I really don't know what to think

[Cavalous Christmas]

5.5 years ago my ginger ninja Woody went out and didn't come home. 6 months later the nurse at my vets rang to say he thought he had seen Woody on Nextdoor. It turned out that he had been at a livery yard 1.5 miles a way for 3 months, goodness knows where for the 3 months before that. The joy and relief that he was home was incredible. However, just 7 days later his brother Sunny disappeared and I have not seen or heard of him since.

I still have him listed on Pets Located and have just received a message from someone saying she thinks she has seen him. I know it is very unlikely after this length of time and the number of ginger cats out there but there is a very large part of me that can't help hoping it is him.

I'm not sure why I'm posting but perhaps I just need to tell people who will understand. Anyway, fingers crossed I hear something soon.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Nothing I can say to help but wanted to send hugs. What a roller coaster for you. I hope Sunny is home soon.

 

[meleeka]

Fingers crossed for a good outcome. I do wish people would consider trying to find if a cat has an owner before taking them in.

 

[BigRedDog]

I had a similar experience many years ago. Had a young male kitten go missing. Put up posters in local area but no responses, assumed he had sadly been run over. Months later got a call from a lady who lived on the same road but right at the other end - it was a long road, saying she thought she had him. she had taken him in as a stray.
Went up to collect him to be faced with a very large, very angry cat. We took him home but within a week he had gone back to her. We all agreed that he seemed to want to live with her and that is where he stayed.

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

If I knew he had a good home then I wouldn't take him back after all this time. I'd just love to know he is alright. I also wish that people would get cats checked for chips. I think a lot less would go missing if that was the case.

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

Well I haven’t heard anything more despite replying to the lady as soon as I saw her message. Thanks for the kind thoughts. Anyway I don’t think Woody cat or Princess Pixie would be happy to have him back after all this time

 

[HollyWoozle]

I’m sorry, that’s upsetting. I would’ve gotten my hopes up too. Hope you are OK.

 

[Alwaysmoretoknow]

I lost my Boris cat for 10 months or so over the winter. Did all the usual stuff to try and find him and spent most of the 10 months scouring verges, ditches etc expecting a bad outcome then a message popped up on the village fb page asking if anyone recognised this cat. It was him and he was in great condition- good weight and coat, no fleas and only about 500m from home. No idea where he had been but think someone must have been looking after him well. Do wish they'd taken him to be scanned for a chip though ( maybe on older person not aware?) as it would have saved me many months of anguish.

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

I lost my Boris cat for 10 months or so over the winter. Did all the usual stuff to try and find him and spent most of the 10 months scouring verges, ditches etc expecting a bad outcome then a message popped up on the village fb page asking if anyone recognised this cat. It was him and he was in great condition- good weight and coat, no fleas and only about 500m from home. No idea where he had been but think someone must have been looking after him well. Do wish they'd taken him to be scanned for a chip though ( maybe on older person not aware?) as it would have saved me many months of anguish.

So pleased you got him home, it's an amazing feeling isn't it.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I meant to care not love.
We lost ours for a few months and it was soul destroying.
I remember the calls and messaged saying he was found and the devastation at it not being him.
I really hope you have a good lead to give you closure because I think I’d have gone mad had we gone through the not knowing much longer

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

Thanks for your kind words. There has been no more from her unfortunately

 

[Blanche]

I had a cat go missing for three years. I don’t know where he was for the first eighteen months but for the last eighteen he lived in a woman’s garden. She didn’t feed him in all that time and he was a bag of bones. She took him to the vets when he started throwing up stones. The vet found his chip luckily when checking him over. Please feed a stray cat that looks down on their luck, I agree a fat cat with shiny coat doesn’t need extra, might want it, but doesn’t need it. Don’t assume it has a bad owner or an owner at all and help the cat out. Luckily PP had had his chip updated regularly as missing and address/ number changes. Easy to overlook when you move.
OP I do hope you get some good news soon, don’t give up.

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

So pleased you eventually got your cat home after so long and thanks for your thoughts