...since we moved onto a bigger block the cats have been able to go out and have a few hours of freedom every day.

our English cat, Phoebe, never goes far from home, always either in our garden or the next door neighbours. But last Monday she disapeared. I last saw her about 11am, I called the cats and she came over from next door and hovered around some grassy bits in our garden. Havent seen her since...

We've done leaflets to our street on the one behind (but I might print some more and cover a wider area now), we've door knocked local houses and checked their sheds and stuff, we've checked with a woman who collects cats (!) and rung all the rescue places, ranger etc.

I guess the next step is more leaflets and an ad in the newspaper.... but I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas.

We are devastated, after bringing her all this way and her suffering 2 1/2 years of being a house cat to have her disapear so soon after being out and about is awful. The not knowing is the worst.....

And I know some people will think "it's only a cat" but of course she is so much more than that. Even our nutty Aussie cat misses her...

This is my worst nightmare, Hope the cat returns soon, Please post when it does.
This is why we are still keeping ours in after 18mths. Good Luck

I really hope you find her-not to panic you but have you any drain holes around and about or gaps she could have gone down? Good luck!

Oh no! I really hope she turns up. I can't suggest anything that hasn't been mentioned, Hopefully she will be back soon x

I'd be devastated too, they are part of your family.
I have two cats, but i don't let them out. Firstly because there are alot of cats on our street which fight all night long, secondly they are very timid and don't want to go out anyway.
I don't know what else to suggest as you have done everything you can so far. I hope she returns soon.

Is she chipped? Have you tried the local Vet’s?

It’s horrible when this happens; we lost one of our cats a couple of years ago. He had been killed on the road, it was a week before knew what had happened to him. It was like losing a member of the family

I hope she turns up safe.

Just what I was going to ask. If she's chipped then try the local Vets and the Council to see she has been picked up. Also try speaking to all the neighbours, cats rarely stray more than a a few 100 meters from their domain. It's a territorial thing.

Ours rarely stray more than 100cm from the sofa

I hope she turns up safe and sound soon.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that, Bridie .

Our cat who normally stays in our garden was missing for a whole night a few weeks ago. Thankfully she reappeared in the early hours of the morning.

Hope she comes back.

Gina

Bridie, I hope she's home. But, if not, can I offer a tip........when one of my cats disappeared a few years back, like you, I was distraught and spent ages checking neighbours grages, shed etc. We eventually found her perched on a ledge above the local train line unde a bridge and she was petrified and shaking and would not come down to us. Eventually, my OH had to climb up (not recommended) while I ran home for her cat box. Without that box, there's no way we'd have gotten her home as she was hissing and spitting at us in fear.

So, if you're able to, take your cat carrier with you.

I'll be thinking of you, and I hope your cat's home safe soon.

Gill

Our cat that we brought over from England went missing a while back.
I stuck posters up everywhere, in all the local streets, the vets, the local park, and outside the local primary school, (i was advised to do this as kids tend to notice and remember things more than adults).

I also phoned all the local vets and the pounds and shelters and the council etc. The council was very helpful and spoke to the park rangers and also gave me the phone number of the guy who goes round and collects any dead animals off of the roadside (i know this sounds awful but i wanted to know either way what had happened) I was told to call all of these places regularly at least once a week because if an animal comes in and they cant read microchip etc, they wont keep them long before they rehome them.

My cat had her English microchip in but we hadnt got round to registering her here before she went missing.

My cat had been missing for 4 weeks when one day I had a phone call one day from a lady who had seen my 'missing cat' poster and told me she had bad news, that she had found a pile of cream coloured fur in the local park with all dog footprints in the mud next to it, i was devatated that she could of come to such an awful end. I went to check out this 'fur' but it was gone so i decided to knock on the doors of houses near this park, and one lady told me that the pile of fur is regularly there because a dog owner takes their golden retriever to the park and cuts its hair and leaves it there. I was so relieved.

I had almost given up hope of ever finding her but then 5 and a half weeks later , my kids had a crowd of friends round and they noticed our cat sitting on the doorstep, but as we opened the door she was surprised with all the unfamiliar and excited kids and shot off, a few days passed and no other sightings until one morning i saw her on the neighbours driveway, and called to her but she was so frightened and wary of me, she gradually came closer and i bent down and scooped her up, she was so thin and light in weight and her breathing seemed bad, i took her straight to the vets who said she was in a surprisingly good condition given her circmstances, she had been in the bush as she was covered in a particular harmless type of tick, and had probably somehow got trapped there, but after a tick treatment and feeding her small amounts of chicken and rice to gradually build her back up until she could go back onto her regular cat food that would of been too rich for her, she was ok and made a full recovery.

So never give up hope, cats are really intelligent animals, and after 6 weeks of worry and many phonecalls etc we got our cat back.

I hope you get yours back very soon, good luck.

Not sure where you are but firstly check with Central Animal Records that your details are up to date and you also have a valid emergency contact. If you have never had them registered with a database since you arrived give them a call and register them now if you have them on any paperwork. Call all your local shelters, AWL (Animal Welfare League), RSPCA, Cats Protection, Council, Council Pounds, Vet Clinics, Newspapers, Leaflets and place leaflets in your local milk bars.


Most shelters and vet cinics work with ISO Scanners so they would pick the chip up, however, you hear horror stories in Melbourne of cats being chipped and the shelter doesn't scan them properly. Please DO NOT rely on phone calls, I know it may be a lot of leg work but visit them personally

I wish you all the best and hope you have some good news soon.

Thank you for your replies
Rachel, glad you had a happy ending - hope ours ends the same way!

Nothing new to report. yes, she is microchipped and although we hadnt updated the address (we moved 6 weeks ago) the tel number is the same and we are in contact with the people who bought our house in case she turns up there.

I am sure she'll be not far away. It's so hard with cats isnt it as we just dont know if she got lost, stuck somewhere or just had enough of the changes since our daughter arrived last year plus our Aussie cat who never leaves her alone and thought "right, I'm off"

am keeping my fingers crossed

Mine are crossed too, bridie. I know how upsetting this can be as my little girlcat went missing in Singapore. People said, she's a cat, it's what they do, she'll be fine, but I knew her behaviour and so was frantic, as was her brother. I even got my husband to fly home from a course in KL to help me look and fly back at stupid o'clock the next morning I walked miles in the heat, putting up leaflets (in 4 languages!) and giving them to vets and pet stores within about a 5 mile radius.

She sauntered back two days later, went for a wee and demanded food, nonchalant as you like. We think she'd been locked in somewhere.

Here's hoping yours will do similar.

(I got my own back by taking her for a check-up where she got a thermometer stuck up her bum. )

fingers and toes crossed - hoping she will return with story to tell and tail between legs

We left our cat with my sister when we went on holiday.

Came back and my sister had lost nearly two stones, after 'losing' my cat.

I put posters up everywhere. My Mum kept saying 'you have to accept that she is gone', WTF, never an animal lover.

Two months later, in the middle of the night, I got a call from my sister. There was a commotion in the square where she lived, and her husband had got up to see what was going on. Spotted my cat following a guy, went out, and rounded her up.

Result! I got my cat back! Don't ever give up hope on a cat, they are very resilient, and will always try to get 'home, no matter how independant they may seem.

Hears hoping your cat will be home soon.

M