Lost one of our "Kids"

[ArsenalDon]

This has been a very hard week. Sunday night it was raining and I opened the sliding door to peek out at the lightning and rain for a second....our eldest cat Waldo who is the closest cat in the box in my avatar by the fire somehow must have slipped by me and got out.
Waldo never goes out, he is an indoor cat, 15 years old and was going strong, he must have wandered off into the forest. We realized at midnight he was missing and went out searching until morning light. We have searched for days now, we have finally come to grips our baby boy is gone forever.
When we got Waldo as a kitten I was not a cat fan, I was a dog man, but Waldo changed everything for us, he helped us cope through some hard family times, he was always there to provide unconditional love, he was a lap warmer on cold nights, more like a dog than a cat, came when called, always there.
Waldo was a member of the family, my fluffy son....
Thank you Waldo for all of your years of companionship, RIP.

 

[gmule]

My condolences for your loss. I wouldn't give up hope just yet. I have seen cats come home after many weeks of absence.

 

[ArsenalDon]

My condolences for your loss. I wouldn't give up hope just yet. I have seen cats come home after many weeks of absence.

Thank you, you never know, but for a cat than has never been outside in his life, survival skills are just not there, but thank you for the positive thought! means a lot.

 

[nate379]

Have you called the pounds/rescue shops, etc? Post up on Craig's List etc. Don't give up!

One thing that has saved my butt several times is a tag on my dog's collar with his name, address and phone number.

He is an escape artist. Once I had him tied to a ~20 ft rope which was tied to a cinder block. He would drag the block around the yard a bit as times but usually realized it wasn't going to work out too well.
Someone came by and we chatted for a few mins and before I knew it dog and the block were gone. He made it a few MILES dragging the 20lb block! Someone found him, block and rope was tangled up in a tree.

 

[Jack Straw]

I am so sorry. I have a cat (who is laying right next to me) and we are very close. I almost lost him to liver failure last year and I was beside myself. Maybe you should consider replacing him with a shelter cat.

 

[Beer Belly]

My condolences for your loss. I wouldn't give up hope just yet. I have seen cats come home after many weeks of absence.

My Mom, when I was younger, took our cat two towns over, and dumped it (never forgave her for that).....3 weeks later, the cat showed up at our front door.....never give up on a cat

 

[firefighterjake]

I am so very sorry to hear about Waldo . . .

I lost a cat -- Theodore Roosevelt -- two years ago (I let him out early in the morning and he never returned home) and I still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming that he has come back.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

Sorry to hear it. As above, please be sure to call your local shelters. As a volunteer at our local SPCA, I cant tell you how many cats have been brought in "found" and within a few days reunited with their owners. Cats are smart, you never know, hope he comes home!

 

[weatherguy]

We had an indoor only cat that slipped out on day, we thought he was gone forever, even went out and got another cat, after about 4-5 weeks he showed up, he was dirty and a little ragged but overall ok, hope you have the same luck we did.

 

[charly]

If an animal truly loves you and he or she is OK out in the wild,, they will come back... I think it's just all new and it will take a while for Waldo to realize , wow, I better be gett'n back home.. I hoping for a surprise outcome,, Waldo's sitting at you door! Please keep us posted as we feel as bad as you do being animal lovers!

 

[ArsenalDon]

We had an indoor only cat that slipped out on day, we thought he was gone forever, even went out and got another cat, after about 4-5 weeks he showed up, he was dirty and a little ragged but overall ok, hope you have the same luck we did.

Gives me hope...thank you.

 

[ArsenalDon]

Sorry to hear it. As above, please be sure to call your local shelters. As a volunteer at our local SPCA, I cant tell you how many cats have been brought in "found" and within a few days reunited with their owners. Cats are smart, you never know, hope he comes home!

very small town, we live 7 miles outside of it, we went to the one shelter, we keep checking and they will call us if he shows up, posters everywhere, the whole community is looking, we are not giving up yet.

 

[Brokenwing]

Good luck with your search, and I am sorry for the pain as your best friend is missing. Hopefully he will find his way home!

 

[Pallet Pete]

We had our cat get outside once he was so terrified of the outdoors he wouldn't go out ! 3 weeks later we came home and there he was skinny as can be we fed him and he never wanted to go back out again. We did put him down last year which was very very hard for my wife. I hope all works out well for you guys pets become family too.

Pete

 

[charly]

Don,
We didn't forget about you! Keep us posted,,, I'm thinking positive!
Charlie

 

[HDRock]

I have been there ,best of luck for Waldo's return
We have a temporary guest right now, a 6-8 month old kitten was hold up under the deck, she is a sweet,cool little cat, loves to play fetch
I checked many neighbors no one is missing a cat.
She will be going to the adopt a pet ,no kill shelter, to find a good home, same place I adopted my current little buddy from