Oh, oh. what heartbreaking hours! Sooooo glad to hear Kitty is home and safe.

I'm glad the story ended well! It can be so nerve-racking when they escape.

I have one escape artist cat that escapes every chance she can get. She purposely stalks us to get out. Our other cats don't go outside other than on the front balcony. You're lucky yours doesn't actually want to be out there. I would think that would make it a little easier o keep her in.

Oh, I’m so glad your kitty is safely back inside!

BT, DT. The worst was my first cat when we moved from the city to the country. He escaped from where he had been left and we didn’t see him for three weeks, so we assumed we wouldn’t 😢 But, lo and behold, he turned up on the doorstep very thin and bedraggled looking, but otherwise OK! We were so happy!

My present three rescues don't want to be out at all and never are or try to bolt for the door. But years ago, we had company and then I couldn't find my cat and thought she got out. I went up and down the street and alley at 2 AM calling kitty,kitty. I was hoping someone wouldn't shoot me as I trespassed in yards. Couldn't find her and when I got home I heard a noise and she had been in a very deep drawer in my kitchen where I kept the telephone books. (This was pre-renovation in 2001). I had looked up a number in the phone book and she must have jumped in and had been there for ten hours!!. Cats will be the death of me. So glad you found yours.

Glad your kitty was found and is home safe and sound.

Take it as a vote of the cats desire to live at your home. Animals tend to find their way back, if they want to live where they left.

I figured there would be others who related ;)

arcy, I was only worried someone would steal her (she's so pretty. But I'm biased), or a dog would get her. So many loose dogs in our neighborhood. We're working hard with animal control to get it all fixed, but so many dogs. Ugh. And honestly, I was worried more about her being taken in by someone else far more. She's fast and could likely get away from the dogs

What a relief!!

A number of years ago a friend's cat got outside and it was in the dead of winter. Absolutely frigid temps in January. Tom and I went regularly walking the streets calling him, during the day while owner was at work. Signs on all the posts, a blanket and food on the porch, a live trap with his blanket in it etc etc.

He was gone for 3 weeks! Then someone called the owner saying that he thinks his cat is under their porch.

Ever since then Buddy has no desire to go outside at all! He sits in the screened porch, in front of the patio door etc but won't go outside.

I know it's not safe in all areas for cats to be outdoors, but I suggest folks walk them on a leash around the property multiple times anyway just so they get familiar with the outdoors and the area around the house. This way, should they escape, they won't be in a total panic in a completely alien land. Instead they will have some familiarity with the scents, noises, textures and sights and will know how to find home again and be comfortable coming to the door.

Our cats our allowed out during the day when we're around. When they were young, we walked them around on a leash, let them take the lead, so they could safely explore bit by bit in their own time, learn where they lived and how to get in and out. Misty took to the outdoors right away, but Mila was more timid and took more time.

I would walk my cat, but it's not safe. For a different reason. I'm pretty sure the abutting neighbors had an ailing cat. No fence between our yards, and she kept it outside. I don't trust that it didn't have feline leukemia. And that can be acquired just passing over the grass where an infected cat visited.

😔

We have two cats, one likes walking outdoors on a leash. Luckily he's afraid to walk alone. This morning my husband was filling hummingbird feeders and he just walked out with him...DH didn't notice. He sat on the deck watching birds until DH noticed him. Whew!

I'm soooooooooooooooo glad you found your kitty cat Rob!

"How do cats get FeLV?

The virus is typically spread from cat to cat via close contact of infected and non-infected cats. It is normally spread via saliva, but it can also be spread by grooming, shared food bowls, bites and other forms of close contact. It is typically not spread in urine or feces. It can also be transmitted from a mother cat to a kitten in utero or during nursing. Less common, but possible causes of transmission of the virus include through fleas, blood transfusions or contaminated needles.

The virus does not live long outside of a cat host, so spreading FeLV via human clothing and hands is very unlikely. Thus, if a FeLV-positive cat is housed in a separate room from a FeLV-negative cat, it is not likely that transmission will occur (although it would still be wise not to share food bowls)." Source: SPCA

So spreading from touching the same grass seems highly unlikely.

One of our cats. who came from a shelter, went out and panicked. You never saw a kitty in such a hurry to get back inside. He's never even hinted to go out since and that was 5 years ago.

So happy for this outcome.

My niece lives on 5 acres. She found the sweetest orange kitten. They were set to put flyers throughout neighborhood. They went to check mail, actually a day late and there was a flyer from the owner!

The kitten’s name was close to her DH’s last name but with a y added at end.

They had the kitten for 24 hours but could have returned him sooner if they checked the mail.

Happy news, for sure! Our son just went through this with his indoor cat being gone almost 4 days. The flyers he posted everywhere finally paid off. Someone found the cat locked up in a storage closet in the garage. The cat was likely in there for less than 24 hours. Hard to know where he was the test of the time, but coyotes were a big concern.

Yikes! So glad you found her! That is my worst nightmare.

Edited to add my apologies….I misread Arcy’s comment and thought she was saying kitty elected to leave. my mistake!

blue, I read it the other way around. Kitty never left my property, so it was a vote of confidence in my parenting. A happy to be with me kitty.

Did I get it wrong?

Whew! Glad she made it home.

Rob, no *I* got it wrong. I’m sorry. I edited my post.

Good that you found her. While the idea of using a leash and walking the cat around the area will depend on the cat and how badly you want to be scratched when you take it off. All of my current furkids came to me in one manner or another. Two came in 2017 probably after they were dumped with at least one other. One until last year apparently decided he had enough of outside and even with an open door would only sit in it. Now he is one of the first bounding out the door in the morning when I take the dog outside. He does come in but has also started trying to get out at night.

Talk to your vet about feline leukemia. When I took the two mentioned above for their first shots we discussed it. His opinion was it was so prevalent in this area that the two had probably already been exposed. In this area many of the shelters test for it and if found the cat is put to death. Except for expensive testing there is no method to tell if the virus was acquired by being infected or being inoculated.

"I know it's not safe in all areas for cats to be outdoors

The vet in my family would suggest that it's not safe anywhere for cats to be outdoors unrestrained (meaning, other than on a leash with a human at the other end). I know because we've had that conversation.

Glad you got your kitten back, rob, that's a terrible thing to have to experience.

thanks elmer. I think we're good on the leashed part. At least that's what Annie said and what I have done in the past. And would in the future, should I decide to go that route.

I wasn't good company at all yesterday. Had a going away party for kiddo back to school, but also big bro's birthday. Everyone else kept bringing it up and suggesting ways to fix it. I kept saying wait. I was still pretty miserable. Not a good time to lose a physical comfort since Mom just passed. I NEEDED something to love me back. Whew.

Thank heavens your kitty had the sense to stick around.

We live in the country with everything from coyotes to owls, eagles and a bobcat. I once briefly tried to allow our two young cats to go out for brief times but one took off and we didnt see him for three days. I looked everywhere. When I finally found him in the wood pile and brought him inside he started howling. It literally sounded like he was telling his story. It went on and on. He would pause and then start over till he finally wound down. When DH came home several hours later he jumped up on the table and started the whole explanation all over again. Never again.

I get so upset when Thomas stays out all night. Then I get mad at him and say "just stay out there then". Of course I'm up out of bed every hour or so checking the back porch. This is when I can't coax him into the house a couple hours before I take he and the other boy to the basement for the night. He has more than nine lives let me tell ya'.

I hear you. It was something to the effect of "Chyla! Chyla! 'Mon (as in come on)! Where's my good girl? You wanna come in?" In perfectly unaffected cheeriness. Stand. Wait. Look 360 degrees. And then walk off mumbling "Where in the heck are you?!!!!"

Since Rob found her cat, I will tell the story which didn't have a happy ending. The cat I mentioned at my top comment who was in the deep telephone book drawer for ten hours had a tragic end to her life. Of ALL the 18 cats I've had, the only tragic ending. When my son returned from a trip he found a dead feral cat on the road in front of his house. As he was burying it he heard a peep and there was a tiny kitten in a tree. He climbed up and got it and of course, brought her to me. She was so tiny I had to bottle feed her. We were going on a trip to Boston and New England so I had to take her along since she couldn't be left with the adult cats my son and his wife would take care of. I named her Peeper and she had a NE vacation at about six weeks old.

In January of 1994 our area had the coldest temperature ever recorded...minus 24 degrees. And there were three feet of snow on the ground as well. My husband pulled the car up for us to go to the grocery store. I had no dogs then and the cats were on the farm table by the wood-burning stove. I hauled a large Glad bag full of old clothes I was putting by the curb for the garbage man to take. I remember throwing that bag on the high snow bank and we went to the store. I certainly never did a head count of cats before bed because they were never ever outside. The next day, no Peeper, and I thought she was hiding again as she did in the drawer. Exhausting all possibilities, I finally figured it out that she had climbed in the bag of soft clothes before I tied it shut. Of course, she froze to death immediately although no trace of her was ever found. The guilt still haunts me, and every January when they talk about the coldest day in our history, I cry.

(((lily)))

You have always done right by your animals, and I know Peeper appreciated all of your kindnesses throughout their life. No doubt!

That is a sad story. What else can I say. They get away from us dont they in spite of every thing we can do. I kicked my self when I thought I had lost Moe. All in the name of giving him a more interesting life. I was lucky and you weren't. I am sorry because it still hurts.

I don't know of any happy stories around losing a pet. They are all sad. But in most instances, we will outlive them. The best we can do is give them the happiest life we can while we have them and enjoy the love they bring while they are with us. For me, getting a new pet is bittersweet, knowing I'll be grieving for them in the future. Except maybe now that I'm older, the concern is also one of who will care for them if I can no longer. Not easy. But love never is...but it's worth it.