The mysterious disappearance and reappearance of a cat

reply to post by Regenstorm


I think that someone else has or had a key to your apartment.....someone you didn't know about. They took your cat and returned it. I feel badly for the cat...it must have been really scared.

Ok ..here is my sinister conspiracy take on the OP.

It was the woman that the cat was fixated with, who secretly took the cat with her, when the owner was unaware, then let him go after a few days .

ok..don't like that one?..how about this one......nah.. never mind...its too out there.

In all seriousness cats do like to get out there and explore,and they might get into a "relationship" of sorts..and they can get traumatized when they end up in a fight.

Does your cat seem ok now??..and how does it feel around the woman it likes so much?....kidding.

reply to post by Regenstorm

The cat looked very disturbed and frightened

What does a "disturbed and frightened" cat look like?

reply to post by Regenstorm


Through the chimney, would be my first guess.
If it was an old house, then it probably had chimneys.

It's funny that you should mention Churchill, though. I once read a story that Churchill's cat-- or one of them, at any rate-- would never leave his side while he was ill and dying. It would lay at the feet of his bed, not moving.
Then one day, the story goes, it suddenly became very agitated and started hissing while staring at a certain point in the air, as if it were fighting somebody invisible. And then, it suddenly cowered, let out a scream and ran out of the bedroom.
When the observers turned their attention to Churchill, he was dead.

Like I said, it's a story I read. I have no idea if it's the truth.

Finally, a relative of mine has seen a cat that we all know died about four or five years ago. On one occasion I saw it myself.
There's no use going into more detail here, because you would have to have been familiar with that cat, and with the neighborhood, to know it was impossible to confuse it with any other cat. So, let's just leave it at that.
It did happen, though. Period.


P.S. Oh, since you mentioned it: the house number of the property where my relative --and the cat-- lived was 13.

Originally posted by Argyll

What does a "disturbed and frightened" cat look like?

You haven't had a lot of experience with cats, have you?

OP, is there any chance that someone could have gotten into your apartment and taken the cat?

When you are messing with cats all the rules go out the window. I have had cats for over 30 years and let me tell you they make up their own rules as they see fit. We had one cat that if I did not know better I would say it could walk though walls. I could lock the cat out on the front porch and see it though the door window and a minuter or so later it would be on the couch. I could lock it in a room and it would get out in under a minute. Trust me if that cat wanted out of that room it would find a way.

Wow I have never lost any of my cats (unless they were outside and then well you know how that goes, they won't come back till they're hungry or it's raining, lol) and my home is probably bigger than your apartment, and it's got many many places to hide in, but I have always found my little furry terrorists. I just happen to be much mroe cunning than them. But seriously alot of people have had these things happen with cats that I know of, and I truly beleive they are capable of making themselves invisible, and they are great at appearing out of thin air, and getting between your feet to trip you!
Seriously though, if you truly looked everywhere and there was not a sign of the cat, well then maybe they were in "invisible" mode.

Originally posted by zodus
i had a cat like that once who would go missing all the time and we would look all over for him, long story short he was in the love-set and would spend days in there. he would crawl in through a small hole in the back that we didnt know was there

This story reminds me of when kittens we used to have, first learned to get around pretty good. There were 4 of them. When they were only a month old or so, one day, they just VANISHED. No where to be found. It was quite disturbing. We were sitting on the couch, racking our brains, 'mourning' over what we did wrong, how we LOST four helpless creatures. That's when the couch we were sitting on started meowing. Loudly. We nearly jumped out of our skin! One by one they appeared from behind various seat cushions, right between us. The couch (a sleeper sofa) was birthing kittens! This became a daily occurrence for a couple of weeks, until the got too big to slip behind the cushions...

Thanks for reminding me of such a fun and bizarre time in my life!

If you really think you looked everywhere(it's happened to me a few times but I still eventually find them in the most unexpected place, so don't count that out 100%)

If that is true, then it's more likely the cat went through one of your windows, and eventually came back the same way. Is that possible?

I've got a couple of cats who can make like a pancake and slide under my dressers with only three inch clearance. Another hides in the linen closet if I forget to shut the door. I've also heard of cats crawling into hide-a-beds and fold-out couches.

reply to post by new_here


I had a kitten do that to me once, and the kitten got suffocated. It was in the cushion and well I had sat right on top of the cushion and the kitten never made a single meow. Maybe it lost too much oxygen before I sat down. That was the worse feeling ever!

reply to post by Regenstorm


My cats have the power of disappearing. All you have to do is mention "going to the vet", and the biggest one can simply vanish for a day. When they want to be "invisible" it is nearly impossible to find them. I thought I knew all their hiding places.

I do have one odd cat story. A few months ago I was in my bedroom, and suddenly heard the voice of my soul-mate maine coon, Timmy cry out his big loud cheery greeting. There was no mistaking it. The strange thing is that my beloved cat Timmy passed away several years ago. I still talk to him every day, out loud, and I often ask him if he could show me a sign that he is there. I usually just feel that I "feel" his presence.

I did not imagine hearing his loud and unique cat voice. It was real and I jumped when I heard it. I wasn't even thinking about it when I walked into my room. It kind of freaked me out, and I thought it had to be one of the other cats, even though it was Tim's voice. I went around the house checking, and all three of the other cats were sound asleep in different rooms.

I'd like to believe it was him.

Does your apartment have maintenance people? If so, they could have come in and the cat ran in behind them. Maybe the maintenance worker saw it happen and tried to get it back out (thus the cat was shaken up )

Originally posted by ldyserenity
reply to post by new_here

 

I had a kitten do that to me once, and the kitten got suffocated.

It was in the cushion and well I had sat right on top of the cushion and the kitten never made a single meow. Maybe it lost too much oxygen before I sat down. That was the worse feeling ever!

Oh I am so sorry... how traumatic for you.
We did worry about that very thing, until we realized that they slipped into a little cylindrical 'bunker' that spanned the length of the couch behind the seat cushions (something to do with the fact it was a pullout sleeper sofa.)
Ok, then one did prick me with his claw thru the fabric of the armrest where he'd managed to weasel up into. But by then, they were quite mobile and vocal.
But I'm so sad about your experience, bless your heart, and the kitty's too!

With respect OP, looking at the plausible before the fantastic is the key. Cats do hide, and they hide extremely well if they dont wish to be found. If they are ill, perhaps depressed and just want some alone time which we all feel from time to time, dont want to be disturbed or bothered lol.

I have had cats, and can vouch on this.

We as humans have this tendancy to believe in the complex rather than the simple and the obvious. Which is the basis of all illusions and magic - Derren Brown Confessions of conjuror.

While it is possible you cat jumped into hell and jumped back out again, a day or so later. "cats are half in and half out" - Constantine.

Looking at it simply - little puss was still in the apartment.

If you choose to want to precieve the complex, supernatural answer that moggy was abducted by aliens or he went through a time shift. You can.

reply to post by KristianTNA


I'm very, very, very aware that cats are masters in hiding. This wasn't the case. I had little furniture where it could hide and the walls were completely solid, there were virtually no places it could have crawled into, and those she could have crawled into were triple-checked. My relation with my pets is very close and I observe their behavior also very well. They have souls, just like we people do. And me and my pets are like family.

The cat that disappeared was when she reappeared really in a state of shock, very scared, as if she had seen the devil but not scared to see me. It was more a relief.

There was no one else who had access to my apartment, not even the landlord. Because if he could I would have known. He was an real ........

Maybe your cat had a bad day.

Many people say cats are halfway between hell and earth. Maybe your cat went to visit the other side for a few days. In all seriousness though, its a possibility lol. You never know whats possible on this planet. My cat has literally teleported in front of me before, no lie.

reply to post by Sirius Septum


Nobody would believe that unless they witnessed it themselves.
It's just like UFOs.