My kitty, Barney,turned up missing three days ago

[Roon]

he showed up at my doorstep this morning. WHEW! Why do cats like to disappear like that? I think it's just to make us nuts. I can't keep my cats in collars so I am going to get them micro chipped. I hope it's not too expensive!

[wartrace]

1. My guys do that too.

I try to keep them indoors but when they want out they move very quickly. The record is one week so far, I don't know where they go but it must be somewhere fun. BTW- they are both neutered so it isn't a quest for sex.

[Roon]

3. Yes,all of my cats are fixed too...

I don't ever see Barney leave,I just notice he is gone and wait for him to come back.

[LaydeeBug]

2. I lost two cats in two weeks from them running away, but my results were not as good.

One found dead in my next door neighbor's yard on election day (their dog had gotten her), and her twin brother was run over in the street about a week and a half later. We have to scrape him up just for burial. :cry: So love those little kittehs, and try not to let them out.


I am so glad to hear that your results were better though. :hug:

[Roon]

4. I am sorry about your loss, laydeebug

I lost two cats within months of each other. Dolly was a feral that we tamed, we had to put her down because she had bad kidneys. Two months after Dolly died, my ex and I broke up and my ex moved out. Piggy's former owners broke up a couple of times and he knew exactly what was going on. So he quit eating and died of liver failure.

[LaydeeBug]

21. Thank you so much Roon...

That means a lot to me. :)

[Roon]

23. Aaaw!

Good!

[wartrace]

5. Coyotes are my biggest fear when my cats "escape".

They live with six dogs and so far so good, I just hope they understand they can't "suck up" to a coyote like they do to the dogs. I'm letting a guy from work hunt my place this year, he said he will "thin out" the coyotes while hes out there.

[Roon]

6. My parents have lost a few cats to coyotes

Tell your buddy to leave the carcass when he is hunting. Coyotes are very smart and they will get the message loud and clear!

It's interesting though, there is no coyote season here. You can hunt them 365 days a year.

[Patiod]

7. We're very lucky

My little thing just lurks around the building, and doesn't go near the street. We call her, and she comes bounding back to the house.

We watched a friend's cat for a few months, and he would go on 2 or 3-day "rambles", which made us worry about what we were going to tell the owner, but he always came back - just like Barney.

Is it a male thing?

[Roon]

11. Could be a male thing,

My Grandmother said he was just out catting around.

[texas1928]

8. I had a Siamese male one time disappear for a month.

We thought he was killed or something. And then one day I was doing laundry as one of my chores and I had the sliding glass door open behind me. I hear a mmmmmmmrrrrrr, that he did and I turn around and there stands Dickens. He was very thin and dirty. So we figure someone picked him up and it took him a while to get back to us. He got a lot of loves and canned food. He hated the bath I immediately gave him, but he was happy and content, after that. He got fed and held. I was so happy to see him. He was my best bud.

He was a cat that actually liked to go swimming with us in the pool. When he got tired, he would swim up to one of us and we would put him a one of the rafts and he would lay there in the pool raft.

[Roon]

12. AWW! Dickens sounds like he was wonderful!

[davsand]

9. I just had "fattipuss rex" chipped this last summer.

I want to say it wasn't much more than about $50. Can't say for sure because it was part of a week long boarding fee along with his annual shots. He was not chipped at the shelter before we adopted him 6 years ago (they were not doing that yet) and it had bothered me that he was not chipped.

I always worried that if he ever did manage to get out (he is a house cat only) that if he lost his collar we'd never see him again. He wears a breakaway collar because he's kinda a klutz sometimes (don't EVEN ask me how a cat can get a plastic and fabric collar caught on berber carpet) so it is possible that he could end up without his tag. That chip could make all the difference in getting him home.



Laura

[Roon]

13. Yeah, my cats all worm their way our of their collars n/t

[redqueen]

10. There are coyotes out here,

so my kitty is an indoor kitty.

[Roon]

14. My kitties are indoor kitties too..

but they 'scape sometimes.

[redqueen]

15. Ohhhh...

mine never tries. I bet it's cause I rescued her from out there, where she was likely scared to death.

Well she does act like she might want to try jumping off the balcony, but she never gets too close to the front door. Only to greet guests, then it's back inside to try to get them to grab one of her toys and play with her. :P

[Roon]

18. Barney just likes to explore

Daniel, my calico sneaks out to take a dirt bath. When she comes back in she is filthy! But a few hours later she is clean again!

[Bravo Zulu]

16. When I was a kid we had a cat named Kitty Foyle,

she would disappear for a month at a time and then come walking out of the woods and set on the porch like nothing ever happened!

[Roon]

17. Barney better not try that with me! n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

20. An Alfred Bester reference?

:)

[stuntcat]

19. WHEW indeed!

Barney was smart to get his cute butt back home. It's terrible when they just disappear.

[applegrove]

22. Your may have conned some other family to feed him for a few days.

Perhaps he got stuck inside somebody else's house. There is no way a cat would miss a meal of his/her own free will.

[InvisibleTouch]

24. Microchips are great, but can be expensive at the vet's.

A better option is to buy an implant kit on Ebay. It's the exact same thing the vet uses, just at a greatly reduced price. I learned my lesson when I had a litter of puppies microchipped by the vet for $600! The next litter, I did myself. Cost me about $60.

The kit comes with the sterile syringe, the chip, and all the paperwork for registration. Go with Home Again, that seems to be the most widely recognized brand among vets and shelters, all of whom have scanners these days that can detect the chip.

It's not a complicated process to do this yourself, but unfortunately you can't do it alone. You'll need someone to help you, either to hold the cat or to do the injection. It's a great big horse needle, unlike vaccine needles which are so thin you can sneak up on a dog or cat and get them while they're asleep.

Here's a link:

Home Again Pet ID Microchip Complete Implant Kit

[Critters2]

25. My Leon was gone 3 1/2 months. I adopted Shamu because I thought Leon was gone.

Four days after I adopted Shamu, Leon showed up on my back deck.

I'm glad your kitty came home!

[DainBramaged]

26. I am SO glad he is back.

:hug:

[ThomCat]

27. I am very glad Barney came home.

I am glad he was a smart cat and was able to come home. I hope the microchips are not too expensive.

You're a good cat-daddy. :hug: