Both foxes and coyotes make a clean kill and carry the rest away. Being that there was a barn for shelter I would guess a fox is the culprit as they are a little more stealthy and therefore somewhat more brazen.

Being almost spring I tend to think another male cat may be the culprit.My male tom cat is a outdoor cat and he disappears for a week at a time-sometimes more. He is fixed also so it doesn't matter if they are fixed or not they still fight.
Yours may just have gotten in a fight,don't give up. Keep his food out like usual and keep checking. I learned a trick if you want to make sure it is your cat eating the food and not some other varmit. Put some grain dust or baby powder by the dish-that way you'll be able to ID the dinner guest by footprints. Good luck.

Thank you both for replying so quickly. Both of your replies make perfect sense, but I really hope Wishforspring is correct, because I can't stop looking out the window for him. One thing I forgot to mention was that I had to bring something large into the barn and left the doors open about 2 feet wide instead of the few inches I normally do. If something did happen to him, I can blame myself. I'm going to try the baby powder and see what I discover. Thanks again to you both. I really appreciate the responses.
Becky

Did your kitty ever come back? I tend to agree with wishforspring. I have a LOT of cats, most but not all are spayed/neutered. This is the time of year that I'm seeing quite a few stray males coming around to court the 2 girls I have who are not spayed. Tomcats are pretty vicious fighters when cornered and they are very determined and brave when it comes to mating or even if they are hungry and thought to eat lunch in your barn. Aside from losing cats to the road, the second biggest thing around here is other cats injuring mine. Hope your cat comes back, I've had several over the years that disappear for quite some time before returning. Lori

Yes he did, about 3 days ago! I looked out the window for him (out of habit) and there he was, crossing the field to come to the barn. I ran outside with food and he came running, lol. He had a deep cut on his lower leg, but that's all. That day, he ate 3 cans of food AND a bowl of dry.

Lori: I was just wondering...why don't you have your girls spayed? I promise that I'm not judging, its just that its better for the cats and you don't have to deal with the kittens they'll produce.
Becky

I know full well the benefits of spay/neuter and am getting it done as I can. Lori

Hi Lori:
I hope you didn't take my question the wrong way. I'm sorry if it came across negatively...I swear it was not intended that way, especially after your nice note....:) xoxo

It didn't, I'm just sensitive to it because I try to be a responsible pet owner and I KNOW they should be spayed. I lose several of my cats a year to the road, one might just disappear here and there, and unfortunately, I have either run over several with my own truck or they got up in the engine. Thursday was an unexpectedly nice day and I was outside planting some strawberries I had ordered when I saw the neighbor dog attack one of my kitties. It was on my property but we only have a tree wind screen to really separate our properties. This isn't a mean or ugly dog but she couldn't resist a running cat. I got Charlie (the cat) from her but he wasn't in very good shape, the dog meant business:( Charlie is a Siamese-looking Manx and very very loving with no fear of dogs since he has a dog here that they all adore and follow around. I hate to inform them all but my dog Jake just puts up with them, he has no love, LOL. But, for some reason, every time Jake (Black Lab) comes out to potty, the minions rise and clamour around him for attention. So, I would imagine that Charlie initially thought there was no danger in that other dog.

I took Charlie to the vet and while he did have some substantial injuries, the vet thought he would be fine, and so he has. He has been inside with us on some really good kitty drugs, LOL.

We have 3 dogs but I guess you could really call me a "cat" person, they really bring me the most enjoyment of all. Tigger, Snowball, Callie, Milo, Charlie, Cheech, Gizzy, Pudge, Stripes, Precious, Black-Black, Sweetie and Jack. Each knows their names, get treated if sick, get vaccinated, and of course, have their own unique personalities. So, sorry if I made you feel bad about that. I know the kindest thing to do is to get them spayed and I will work on that, as I have been. Lori

How is Charlie doing? Sounds like you had some bad luck there. I had a neighbor who's two dogs killed a chicken and kept coming back for more. I called the town I lived in and reported him each time I saw the dogs on my property. The result was that he had to build a secure fence to keep the stupid dogs from getting out and causing havoc. The guy hates me for that, but I'm ok with that. Please let me know how Charlie makes out...he sounds like a nice kitty.
Becky

Glad your kitty came home! Here in Wisconsin, especially in the Northern part,I'm South Central, we have a predator called a Fisher and it will even bust through a window screen to grab and eat a cat. Hope you don't have any of those!

Yes, I've heard they are pretty nasty critters. I think they kill for the joy of it (at least that's an old farmer told me once). I thought they only go for chickens and smaller prey, but a cat?...and to break a screen to get one? Did you know someone that it happened to? That would just be horrible!

Wow - I'd never heard of a Fisher until now. They do sound pretty nasty -- seems like they'll eat whatever they think they can get:

Diet

Primarily a carnivore. The fisher is one of the few animals that will kill a porcupine. It will also eat anything else it can overwhelm; rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, insects, reptiles, fish, crayfish and carrion; some berries, seeds and tips of ferns.

Notes

The fisher is a wide-ranging, year round hunter, preferring to venture out at night. Because it has few natural enemies, the fisher population has remained stable. A female will produce one litter of 2 - 3 offspring a year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fisher info

In our Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine last year there was an article informing pet owners to keep an eye out for Fisher attacks and some people told their stories. One was a woman who woke up late in the night to a cat screaming, but she remembered her cat was safely inside sleeping in his favorite window, and went back to sleep. The next morning, she found a hole torn in the screen and a trail of blood and fur out to the woods. She contacted the DNR and found it to be a Fisher attack. Her kitty was gone. I guess they are spreading more south in the state, however more slowly. I also understand that coyotes like to eat cats, too.

My God...can you imagine waking up to that? That is tragic!