missing over and over again until he just simply doesn't come home and you won't know what happened.

a reply to: BloodSister

Ahhh poor kitty. Don't you worry he'll be back to normal before you know it. He's just a youngster and is probably overwhelmed, confused and a bit disoriented. Nevertheless he knows his mama (head butting) and happy to be reunited. When he's hungry he will eat. Just give him a day.

a reply to: BloodSister

Your cat's diminished appetite may have a simple cause. Since he wasn't getting enough to eat while trapped in the garage, then was able to eat as much as he wanted when he got home, he may just temporarily have a smaller capacity for being full, & isn't yet ready to eat again.
From your description of his behavior, it sounds like he's behaving normally otherwise; I wouldn't worry unless he continues to not eat in the immediate future.

I'm glad you found your cat. I had that happen with a cat years ago. Luckily, he always gave a loud meeow when called, so I was able to find him in a neighbor's garage after 2 days of wandering the neighborhood calling his name. I remember how great it was to have him back home. Good for you!

Can I ask, did he get out on his own or do you let him out regularly?

a reply to: Peekingsquatch

He's and indoor cat but he managed to get out at 2:30am. He's been out once before in the day but was back with in an hour

a reply to: signalfire

No he isn't fixed but that's on my to-do list now as ive heard of that before lol. He was proberly trying to find a lady

a reply to: ccseagull

Awww thank you for your positive comment. Hopefully he will just picking up his appetite in the next day lol

Gotcha. (I was going to ask about people who let their cats out regularly and why actually) But he's probably just a little spooked from his ordeal since he's not used to being away from you and the comfort and safety of his home. Just show him lots of love, and he should eat again when he gets hungry, if he doesn't within a couple of days then take him to the vet. Good luck, he sounds like he has a very caring and responsible parent! :-)

You should know "you don't own a cat. A cat owns you". A cat WILL go and stay where it's best looked after. OK you might look after him well feed him well but just suppose he likes being tickled under his chin and you don't do it but some-one 2 streets away does it. He will go there. If they treat him the same as you but with the extra tickle he will leave you and move in with his new family. If you want to keep him (what the heck is an house cat?) you'll have to pamper him for a while to get his attention fixed on your family again. No such thing as an house cat they are natural roamers with their own territories and the only way you could make an house cat is to keep him locked in all the while which for a cat is torture.

a reply to: crayzeed
Do you actually letyour cat roam the neighborhoods?

a reply to: Peekingsquatch

I don't have a cat just now but have had 3 at separate times and my daughter has 2 at the moment and yes we allow them to roam outside. We kept them in for the first few weeks to get them used to their new home but after that we let them go in or out when they want. Have you never seen a cat flap. That's a cat sized door cut into a door to let the cat come and go at it's own leisure. As I said if you look after them well they will keep coming home.

Hes alright.
I really love cats. I found a stray and next thing you know I owned 20-30 cats lol. This is normal, I tell my wife all the time they are like little people and sometimes they like to get 'away'.

He jumped on the bed and started head bunting my face and we were rubbing noses like we used to do,

He is really okay if this happened. He's happy to be home with you.

What did you make for him???? Try the wet/dry combo and maybe even heat the wet food up first then mix the dry.*heat for like 5 seconds, you just want to warm it up a little.
*just a side note, have you ever heard of pounce. Its a little bite-size treat for cats they really really really enjoy it.

a reply to: crayzeed

Yeah, we call it a doggie-door.

I was asking because I'm curious what the thinking is behind letting them roam, when you got them as a pet, unless it was to give it a working job ie. a barn-cat.

For instance I have a dog, but I don't just let it come and go as it pleases to "mark," defacate, urinate and dig up peoples yards and trash whenever it wants. I have to take responsibility for my animals actions, and health. Parvo for instance comes to mind, natural predators like coyotes, bobcats or dogs, not to mention people that might leave something poison around like maybe a bottle of anti-freeze -or their cat defacates in someones yard and their dog eats it, getting worms etc.(gross I know, but let's be real)

I'm asking to inquire from someone who might be able to shed some light on why they think it is a humane thing to let them roam, as I've been trapping them and giving them over to the humane society whenever I see one roaming in my yard, while my neighbors are trapping them for roaming the neighborhood because they tend to mark homes, mailboxes, cars, trees EVERYTHING and it smells horrible, while the owner thnks little Fluffy is just out swinging from the trees having fun.

I seek to understand, because I think it is a very common misconception that they need to roam. Once they are fixed the urge to roam should be diminished, and people like myself wouldn't have to resort to extremes because of roaming cats.

let a cat out? im confused. why would anyone have an animal and keep it trapped in doors? thats like caging birds, so cruel

originally posted by: eccentriclady
let a cat out? im confused. why would anyone have an animal and keep it trapped in doors? thats like caging birds, so cruel

some cats are cool with it. They are like humans if you never had you I think its hard to know.
They want to watch the simpsons not chase their tails lol.

a reply to: AKINOFTHEFIRSSTARS

"some cats are cool with it. They are like humans if you never had you I think its hard to know.
They want to watch the simpsons not chase their tails lol."

That's basically my understanding of it too.

I wanted to originally set up maybe a small aviary at one time or possibly even a pet duck that could live in the yard with a nice little pond I was considering building, but the cat owners letting them roam stops me from putting them in harms way. I later rescued a dog that ended up getting worms from what it was eating (hint, hint -gross) The dog only uses the yard for his business and lives inside with us, but doesn't roam the neighborhood. It keeps him from getting health issues, and no one else has to deal with him as a result.

Periodically since we have a lot of trees I find piles of feathers now because of the cats killing birds that we are trying to attract. It's like we are leading them to slaughter! lol

a reply to: eccentriclady

"thats like caging birds, so cruel"

Once a birds wings are trimmed hey are not as aggressive (depending on the breed) My cockatiels are in danger to be outside from things like hawks etc. and they can fly just short distances through the house before getting really winded. They fly over to you when they are called, and only look at their cage like a doghouse. We have wood perch structures for them to "hop" over to and hang out on and are very well adjusted. If they were bothered by it the feather picking and depression would begin.

One is actually whistling rudolph the red nosed reindeer right now, on the edge of my laptop while I'm writing this, while the other is telling me he is a pretty boy in my ear from my shoulder. lol

a reply to: Peekingsquatch
That is an incredible idea. I am sure they would love it. We need to create these peaceful retreats all across the board.

Lol about the pile of feathers. Cats are hilarious. I don't even think they like to eat them, I think its like fun the way they act and pounce. I'm sure there is a way to make it safe for everyone.

On a sidenote I love cockatiels. We always whistled NERD - wonderful place to him and one day we were all in separate rooms and he just wouldn't stop. He was on from that point on.....And that perv whistle guys did for girls back in the day. It did that all the time but one memorable time was when he was silent and my grandma walked up and he did it. We teased her.

a reply to: AKINOFTHEFIRSSTARS

I only trimmed their wings to train them, now I can leave the doors open and they don't want anything to do with going outside. To them it seems like a large scary place they don't want any part of. I'll hang out in the afternoons and read a book outside and let them hang out on another perch under our patio cover but they tend to stick close to me and stare at the other birds like they are "misfortunate." lol

Once in a while they might get a visitor that will chirp with them nearby from a tree, usually they will hop over on me though before they respond back. They tend to learn you are their security and safety after you spend time training them. I let their wings grow back now and they have no desire to leave. Must realize they have it made... lol

My dog lets them land on his head all the time and they nibble on his ears. It's funny to see how gentle he is with them. If we go outside together, he will almost "patrol" the yard to make sure it is safe for them. We weren't really sure how he would act when we first got them, but he seems to really watch out for them too.