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Aug
13
About a week ago, Cat disappeared. She’s been an outside pet for years (there was no stopping her, believe me) and I didn’t worry at first—she’s been known to wander, and in the hot weather we had recently she barely came inside, preferring to lounge in the grass and absorb heat into her fur.
She always comes home at night, though, in order to power the contents of her food bowl and meander off to yowl at top volume outside Dylan’s room. After a couple days went by without seeing her we started thinking, hmmmm.
Once, after returning from a vacation during which we elected to leave out food and water (and a slightly opened window to the utility room, unsafe as that probably was) instead of boarding her, she didn’t come home for a few days and I thought the worst. Eventually she returned, a little scraggly-looking and extra raspy-voiced, but no worse for wear, and I’ve been hoping for the same happy outcome to this situation . . . but it’s been so long, and this time we’ve been home the whole time.
I’ve done the unpleasant missing-pet tasks: driving around looking for her, posting flyers in the neighborhood, calling the pet hotline, placing an ad on Craigslist. Yesterday I went to the local animal shelter and looked through their found pet reports and peered at all the jailed cats—so many friendly animals coming alive in my presence and issuing forth mrows and blrrrts and sticking paws through the mesh of their cages; me knowing some (all?) of them are surely doomed to euthanization—and they told me to keep checking back, sometimes cats don’t get picked up and taken to shelters for months, but keep in mind they’re only held for 72 hours. Jesus.
As each day goes by without her coming home I feel worse, guilty (no collar! No microchip!) and sad and jumping at every outside noise and rushing to the window. I hate not knowing, and the idea that I might never know, that she might never come home and we’ll never, ever know what happened to her . . . oh, it just sucks.
Every day when I’d come home from work she would emerge from her hiding place in the bushes along our front walk and accompany me to the front door, where sometimes she’d come in and sometimes the cacophony of shouting children would send her back out onto the lawn, where she’d roll and stretch and wait for things to quiet down. For a week I’ve been pulling in the driveway, and she’s not there. I keep looking out the living room window and she’s not there.
We turned the cat food auto-dispenser off so it would stop dumping food into a bowl no one is eating out of. Her bed is empty.
I was hesitating to write anything about her being gone, thinking, oh, she’ll probably show up as soon as I hit publish and won’t I feel silly then. But now I would very much like to feel silly. I would like to once again be driven half out of my skull by a pet who wants in, who wants out, who meows outside doors and bedroom windows, who occasionally crawls inside the dog’s food container to take a stealthy shit, who has been a giant pain in my ass ever since I took her home from the shelter when she was a tiny, evil kitten; who has lived with me in houses, apartments; in Corvallis, Portland, Las Vegas, Seattle; who has been a part of my life for over ten years.
“Where do you think Cat is?” I asked Riley a couple days ago, because I secretly believe children know everything we don’t.
“I think she DIED,” he said. “Because she’s old like Grandpa’s cat.”
“Well, no, she wasn’t that old,” I told him.
“Oh,” he said, and thought for a moment. “Then I think she’s on a cat vacation.”
I hope so. I hope she’s having a good time. And I hope she comes home soon.
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sigh. i’m so sorry. sometimes the not knowing is the worst. let’s just choose to believe riley’s point of view: cat vacation.
That breaks my heart. I know how it is, loving them, losing them, finding them, losing them. Your pictures are great – you can see what a part of your lives she has been. Fingers crossed.
Dammit CAT! Come home!
That picture of her looking in through the window has always been my favorite of her.
God I’m just so sorry. I REALLY hope you find her. Like, I’ve been thinking of you guys ever since you posted it on twitter.
XOXO
Oh, I hope you find yourself feeling really very silly soon!
We lost Parker’s cat last summer, she (Jelly) had mandated that she was to be an outdoor cat and one night she didn’t come home. We had warned Parker that if she was to be an outdoor cat that something might happen to her, and when she didn’t come back for a week, and then two, then a month, we know that happened.
Parker had a funny response (funny as a 3-year-old) and very frank, but I don’t want to upset you any more than you probably are.
So I’ll second the notion of Cat on vacation.
:-( Hope kitty makes it back soon. Hugs.
Beautiful pics.
I’m sorry. I hope she wanders back soon with a great story. Good luck!
I hope so too. I remember the time in Portland when you left your door open hoping she would return, and when you came home she had, along with several others she had met in route.
Oh Cat, come home soon!
I really hope she is on a cat vacation just like Riley said.
Keeping Cat, and all of you, in my thoughts. Here’s hoping for a quick return from vacation with stories of wild parties and the BEST CATNIP E.V.E.R.!
One of my cats goes on cat vacation every once in awhile. He’s been gone up to two weeks before.
Mine love the outdoors too. As soon as it’s dark they mrow to go out and are pacing in front of the door mrowing to come in as soon as they hear our alarm go off in the morning.
I’m hoping Cat is enjoying her vacation and returns to you soon!
Awwwww, I hope so too. As a card carrying cat person, I really empathize with you. ((hugs))
Have you checked the airport? We had a cat disappear once, and I later dreamed that he was living behind the airport with hobos who feed him hotdogs. Stupid, assuredly, but I’ve decided to cling to the idea.
Oh CAT! I keep hoping and hoping to hear she’s back. I’m so sorry. This is awful. Come home Cat! We miss you!
This makes my heart hurt a little bit. Keep us updated.
I’m so sorry. She is a pretty cat, too. Hope she finds her way home soon.
I’m so sorry to hear about Cat. I went through something very similar with my cat, Scout, last year, and the not knowing is SO hard. I’ll be thinking lots of Cat-come-home thoughts for you.
Oh I am so sorry! Hopefully hitting the publish button today will be the trick. Cat vacation…it is August afterall.
Also, they only keep them 72 hours?!? That seems like, not very long, particularly considering pets could be lost for months before being brought in. That makes me so so sad.
Oh, man. I just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I’m still sobbing. I’m so sorry you and your family have to go through this, but maybe Cat is really just on a fun vacation. I hope so. Those pictures are beautiful and inspire me to get my camera out to take more pics of our furry little ones.
Yes, it does suck. I’m sorry. Hoping she is catcation as well.
Oh, Cat. Come home.
Ours has done this a few times, once for so long that we were sure that coyotes had got her. But she has always returned. Except for that one time that she wasn’t gone at all, but rather trapped in the ductwork.
Don’t give up hope yet.
Ugh, Poor Cat! One of my mother’s neighbors stole her cat when they moved. At least that’s a happier outcome to think about, eh?
I hope she comes home soon.
Way to make me cry right here at work. So sorry about Cat. I lost one the same way last year and, though I hate to say this, I cry a little for him almost every day. I sure hope Cat comes home soon.
I am so sorry, Linda. I don’t comment often, but oh, I’m so sorry for you.
It’s been four years since my cat ran away (my brother thought the screen door closed behind him – THERE WAS NO SCREEN DOOR), and the thought of him still sends me into a hysterical mess of tears and snot. I’m sitting at work crying over the cat that’s been missing four years, my GOD.
ANYways, I’m sorry. You’re in my thoughts, and I’m willing Cat to come home now.
I hate this for you. I’ve been there, once the cat came back after two weeks and once, well, she didn’t. That’s the shit of it with cats. You never know when to stop being hopeful. There’s a feeling that you’re betraying them if you give up too soon and then they REALLY won’t come back because now they know what a traitor you are.
I hope she comes home soon.
Oh. OH. Sad Pet Things absolutely slay me. I hate this for you.
Add me to the crowd that believes she’ll show up out of the blue, all nonchalant, as if no time had passed. I hope you get to snuggle her soon.
Oh, Cat. Please come home. I’m going with Riley’s vacation theory, too, and keeping my fingers crossed that your friend will meet you in the driveway soon.
I’m sorry your cat is missing. I hope she returns soon. I had a dog disappear as a kid and my sister and I stayed hopeful for years. My sister was convinced she ran off to Hollywood to have lots of fun adventures without us. Maybe your cat is off living a similar glamorous life?
Poor Cat! I hope she finds her way home soon.
Well I’ll be honest – I’m really not a cat person. But those pictures of Cat with the kids make her look like a dog (consider that the highest compliment I can give, because when it comes to pets it is).
I hope she cuts her vacation short and comes home soon.
I’m so sorry. I had a dog that left and never returned and it’s so hard not knowing. I hope she comes back.
Gack. The NOT KNOWING. So awful and painful and torturous. Love the pictures of Cat, especially the last two. I too have many, many pictures of my cats, as I am aspiring to be a crazy old cat lady.
Hope you get a great surprise very, very soon – Cat returning from her cat vacation. Everything’s crossed for you!
Cat come home!! If she doesn’t come home, I will ship you my 17-year old cat who is currently in Senior Cat Jail. Instead of shitting in Dog’s food dish, she will puke in it. That could be a welcome change. Plus my cat looks just like Cat. You won’t know the difference. She is EVIL too!
Seriously though, I hope Cat comes home. On the brighter side, my mother in law takes “stranded” cats in. If they stay around her place for more than 48-hours, then she takes them in and calls them hers. Maybe some old lady like my MIL did the same with Cat.
Here’s hoping hitting the publish button worked. And let me know if you want my old cat. :o) She’s free…..
What a shit week for pets.
Come home, Cat. Please come home.
So sorry about cat… My friend’s cat just went on cat vacation and disappeared for two weeks and then showed up kinda rumpled and loud. I hope your kitty comes back!
Oh Cat! I hope she comes home soon, Cat Vacations can’t go on forever. I can’t take any more tearing up over a cat I don’t even know, but still love a little bit.
Aw. We lost our cat Oscar in May. He was hit by a car and I discovered *the body* on the side of the road. Which was awful. I hope you find cat….however you find him, if only for closure. But, I do hope he turns up alive and well very soon.
You know I’ve been thinking about Cat for days too, due to your twitters. A couple of years ago our kitty Chloe must have slipped outside (she went out some, but was very timid and scared of vehicles and noises and usually either hid in our bushes or darted back in) while we were loading the car for a camping trip.
We *meant* to call our neighbor to give them the heads up, and tell them to let her in if they saw her, but when we got to the campground we had little/no cell reception and, well, we sorta just forgot about it.
Turns out, she WAS outside when we left, b/c our neighbor DID see her, but didn’t know we were gone.
We’ve never seen her since, and it still haunts me. The NOT KNOWING just drives me INSANE. I mean, I can really except that she got hit by a car and died swiftly… but anything else… *SHUDDER*
I held out hope (still do sometimes) that someone took her in and was holding her hostage, not knowing we were looking for her. I picture her plotting her escape, waiting for that door to be left open…
I’m so sorry. That’s what I’m saying.
Keeping Cat in my thoughts. A roommate’s cat once went off on an extended vay-cay and suddenly reappeared, a little skinny but otherwise no worse for wear, well after we’d given up. So I’m hopeful for y’all.
I LOVE those pictures of her! My heart goes out to you, hope she returns safe and soon!! Keep us posted :)
I love how honest children are. Options for disappearance, dead, or on vacation.
The pictures really did me in. I truly hope Cat returns…
Oh, this sucks. I’m so sorry.
When we lived in Seattle (well, Duvall), our cat disappeared for 3 weeks. We thought surely a coyote had gotten her. Our other cat was driving us insane with his yowling because he missed her, so my husband went to a shelter & got another cat, so our remaining cat could have a friend. Literally within minutes of getting the new cat to our house, the missing cat showed up. I kid you not.
Cat vacation sounds nice. Maybe she’s on a little kitty cruise. Sampling the finest seafood and drinking tuna juice margaritas with tiny umbrellas in them.
I’m sending “come home Cat” signals out right now. Oh wait, I live in DC. How about “Go home, Cat” instead.
One of ours is sick and we are in the midst of spending our “Hi thanks for buying a house here is some money” check from Mr. Obama on him. Sigh. I’m never going to get that new car.
Oh, she is soooooo beautiful!!! Praying she comes home soon. I, too know exactly what you’re going through!
Linda, I’m so sorry Cat is missing. It’s so hard to lose a pet no matter what the circumstances, and the uncertainty must make it all worse. I really hope Riley is right and she’s just on an extended cat vacation, enjoying fruity beverages and snacking on mousey appetizers on a tropical beach, or whatever cats do for fun.
I hope Cat comes home soon. My inlaws’ cat was gone for about 2 years and reappeared one day. We think someone took him in and made him an indoor cat and one day he just escaped..so there is hope.
Cat is EXACTLY like my feline sidekick and this type of situation is just what I worry about happening. Here’s hoping Cat finds her way home….
This is not exactly the same, but we have three chickens at our house in Seattle, and we let them out to wander around the yard a few times a week. One of them, the little one, didn’t come back one evening.
She had been gone for two months when our backyard neighbors (who also have chickens) went out on their porch to find a cardboard box with our chicken in it. No note, no idea where she’s been, and she had a shoelace tied around her leg…
We were 100% positive she was gone for good. I hope something amazing happens to get Cat returned to you.
I’m sorry about Cat. I generally believe that when cats go missing, they are just at kitty summer camp, making lanyards and eating smores. Or so I tell myself…
I’m so sorry! I hope that Cat returns soon – we just lost both of our dogs (lost as in put to sleep, not wandered off) and the gap they left behind in our household is unbearable. I hope Cat returns home soon and safely!
oh no, i am so very sorry! Cat, come back from your lazy vacation!!!
just yesterday our indoor cat went missing. we were having furniture delivered and had locked her into a few rooms. when the deliverymen left…couldn’t find cat. anywhere. all day. much much later in the day, after much searching and crying on my part, i went into one of the rooms, and there she is just lying in her cat bed. giving me the “what?!?” look.
so, just a drop in the bucket compared to your story, but i do have a taste of what it’s like – and it’s bitter. i really hope she shows up ASAP!
Ugh heartbreak.
We always had outdoor cats and they would do the same but a few did just disappear to never reappear. A few, we found later my mother could not stand. My mom… oy, just old school big city lady who just did what she knew and her parents taught her and delivered them to other neighborhoods to let them find a “new” home.
Our favorite was Tigger who disappeared one day and not at my mother’s hands. We suspected the neighbors stole him because he was sweet and wonderful but later we discovered his favorite place was to crawl under the neighbor’s house through a tiny crawl space hole (this was in CA.) Apparently one day on a wild hair said neighbors sealed off that hole and we are unsure but perhaps Tigger may have met a different fate.
I liked to believe as a kid that someone just carried off our sweet kitty, it was better then the alternative… LE SIGH.
Cat looks so much like my cat growing up (Rhonda). I’m so sorry. Ever since you started tweeting about her being missing I have been hugging my kitties extra tight at night (and trying very hard not to threaten to turn them into mittens).
I hope Cat makes it home.
I’ve been watching your tweets regarding cat, and I hoped earnestly she would appear at the shelter.
I’m so sorry she hasn’t yet come back to boss you about and look generally evil.
That picture of JB and Cat is so funny, but it is so moving now. How could a cat resist doing that again – and perhaps swiping at Daddys face whilst doing so??
Oh my goodness Linda, that is such a heartsick feeling — my kitty Guinness (also all-black!) does that occasionally, but never for so long; her longest stint was one overnight.
Big hugs — I hope Cat comes home soon!
Oh, evil, horrible Cat, please come home! This blog isn’t the same without you and your plotting and throwing up and potential for eating of noses.
Come home, Cat. Come home.
I so hope your kitty comes home. I’ve got one of my three sitting with me right now, and I just gave him an extra kiss.
I’m so sorry. Our dog ran off on a walk a few months ago and was missing for maybe a half hour and I was a complete basketcase. I hope Cat comes home soon.
Cat, please come home.
Oh, Linda. My heart hurts every time I think about Cat. I was surprised at how much it upset me when you first tweeted about her “vacation.” But after reading your blog for so long, I almost feel like she’s a little bit my pet too, especially since I have her fat, knock-kneed doppelganger, Lola, at my house.
Best of luck finding her!
I’m sorry Sundry. Crossing my fingers for you and Cat.
It’s a testament to you and your family that I have been thinking about Cat for days, and repeatedly checking in for hope that you will have good news. I had a cat when I was younger who would take off for multiple weeks at a time. I know it’s not the norm for her, but don’t give up hope on Cat yet. I will continue to hope that you have answers, with the best case scenario in the form of someone waiting for you in the bushes, very soon.
Ugh. Awful. I hope she comes home soon. I keep awaiting good news of Cat via twitter and hoping for the best. She reminds me a lot of my cat, in the Total Pain in the Butt respect.
I’ve been following your tweets about Cat and oh how heartbreaking it has been. Pets are so much a part of the family even if they are a big huge pain in the ass.
I hope she finds her way home.
I am so sorry. I think this is one of the worst nightmares to go through. I am thinking of you, and hoping Cat gets bored on vacation and comes home soon.
I wish I had some words of wisdom. But I don’t. I hope Cat appears as suddenly.
Oh, stop stop stop! My heart breaks at missing cat stories. I can only imagine how sad you are. We lost our cat, Phoebe, about a year ago…..every time my mum sees a white cat in the road, she still stops at peers at it, even though Phoebe disappeared in Singapore and now my parents live in California.
Um, that probably didn’t help, sorry. I’m sure Cat will come home. I hope hope hope she does.
Oh, I hope that your cat comes home. Our cat disappeared in our move from Germany a few months ago. the party line is that he found another family, but I’m afraid that he was PACKED. (we don’t have our stuff yet, so ?)
I hope you feel silly very soon. Come home Cat! Come home!
miss cat, you’d best get home right now.
as far as i know, all my cats have been ones that no one wanted, thus getting adopted by me or my family. the most recent adoption has been an ex-bf’s very expensive siamese pure-bred. but i love marti the most. he and i are bestest buddies. last night, i mused aloud that miss cali needs to exercise more (i already know she’s not eating as much as marti and bocephus) because i don’t want her to get sick. she just gave me a look and i had to apologize for discussing her weight yet again and promised to love her always.
please come home cat.
Just throwing this out there – did you check Cat’s lair/hive? Maybe Cat has become a lair-dwelling recluse, plotting your demise and whose nose will be eaten first!
Love the pictures…so sweet.
I’m sorry you’re going thru this with Cat. Had the same thing happen recently, and it took that to make me realize how much I really liked my stupid cat. Stupid, stupid cat. *sigh*
Sucks. I do have a ray of hope story for you, though: while I was away at college, my cat wandered away from my parents’ place. They didn’t see her for almost a month and expected the worst. They had been keeping me updated, but there was a point where we figured she was just gone and I had a cry. Then! She showed up. No explanation, nothing. A little skinny and ragged, but otherwise no worse for the wear. She lived another five years or so to the ripe old age of 20.
I’ve been thinking about cat since you posted on Twitter. The not knowing is hard. I’m sorry.
Don’t give up! Shortly after we moved into our house, my cat Chief was gone for nearly two weeks. I was pregnant & cried constantly – he’s gone for a couple of days before, but not in the new place, that was in the country, with coyotes & everything. Then one night I had a sudden feeling that he was home, so I ran to the front door (like I’d done a million times before) and there he was, just waiting, like nothing had happened. He didn’t even look scraggly. He just looked at me, like, “what up, bitch?” in that sweet way that cats have. Sorry to go on so long, but my point is, she’ll come home soon!!
So so sorry. :( Hoping she turns up pronto.
Sending many, many “Come home, Cat” thoughts your way. Not know is so hard, and I am so, so sorry.
I went through this with one of our cats many years ago, and after she was gone 4 or so days, a neighbor actually called at 6 am to say our cat was in our driveway. She lived across the street and happened to look out the window and see her.
We had actually knocked on doors on our immediate street, and handed the flyers to people (we also posted flyers in surrounding neighborhoods). That was how she had our number and knew we were looking for our kitty. Such a weird coincidence, since I almost didn’t to do the ‘door to door’ thing…I felt foolish doing it, you know?
Anyway, I understand and totally sympathize…and I hope she comes home!
I hope so too
When we lived in Bellingham our cat ran out the window and was gone for over a week. We cried and called and searched everywhere. Then the night we both sadly declared him gone I heard his meow and he came shooting across the yard into the kitchen. He was skinny and skittish but purred so loud, happy to be home.
Sometimes they just like to have adventures.
I hope your cat comes home soon.
Aww, I hope Cat comes home soon. Gizmo is going on 11 and I’m expecting to be going through the same scenario. Just out of curiosity: are you more of a “lie about pets death and immediately get a new one” or more “tell kids truth about death (Pet Heaven) and wait a few to get a new one”?
I’ve been upset about this all week…since your first tweet. I know how you feel, too – only it was our dog. Ugh. It sucks. The not knowing IS the total worse – are they living the life with some uber-wealthy family being showered with personal chef prepared dinners and only the finest Colombian catnip? are they the newfound companion of an old homeless man who just needed a friend? are they really…gone??? Oh, Cat, please please come home!
My aunt has a cat who is now almost 20 years old. When the cat was about 12 she disappeared from home and they thought that she was never coming back. About 6 months later they got a call from one of the vet offices where they’d posted pictures that someone had found her and adopted her as their own. When they took her in for a check-up they recognized her on the poster and she found her way home. I hope that Cat is temporarily tormenting some other family and will find her way home too.
I hope Cat is just on an extended vacation. There are always tons of stories of pets disappearing and coming back after extended periods of time.
I’m so sorry for you guys. :(
My cat did the same thing to me, only he’s an inside cat, so I was flipping out. He hasn’t been declawed so that was my only solace, despite hating that he likes to tear up our carpet, but at least I knew he could defend himself. He came back, though, right after I posted neighborhood pictures. I think he was just chilling with the alley cats in our ‘hood, and when he’d had his fill of the minxes on the street, he was hungry enough to come home.
I hope Cat does the same thing. If she doesn’t, I hope she meows her way into another loving family’s hearts so that she’s taken care of.
I’m so sorry, Linda.
Cat, get your ass home! Ah, Linda, this totally makes me want to cry. I’m having cat problems right now as after almost three years of living with unbearable allergies, my husband finally put his foot down and has told me that my beautiful girl Sophie must go live elsewhere. I cry almost every day and she’s not even gone yet! I will think of Cat instead and will her with every fiber of my being to return to you…
So sorry. I hope she reappears soon, aloof and with an air of mystery about her!
Oh, cat. I hope your adventuring doesn’t keep you away too long. (And now I need a tissue.)
God dammit, Cat!! Nothing like sympathy from your son, huh? Boys.
cat. cat! CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
please go home. you’re worrying your mama!
wishing you and Cat luck. sending homewards thoughts to her.
It’s amazing what a cat can make us do-we tolerate the snottiness, the um, unique digestive processes, clean up shit and pee, but they still manage to get into your soul. I had one that did the same thing-she had been an outside cat at one point in her life, but had been blissfully inside for years. One afternoon, the door was left open, and she was gone. I vote with Riley on the cat vacation, or some nice old lady. Even three years later I still keep an eye open. Sending hugs and thanks for the pics-she’s gorgeous.
The photo of Cat and JB kills me, it’s adorable.
Hope she comes home really soon. My old cat was away for a week and a half and it was awful. She strolled in at 3am on morning, yowling and skinny but seemingly unharmed, wishing the same for you guys. I like Riley’s idea of a vacation :)
I’m so sorry she’s missing! :( Sending good vibes your way that she’s just on a little vacay. Come home cat!
Oh, Linda…This made me cry. :( And then laugh, at the picture of cat in the blanket. And then cry again.
I would like to vigorously put my vote into the “cat vacation” category.
I had a cat who would go away for weeks at a time. She always came back, skinny, yowly and hungry.
Sorry about Cat. I hope she finds her way home soon. Like Homeward Bound. When the golden retriever doesn’t show and he doesn’t show and then he appears at the top of the hill. *Sob* gets me every time.
I’m so sorry to hear this. We went through this last year when one of my cats left on her Vision Quest. We haven’t seen her since then, but I’m sure she’s managing just fine on her own. (Of the three cats I had, she’s certainly the one that could take care of herself.)
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Cat comes back home, soon.
I know this doesn’t help, but we had a cat that disappeared for 6 weeks because she didn’t like one of the other cats we had. Cat will come home. I’m sure of it.
Oh, me too, Linda.
My mother’s cat once disappeared for three months. It was a lousy 3 months, believe me, and we’d all but given up hope when one day, he just appeared on the back deck, wanting to be let in.
Fingers crossed the same will happen for you.
(And that it’ll be days, not months.)
Oh. Oh, I hope she comes home soon from her “cat vacation.”
I’m so sorry that she’s been missing for so long. I hope she comes back from her cat vacation soon! Pets drive us crazy, but they are such a big part of the family.
Oh, I hope she comes back soon! You know how cats are… maybe she has another “family” somewhere that she’s adopted. Maybe she’s just visiting them right now. I say this because we recently had a cat show up in our carport and just stay. After a week we started feeding him and calling him Ceasar. I figured he was sent to me from Heaven- he was awesome with my 3 yr old, he gets along with my dog, and he’s super friendly. Anywa, he was always there ready to eat in the AM and PM, and after a month brought us some ‘presents’ (sorry poor litte mouse). Then we found out he’s our new neighbor’s cat!! They started renovations and moved his bed and food out to the shed, and he decided that wasn’t good enough for him, so he just moved to our house. The neighbor thinks it’s hilarious, and says we can keep him. (His name was Winston, but they like Ceasar better! hahahahaha…) Soooo, the moral is that cats are totally unpredictable and maybe this story will have a happy ending! I sure hope so.
Your pictures are sooo awesome. What a great tribute to a great pet!
Oh, I hope your baby arrives home safe and sound.
Oh Cat just come home already :(
Ohh, sad. I hope Cat comes back soon. My cat’s been demanding a lot of attention today (I think partly because she wants crunchies to eat instead of the chicken wet food) and she’s kind of being a nuisance, but I’d hate for her to disappear.
I’m so sorry Cat is missing. Ugh. I would be devastated if something happened to our dogs. When my husband called me a few months ago to tell me he’d found our door kicked open by a burglar when he got home, the only thing I was worried about was whether our dogs were okay/had escaped. I hope for your family that she returns very soon, none the worse for wear.
Oh no, your kitty! We have three pets (2 kitties) and I know I’d be devastated. But, once my dad’s cat left for a week and came back pregnant, if that makes you feel any better…
Maybe Cat is with my cat, Maggie, who has been missing for almost a month. I write a pets blog for the newspaper I work for, and I’ve been reluctant to post about it, because then it will be really true. (Plus, what kind of dumbass writes about pets and umm… loses hers? And of course, then I’ll have to admit that she had a collar, but no tag or microchip. Might as well let Paris Hilton take over the blog.)
But, perhaps, they are on a Cat Vacation together, hopping trains across the country, seeing the sites, and one day we’ll be reunited with them Homeward Bound-style.
I can dream.
Listen my friend’s cat disappeared for almost 3 months and then one day just walked back into the yard meowing to be let in, like nothing had happened.
Here’s hoping CAT is just screwing with you a little bit.
Aw, Cat. Come on home, won’t you?
Your posts about Cat are some of my favorites and while I’m convinced she’s out there, somewhere, having a fantastic kitty adventure, I know your heart is aching.
We had a cat who disappeared once only to reappear weeks later looking a bit rumpled and considerably thinner but there he was, waiting for us when we got off the bus that afternoon. I’m holding out the same hope for Cat.
COME HOME, CAT!
hugs…I hate that feeling. I’d never had a cat until recently. Always was a dog person, but the boys really wanted one and then we found one and I love her. Then we got another (yes, 2 boys, 2 dogs, 2 cats) and I’m not sure why I never had one. But ours are also inside/outside cats and I often worry what might happen. We have dog doors for the dogs and they learned very quikly how to use them. I hope she comes home soon.
Awwww ::sniff:: Tenae (who could be Cat’s twin) and Phoenie Bean (my two kitties) and I are keeping our respective paws and fingers crossed Cat is okay and returns quickly.
Thinking hopeful thoughts for Cat and for you.
Oh, this makes me sad. I can’t handle the thought of anyone losing a pet. I’m so sorry for you. I hope she comes back, and soon.
Oh, dear Kitty, come home soon! *sniffle*
Our cat Henry did this same thing (we’re in Seattle too)- disappeared for days and days- we were sick with worry (did the posters and animal shelter thing) and started to give up hope. And then, one night at about 4 in the morning – he started tapping on the window. he was back! he was eating out of his dish! he was home! hubby and i were all teary and happy. don’t give up… she might be on her way home from her big adventure at this very moment.
awww, Cat is so pretty. I had a black kitty once. His names was bones, but I called him boney, he was an indoor cat though and he died peacefully in my arms. He was a rescue and i think he was around 16 when he passed. I think black cats are probably one of the best kinds as they seem to have some of the best personality.
I hope you find Cat. Or Cat just happens to just sash her way back. Animals have become like children to many. i know my 2 cats and 1 dog are my fur children.
Keep your head up.
I’m sorry about Cat. I hope, as Riley says, she just took a vacation and will come back soon!
My children’s favourite cat went missing last year. She loved hunting mice in the nearby airport field so our biggest fear is that a fox hunted her. She was also absolutely the most friendly cat you could ever meet, especially with children. She used to walk into our neighbor’s house to say “hi” to the kids and get hand-outs. I like to believe that she went for hand-outs from an equally friendly family and decided to adopt them. I really hope that Cat comes home soon. If she doesn’t, think of the reason that makes you feel the best and believe it with all your heart; no reason not to, right?
Oooh, I hope your cat comes home!! My heart would be breaking if that were my pet.
She’s beautiful. And looks identical to my sweet Jade I had to put to sleep 2 years ago. I never got over it. I will pray that Cat comes home VERY soon. I know your heart is breaking. It’s the worst just simply not knowing.
I’ve always loved that her name is simply, “Cat” and something about these pictures shows that she’s got a sly, wise, personality. I think she’ll show up when you least expect it – hang in there!
Did you offend the cat? My cat had to be shaved (long story) and we kept laughing at him because he looked funny. He disapeared for 5 or 6 weeks. He didn’t come back until his fur grew back in. He must have been real pissed at us. My SIL lost her cat when she was moving out of her apartment. They looked for the cat for 3 days. Finally found her……in the wall. They had to get someone out to cut into the wall to get the cat out. She did not get her security deposit back. I hope your cat is found.
I really hope your cat comes home…I am a sobbing mess reading this and looking at your pictures is breaking my heart. I too have 2 cats and the sheer thought of them going missing makes my stomach sick. My cat went missing once though…who strangely enough looks identical to your “Cat” and it turned out she was up on the roof of our apartment building! You will definitly have to write when “Cat” comes back.
Not cat or ham cat? Noooooo! That so sucks.
I had a cat that looked just like her when I was a kid, he was a tom and used to fight with all the other neighborhood cats, and always came home beat to shit, but finally, one day he didn’t come home, and about 5 years later my dog brought home a mummified corpse of my cat who’d died out in the field by the house. So we found out what had happened to him, but I would have rather thought he was on vacation too.
And I had a female cat once that was gone for a week, tried to get into the house through the a/c on the roof where I had to go get her out, and she was pregnant.
I feel horrible that cat or ham cat is missing, it’s a whole world of suck.
My two favorite bloggers lost kitties…ugh. Both in different ways, of course…but here’s holding on to some hope that Cat will make her appearance SOON. Your stories about Cat always amuse me. And poor Swistle and her kitty. :( Boo! I am so sad.
Dude, that really sucks dick. I’m sorry about you cat, it seems pretty cool. I’ve never had a cool cat, all my cats have been undeniably crappy. But if I ever got one I would be bummed as all hell if it disappeared. I hope it shows back up, and if not, then I’m sorry.
I just saw this and feel so bad for you guys, and for cat who should be home, and hope Riley is right, that she’s on a cat vacation, maybe on her secretly stashed miniature Harley with other gang cat members.
She always seemed ageless and timeless, a magical cat whose fur never turned gray. For all her faux evil and arrogance she seemed really attached to the kids and the family.
Will say an extra prayer to the Cat God – who may or may not be Cat – send Cat home.
Oh, Cat. Sigh. :(
I hope she comes home too. I wish you and Cat all the best. Cat, come home!
Sob. This is heartbreaking. I hope Cat comes home soon.
awwwwwww. I hope you end up feeling silly too. I knew this would bring tears to my eyes :( much love to you. And much love to Cat, wherever you are.
I think we would all be amazed if we knew how long cats actually can live outside, on their own. Don’t give up hope Linda.
I’m not a cat person, but this made me weep.
Poor Cat! Come home soon, buddy!! I have a soft spot for black cats (I have one myself!)
I’m hoping against hope that you end up feeling silly when this is all over. I hope for your sake that she returns to you! She is a beautiful cat – one that I would have snuggled to death despite my allergies and the chance of getting scratched.
*hugs*
I saw this on Twitter and hoped and hoped she would come back without this post. CAT come home! now. There is tuna in it for you I am sure of it.
Best wishes your way Sundry family. The not knowing is the worst.
Those pics are beautiful!!! Tears in my eyes. Been there before and sometimes they come home and sometimes they don’t.
You are probably sick of the “try this” comments, and maybe someone has already suggested, but the last time this happened to me it worked (after someone at the shelter suggested it)…go out late at night when its quiet and call for Cat. Sometimes something spooks them and they go into hiding, often very close to home. I thought they were crazy, I had been calling for a week and no response. Sure enough, it worked, she had been hiding 2 houses down under the porch steps.
I hope Cat comes home soon. Thinking of you Linda!
I’m sorry that you are going through this, it is hard never knowing. Our cat, Bailey, disappeared almost two years ago and it was really hard on me. Surprisingly, because she was such a pain and so skittish that she drove me crazy a lot of the time. But, after she was gone, I realized how much I really loved her. We, too, turned off the Auto PetFeeder and eventually gave it away. We’ll never know what happened to her. But I agree, A Cat Vacation, sounds like the perfect explanation to me.
GAH! You have my sympathies. Been there. Done that. It’s the worst :-( . Here’s hoping he’s just on a little roundabout.
The not knowing is just the worst. I’ve had a cat go missing, too, and it was just awful. But, that being said, mine turned up after TWO MONTHS missing. Here’s to hoping. Come home, Cat!
I’m so sorry about Cat – my fingers are crossed that she’ll cut her vacay short and come home RIGHT NOW! Alternatively, I am happy to ship you my cat. She looks just like Cat, except she is gray (same face tho) – so it would be like Cat got her hair did while on vacation! My kitty is also a total pain in the ass – in fact, as I was reading your post she began the first of an all day in/out annoyance fest by whining to go out (she wants back in already).
Ok – maybe not. So I’ll just keep hoping for good news for you on the Cat front.
Sounds silly, but I’ve been praying for Cat to come home since I found out she went missing! Please keep us posted!
PS: LMAO @ picture of JB + cat + also the one of Riley + Cat in a scarf! wonderful Cat portraits!
I’m so sorry. I’ve been worried about Cat since your first tweet. I’m aching for you over here. I hope she comes back from Cat Vacation. It’s not the same, but I have to give away my cat next Tuesday. I had to move home after a job loss, and the whole family is allergic, so off Harold goes to a new home, because I don’t know how long it will be before I can move out again. I’ve been a weepy mess the past week in anticipation of his absence.
I hope you get your little fur-person back.
Ah,I’m so sorry to hear that. I kiss my cat on the head one nite told him to be careful and I would see him in the morning – to my dismay he never came back home- that’s been five years ago. Hopefully, Cat will come back to you – i know your heart is broken, mine still is – the not knowing is the worst.
Aw man, I’m tearing up over here. Beautiful pics. I hope she finds her way home soon.
I’ve had the same experience. My last cat, simply named, “El Gato”, just vanished one day. I looked everywhere and went to the local SPCA to find him..I still miss him, because even though I have a new cat, she’s not as affectionate as him. Anyway, he went on sabbatical and just never came back. I hope you find her!!!! I also have a microchip on Cat v. 2.0 -get one if you can.
I sincerely hope Cat returns home soon…I’ve been worrying about it since I saw your tweets earlier this week.
Don’t give up hope yet – everyone has a story about a “gone for ages” cat who came back (my cousin’s indoor never-been-outside/declawed/wussy himalayan disappeared for 3 months and eventually made his way home!) It’s hard when they’ve seen you through so much and suddenly aren’t there so I truly hope she pops out of those bushes along your walkway soon.
P.S. Your fabulous photos of Cat have reminded me to take a few more pictures of our crazy calicos with the kids!
Cat looks just like my cat Jasper. (Well, Jasper is his given name. We prefer to call him JackAssper.) I hope she comes home soon.
Been there. I have an older cat, like yours. She’s been with me thru the good times and the bad – like yours. Can’t imagine life without her – like you.
God bless & may she come home very, very soon.
I keep thinking and thinking about this. Awful.
I’m with you Swistle, I just stopped by hoping for a big giant UPDATE! FOUND! at the top :(
My fingers are crossed… my cat disappeared for 6 months once, not a sign of him, then one day he just showed back up. I hope the same for you and Cat.
I’m sorry – that waiting and wondering thing just sucks giant ass! My kitty is 13 – and once, a few years ago, she was gone for 2 weeks before returning. My animals give me as much gray hair (and joy) as my kiddos. Sending hugs your way – that is so hard to go through.
Oh so sad – I hope Cat comes home very very soon!
I don’t care much about cats (dog lover here), and I of course don’t know your cat personally, but this posts makes me all teary-eyed and sad for you.
I’m so sorry.
I didn’t even think I liked my cat that much until he died.
Cats are weird like that.
Come home, Cat.
From all your stories of Cat over the years, it sounds like she likes to remind you on a regular basis that she is in charge (as do most cats). Perhaps she’s doing the ultimate version here in stubbornness and will be all proud of herself when she returns and looks at you to say, ” How do you like me NOW!?!? ”
Here’s another vote for this being a Cat vacation (”I can has vacation?”), and to hoping she comes back once she feels her point has been made.
we had an old red cat that just showed up one day and stayed, then just as he came, he went. and i couldn’t bear it. my boy loved him so. I think I made up some bs story about him going to live with another family for a while, which seemed to appease him…sort of a cat vacation, just like Riley said.
Oh, I’m so sorry. I have cats too, and love them and would feel the same way if they went missing.
And still, I laughed at those pictures because Cat looks so pissed off in every one of them.
I hope he’s just on vacation too.
Maybe it got too loud at your place and Cat found a quieter spot close by. That’s how we got one of our cats. Then it got too loud at our place and she moved onto the neighbors place, but does come around for food. If they fed her more, I’ll bet we’d never see her.
I hope she comes home soon.
As a cat owner I known nothing I can say will make you feel better. I know how hard this is.
My feel good story (in case it can make you at least smile a teeny bit) is my cat Thompson was gone 1 week shy of 2 years. He’d gone the 9 miles (through country and city etc)back to our old house. The shelter called and we could not believe it. He was even profiled on the news.
:(
I’m sorry about Cat! I truly hope she comes home soon.
I really hope cat comes home soon… :(
Delurking to mention that when I was a kid, one of our cats, Mr. Cat, came home after being gone for 10 years! He decided to live with a family down the street for a little while (we had no idea), and then turned up one day as though he’d never been gone.
I hope Cat returns sooner than that, happy and healthy and with a tale to spin.
I’m delurking to say that I too am compulsively checking, hoping for an “UPDATE: FOUND” on top of your page, and each time it’s not there, I get a little more sad.
I’m so sorry. Here’s one more hoping for a cat vacation.
Oh, Cat! Come home, damn you!
Daughter has cats (we don’t). Her inside cat vanished recently, for 3 months, and the reappeared as if nothing had happened. I hope your cat returns.
It WOULD take a lost cat post to take me out of stalker mode…my cat is an inside cat but he loves to go out and play like he’s the king of the ‘jungle’. He does leave nd eventually he pops up, eyes, glowing looking the a window. Scares the crap out of me, and I ‘get’on him but deep down I’m always glad he comes back. Let us know WHEN she comes back….
I hope you get to feel silly, too. I worry about my cat all the time. He came to us as a stray and it’s impossible to keep him fully indoors.
I’m sorry to hear about Cat.
I hope she comes home soon.
Don’t give up hope. You know, our cat Mocha is the same way and she, too, has disappeared in the past… We always discovered that when she did not come back, it was because she was trapped somewhere she could not get out of – the neighbor’s garage, a storage unit, under a hot tub, etc. So be sure to look in places where she might be stuck – do any of your neighbors have sheds or decks with closures? You THINK you might hear her, but if she is weakened, you may not. Sorry – you know I had a friend whose cat got trapped under a hot tub (in the enclosed space) and that damned cat lived under there for over 2 weeks. She was skinny but she was alive! So don’t lose hope. Do more poking about on foot and examine your neighbors’ property, if they will let you.
Good luck – I know that sucks shit.
Come home, kitty cat. :(
i’m teary. don’t give up…I can totally relate,shaking the damn treats. I even grabbed somebody else’s cat. I was that desperate. My husband loves sharing the details of that winner. we went on our honeymoon and for 3 months our Gobi from Arlington, WA cat full o cats then Xcounty to Bflo. He found a nice lady who fed him and a place for respite. He’s on a holiday for sure!
During my blogging hiatus my dear kitty cat went missing. It was incredibly painful and not being able to write about it was even worse. I did the whole drive around the neighborhood crying and shaking treats thing for about a month.
When we moved from that house 8 months later I had a big ugly cry just for Jack.
I’m so sorry.
Having just gone through this with our cat of 10 years a *week* ago, I think hearing everyone’s stories of their cousin’s boss’ cat who ran away for a month but then came back makes your situation even worse. My cat’s story didn’t end well; we were devastated. He was my first baby. And then I had to decide what to tell my 2nd & 3rd babies (my 2 kids–oldest age 3.5). My son isn’t buying the “cat ran away to make his own family” story. Choose carefully your words to your own kids. I’m so sorry. For what it’s worth, signs seemed most helpful for us–people all over (strangers) were calling, stopping me on the street, asking about him. So they’re worth the effort. Our thoughts are with you and your lost buddy.
I hope your kitty comes home. My boyfriend found a kitten 3 years ago running in and out of a gas station in downtown MLps, at the time we lived with his parents and couldnt keep her. My sister took her in, after 3 years we got her back. After a week of being at our apt, she jumped off the deck and dissappered, I looked for weeks, she’s a little cat (looks like 5-6 mo old kitten) so everybody just thought she was dead. We told oursevles she will be back when its cold. We moved at the end of Aug 09, (missing 3 months then) we had been moved a week to the day, I went to visit some of my old neighbors, and was about to leave, I said if you see Hope you grab her and call me, I know shes going to come back when it gets cold. Within mintues of saying her name Hope, up the sidewalk form the edge of the woods comes a cat, I called her she turn it was too dark to know for sure, I sat of the sidewalk with a bag of treats calling her, I was ready to cry cause she wouldnt come close to me, I know it was her, I was able to pet her so I grabbed her, the neighbor grabbed my bag and got out my car keys, in the car she went. Called my boyfriend he was as happy as a little kid, and my sister who cryed, and said she wants her back. The cat is so loving and happy to be with us at his parents while we wait for our new place to be open, (40 min drive away). She needed a bath and flea drops (missing hair on head and neck), and skinny. We were worried she had left a litter of kittens some where, but I think she came home just in time to have them, the little brat dissappered 3 days before going to the vet to be fixed and get shots. This week shes going to the vet and if shes having a litter we want to keep one and let my sister have her back. I named her Hope, because she had hope in my boyfreind that he was finding her a home. I still cant beleive that the last time I stop to visit, here she comes, like dont forget me. Keep hope, as it gets cold they do come home. Just keep Hope!
hope u found your cat
please tell me she came home