[la lorientaise]

Hi.
My cat "Angel" of 15 years has been missing since last Sunday. Every single day without fail she waits outside our house for beakfast,sleeps goes out comes back to eat then goes out for the night and back next morning. This routine has never changed in the 15 years. Last sunday she seemed ok. Then we didn t see her. Its now a week and I am beginning to lose hope. She never wandered off in 15 years and I know she was happy with us. She was normally in good health except she became very thin in last two years and her breath began to smell bad. We brought her to the vet last year and he said she was small but fine.
Do cats really wander off to die? I can t believe she would leave like this. Its the not knowing and having no body to bury that is so hard. I keep thinking i ll hear her miaow and she ll be right in the front garden as she has been every morning for the last 15 years. It doesn t sound like she ll be back. On Thursday it really hit me hard that maybe she might have died. Does anyone else have a cat that did this? Is there any hope she might still be alive or trapped some where? I asked all the neighbours just in case.
I ve had Angel since I was nine. She s like a part of my family. She was so gentel and affectionate and loyal. She never wandered far from home as she was nervous outside and even more so in the later years.
Is there any hope? I keep checking outside thinking she ll be back. Should I just accept that shes gone?

[catfish]

It really saddens me to hear your story. I can only assume that your cat had found a mate. My male cat has been like this these last few months. He is always days behind before going home. If what we all suspected is true then you just have to accept the fact.

[aja3171]

Oh this is so sad...I remember my old cat Blue (I call my other male cat Blue too coz he reminded me of him).He got sick one time, actually somebody hit him on the head with something, and when I got home, I saw him huddling in a corner with blood on his head. He was moaning a little I tried to nurse him. He wasn't eating for a week or two, then just when I thought that he was recuperating, he just left one day and never came back. Maybe it's true that they really wander off to die, it's just painful not to know where he'd gone.

[Naturalcatlover]

I think they do aswel, once we had a cat called Scratch, he was a really good cat he went out for a bit of a adventure and always came back but one day he didn't come back. I was only 2 or 3 when this happened, so I was never really close to him.

[Peabug]

Oh, I do hope that you kitty finds its way home safe and sound. I know how hard this is for you.

[sugarcatgrl]

My heart is with you...

[stormy]

I think when they are feeling bad..they want to be left alone..So maybe Angel found a quiet corner to curl up in..If you have a barn, or shed, garage..outside the house building, or under the house...go searching..if you think you hear her, maybe you do..she might have gotten scared, and is stuck somewhere..But they do hide when it is there time to go...I had to pull one of mine from behind the washing machine in the shed..he was very sickly..took him to the Vet..he didn't make it. But maybe Angel will fly back!!! Let us know what happens....

[Catrancher99]

I'm so sad to hear of your situation. Yes, cats do wander off to die sometimes. I lost my Mister Tips last June, after 13 years together. The vet never could diagnose his illness, but he wasted away over a five month period. The last 2 weeks he kept wanting to go outside, regardless of the fact he wasn't eating, getting scrawny, staggering and apathetic. That cat loved me with a dog-like devotion, yet when he knew it was near time to go, he felt compelled to seek a private place, maybe under a bush, touching the earth. I didn't let him out, of course, and he died next to me one morning. I do hope your sweetie returns, but if not, know that there most certainly is a cat heaven - and you will be reunited sometime.

[Leneyloo]

My heart is breaking for you - it's always sad to hear of another 'parent' going through this, because they are like our babies, aren't they?

I've had this experience twice, and it went either way. When I was 10 my kitty wandered off and a family friend came to talk to my mom and confermed her fears (sadly, it hadn't even crossed my mind) - the second time it happened PussPuss had been attacked and made it home, but he was really hurt and we had to take him to the vet. He survived (thank god) but he was never the same. It could be that she's mated, or something far worse. Take comfort in knowing that there are many of us who know how you feel and we're here for you.

::hug::

[blueberrycheesecake]

I'm sorry to hear that. But many people I think have encountered that. I, myself, coz we had cats and cats before. One of my cats used to just go inside our house when it's time to eat or when it's raining. She never went to other houses but one day, she didn't show up. We still think that maybe she was with some other cats or aomeone picked her up but as the days passed we evebtually learned how to accept that she is gone. I hope you will feel better soon.