Expert: Ali - 3/8/2010

Question
My new house came with a chocolate-point Siamese cat.  "Cocoa's" previous owners moved and left him, so neighbors fed him on my front porch for months until I came along 2 months ago. He's about a year old. He slept on my bed, often in the crook of my arm.  Two weeks ago, I had him neutered.  His shots were current.  He comes and goes via pet door, but spent most of his time on my bed or on a chair in the yard.

I last saw him 48 hours ago.  I've never owned a cat before.  Is it "normal" for male cats to wonder during kitten season even if they're neutered?  Is there 86p81still hope that Cocoa will come home?

Answer
Jo,

If Cocoa is indeed neutered (a vet would have to confirm this because even if you can't feel testicles in his scrotum it's possible for him to have undescended testes which would mean that he is actually intact and able to reproduce) it's not as likely that he'd disappear on his own regardless of the season, but it's possible that he may have been frightened by an encounter with a wild animal or an off leash dog and he may have run blindly looking for somewhere to hide and become disoriented which would make it more difficult for him to come home to you. Cocoa may have also taken an extended wander around his territory that he hasn't yet returned from, but I believe that it's best to treat the situation as though he's been picked up by animal control, turned into the animal shelter as a stray, injured and taken to a local vet to be patched up by a good samaritan, etc until it's proven that he's taken off on his own. During the course of the two months that you've lived in the house Cocoa has had time to bond with you and clearly even after his previous human caregivers left the home he still was attached enough to his territory to stay close by which is what has me worried since I'm assuming, based on the history you've provided that Cocoa has never disappeared like this before.

Unfortunately the reality is that outdoor only or indoor/outdoor cats live higher risk lifestyles than an indoor only cat - they're much more likely to be hit by cars, accidentally or intentionally poisoned, victims of animal cruelty (new gang member initiations have begun to show a disturbing propensity for torturing and/or killing animals as a means to determine whether someone is "strong enough", bad enough, etc to be a part of the gang) and the reality is that some people still consider cats vermin. Recently I had a lady contact me looking for help in getting justice for her cat, this poor little guy was shot by a neighbor simply because he entered the wrong yard. Overall my recommendation is to keep cats indoors if at all possible, my three resident cats are indoor only cats and they're perfectly happy, healthy and sane members of our family - the big difference is that you have to sometimes be a bit creative when it comes to entertaining an indoor only kitty, but in my opinion the increase in the cat's safety is well worth that extra work.

Starting a full scale search for Cocoa ASAP is very important since many animal control and SPCA shelters only keep strays for a very limited time before euthanizing them or placing them up for adoption, and if your little man has somehow ended up at a shelter or animal control centre the sooner you find him the lower the fee will be to "bail" him out and bring him home. Since Cocoa has been missing for 48+ hours I'd recommend that you consider calling local pounds, vet clinics and animal shelters as well as putting up Lost Kitty posters just to be sure that your little guy is okay. Treating Cocoa as missing and offering a reward for his safe return or information about his whereabouts will ensure that if anyone has taken Cocoa into their homes in the belief that he's a stray kitty you will be more likely to get him back. The reward offered for Cocoa's return doesn't have to be big and to be honest I'd recommend against stipulating just how much the reward is on your Lost Kitty posters to guard against anyone failing to return him because it's not worth their while financially. Make a trip down to the local shelters and pounds in your area and if you don't find Cocoa on the stray ward you may want to ask the staff to see their DOA book just in case Cocoa has been hit by a car and injured so severely that he either died as a result of his injuries or needed to be humanely euthanized which unfortunately happens all too often. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again and I will do my absolute best to help you and Cocoa.