Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Lost & Found Cats => Lost Cat/s => Missing cats over 6 months => Topic started by: mcog on December 12, 2009, 20:12:46 PM
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Hi, I have already posted about my missing cat on catchats lost and found section but i thought i should post it here too, I have taken the last part of this post from my post on catchat. I have been following everyones stories and i'm glad to see a few people have found thier missing cats since mine went missing on 7th november. He's a Tabby and white Tom cat called Pickle missing from New Barnetby, North Lincs....though he could be anywhere by now :scared: I had been keeping him in the evenings due to it being fireworks week but my housemate let him out not long after i'd gone out saturday afternoon, forgetting it was still firework week. When i returned and realised he was out i called him in but he didn't come....he only comes when he wants to. I persisted in calling him but it had just started to get dark and the house a couple of doors down started to let off fireworks. No one else bothered, and i was expecting the odd one or two, hence why i wanted him in. To my horror, they continued from Tea-time until 2am. They were PROPER DISPLAY fireworks too and went off directly over my house >:( To be fair, it wasn't there fault...it was mine...but i couldn't help getting :censored: with them going off everytime i shouted Pickles name. I called him until 4am...he didn't come home. I went to bed with the window open incase he called to come in (and have done everyday since) I got up at 7am the next day and walked around the whole area, around the village, up the footpaths and country lanes but couldn't find him anywhere. The longest he has ever been missing is 12 hours, usually goes out for a few hours at a time and comes home for his food, cuddles and a play and a sleep. I started my leaflet drop that night, i just had a really bad feeling he wasn't going to come home.
I'm Absolutely distraught, I check the internet obsessivley in the hope i may get a possible sighting or found ad that matches his description, i check all the lost and found registers, local rescues/vets, and have him listed on various websites. I have been seraching on foot and by car since the 8th November, have posted fliers into every letterbox in the village and the one that joins on to it. Have put up posters in shops in all towns and villages nearby, on telegraph poles and public footpath signs. I live in a ruralish area and also live close to a train line. I dont think the line is the danger, he has known it for over a year and half, but if he followed the line then he could be anywhere????? My housemate who loves the cat just as much as also helped me tremendously with the searching, he even bought a night vision scope in the hope we may be able to see him when we continued our searches at night. Searching on foot and by car is getting a lot harder for me to do as i am 38 weeks pregnant and feel so badwhen i'm not out looking for him. I try to compensate by using google, and searching the entire net for 'Tabby and white found' Stray North lincs' uand many other combinations, along with rescue sites, classifieds and forums.
I can't even go to the shop without spontaneously bursting into tears before i get there, and at night i sob myself to sleep but its like when your a child and you cry...the type that makes you feel sick. I have to think though, however bad i feel, my poor pickle cat must be feeling 100 times worse...and that doesn't help really. He's a bit of a savvy cat, but i live in a rural area so he was never used to much traffic. I'm filled with Shudda, Wudda Cudda's (and we all know they are the last words of a fool!!!)....I never got round to getting him neutred and microchipped :-[ ...I feel so guilty...i let my baby boy down, i had him since he was 8 weeks old. He was just starting to get quite independant..teenagerish..treating the house like a hotel, then i took in an orphan kitten which he took to after a few weeks...it made him all soppy again, and very kittenish having a playmate about the house. Now, he's all alone somewhere :o(
I did however have a glimmer of hope last friday, i had gone to a cat rescue 15 miles away to check to see if a cat they had brought in was mine, it wasn't....but the rescue lady handed me her phone and she told me to speak to her friend who is meant to be a bit Psychic. The lady told me that she was sure he was alive, was feeling sorry for himself as he had to catch his own dinner as no-one was feeding him and that he was miserable and wanted me to find him. Okay, whilst i take this with a pinch of salt, the thought that he was alive and uninjured gave me some hope, but thinking he wants me to find him, and he was miserable left me feeling guiltier...if that was possible. Anyway, sorry for the majorly long post. I have listed links to where he is listed as it has pics and descriptions should anyone on the site or anyone who browses it come across him.
http://www.lincsark.co.uk/lost_and_found_galler.html
http://www.lostmycat.org/index.php?a=2&b=1916
http://www.animalsearchuk.co.uk/view_lost_pet.php?id=10520
http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/yourmissingpets.html
http://www.secondchancecatrescue.org.uk/lost_found.php
http://www.nationalpetregister.org/mpi.php?pet=18875
thanks for reading x :thanks:
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Hello Heather and :welcome: to Purrs
So sorry to welcome you under such worrying circumstances
Have you seen Sam's magnificent tips:
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,305.0.html
I know that it may sound obvious but are you leaving some food in the garden and/or by the back door
It is possible for cats to travel fairly long distances in cars/wagons etc accidentally
There are some success stories - have you read about Buddy:
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,25623.0.html
:1st place: on the impending arrival of your baby. Is this the first or do you have children already?
Sending positive vibes for the safe return of your Pickle
Come home soon Pickle - your mum is worried about you
:where:
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Hi Yvonne,
Thankyou so much for giving me Miriam and Buddy's story to read, it was a real ray of hope. I found myself totally immersed in it and felt her pain, worry and every glimmer of hope. It was strange though the similarities in parts of it. The first post got me, it was dated 18th June. That is my birthday and that date last year i was given pickle. I know its not a good idea to give people pets as presents, but this one was meant for me ;) I'd gone through a really bad patch and pretty much disowned my entire family on moral grounds and felt like my life was falling apart. I'd told my housemates sister about a dream i had, about this tabby kitten who had saved my life in my dream and had woken me up to alert me to someone breaking into my house, I described it to her as it was a really vivid dream and i dont often remember dreams. The kitten in my dream was called Pickle. Anyway, she told me her neighbour had just had kittens, tabby ones like i described and asked me if i wanted to buy one. I said No as firstly i couldn't afford to buy one and secondly my housemate wasn't keen on cats...he wanted a dog. A couple of weeks later it was my birthday and wasn't expecting anything off anybody, I came home and my closest friends, housemate and his sister were all in the front room. I felt pretty overwhelmed to be honest, i dont like a lot of fuss. I was sat on the sofa opening my cards and turned my head.....theyre was this kitten...just like the one in my dream sitting on the arm of the sofa. I must have looked a picture....my jaw just dropped, and all i could say is...where the heck did that come from! His sister giggled and said...Its yours. From my reaction, i think they weren't sure whether i was impressed or not, but i was in shock, no-one has ever given me anything that made me feel as happy as i did at that moment....i was speechless...i couldn't believe he was REALLY mine. He bacame my best firiend and i'm sure over the past year and half i've bored countless peope to death with Pickle this and pickle that :Luv: To be honest i dont care if i did ;) He was my world, he even acted like a dog and would fetch the toys i'd throw for him and he'd walk them back to me in his mouth and bring them to my feet. I can't believe he's gone...i cannot and will not accept it. :(
Reading buddy's story i came to several posts that made me choke. Like Miriam, i also did an extra fish finger....i left it in the his bowl, along with the Whiskers Oh so Fishy that he loves so much, along side his water and biscuit bowl i put out for him in the shelter we have made outside the patio doors. I've even gone out and heated mackeral on a camiping stove hoping the smell would draw him home. I keep his bed in thier lined with my unwasked jumpers..i hang some on the line too.
Even though he doesn't use a litter tray , i sprinkle his playmates litter out on the lawn incase he recognise scarbons scent, i've tried the hoover thing too. Google earth is covered with yellow placemarks were we have searached for him so reading the post about google earth was comforting.
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just a thought - do you have any farms near you? I was looking for a missing cat recently, and was surprised at the size of the colonies of cats living on nearby farms, where they were provided with a bed in barns and outhouses, and a small amount of food
although the farms were really near me, I had never seen any of these cats before I was searching for mine
as Pickle is entire, he might have found a place within such a colony, and the farmers would take very little notice of another cat about the place
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I too as i think i mentioned earlier was put in touch with a Psychic....whilst i remain a skeptic, having the thought that he was still alive was kind of reassuring even though, like miriam, the lady had told me he was not being fed and was unhappy about not being able to find his way home and having to catch his dinner. She went on to tell me that she had strong feelings he was towards a particular village and i should contact the rescue their, even if i had already. I had not asked to speak to this lady, i had gone to a rescue to check to see if the white and tabby cat they had just brought in was pickle, It wasn't him but i was taking her some pics of pickle anyway (fortunately i have taken loads!!) , and of coursei have to check every possible chance. THe rescue lady asked me if i was interested in the tabby and white she had their but i told her i wasn't really looking to replace him, i wanted to find him, however if i was to get another cat later down the line, then it would be a rescue kitty. I think she saw how desperate i looked and said to hang on a minute whilst she called her friend, it was as she passed me the phone she said...she's a bit psychic but needs to talk to you in person. I felt abit odd to start with but i just went with it, she really had nothing to gain herself by speaking to me. Well, we drove back through this village she mentioned, it is kind of out the way but i stopped at the shop there and put up a poster in their window, nothing ventured! Oddly i'd had some cravings for licorice all week and no shop close to me sold it, not even the sherbert fountains...this shop however had sticks of it on its counter, i took that as a sign...well it made me feel a little like that anyway, but i guess when your looking for it...you grab at straws. My housemate was sure he wouldn't have gone this far out the way but after taking a drive down the country lanes close to a footpath, he got out his binoculars and said that he could see the church in the village next to ours, and it was about 2 miles as the crow files...so who knows. When i got back i rang the rescue the Psychic lady had mentioned and they said they hadn't had any cats in fitting Pickles description but funnily enough had been the vets a couple of hours earlier and had just been reading my poster. Now, this lady wasn't charging, she had nothing to gain by talking to me, and whilst i keep an open mind and am aware of NLP and other things people use to try to hoodwink people, i did find that the rescue lady had been reading my poster around the same time i was talking to the psychic slightly uncanny....again who knows...maybe that was the vibe she picked up on????
Sorry, if i seem like i'm going off on one, i blame it on a mixture of grief, worry and hormones :scared:
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Hi Trigger,thanks for your reply. I thought that too, anyone would just think he was another stray/feral. I also search for feral cats on the net because of this. There are quite a few farms near me, i have posted them with my posters. Problem is as he is entire, he could have gone a lot further than the farms that surround my village. I live in a hamlet that is separated by another village by only an old fashioned railway crossing. It is very rural and their are lots of fiields/farms, barns and woods for miles and miles in all directions, too many for me to cover them all :'( I really wish i could! I've not noticed any feral cats about though, and i was hoping to find out were there were any colonies...if the vets and rescues dont know and the farmers i have already leafleted then i dont know who else to ask, surely someone must know?
Since he has gone missing i have learnt alot about cats, and why you should have them neutred and microchipped, i have learned the hard way, i wish i knew what i knew now before. If and when i get him back, providing he is well enough, this is the first thing i will be doing. I am getting my kitten done after christmas. He is an indoor cat and has not yet been out, now i'm terrified to let him out, even if i get him microchipped. Then i wonder if that would be cruel to keep him indoors???? He can't meow he just makes a bruuum noise, so i wouldn't even be able to know if he was calling to come in or was hurt in someway, i'm really stuck on this one, my head is definately saying indoors. If i do ever let him out and i really dont know if i should then i think i would need to get a GPS tracker...another thing i have discovered about since Pickles been missing.
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Sorry to hear your furbabe is missing....Im sending positive vibes out to bring him back home~~~~~~Best of luck with your search! :hug: :hug:
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Sorry i forgot...thanks for the congrats Yvonne 8) This is my first baby, She is due Xmas day ;D
Although i am looking forward to it, the worry kind of takes the edge off it and Pickle is all i can think of at the minute. The best present i could wish for would be for my pickle to come home to me.
I keep trying to stay positive....but its so hard to, Miriams story gave me that extra glimmer even if i can't help the sadness. Thanks again :thanks:
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Thankyou so much Bazsmum, all positive vibes are very much appreciated, :hug:
xx
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:good morning 3: Just topping up the vibes here and hope that you get some news soon
Good luck with the birth of your baby - we do like to have baby updates on here as well, there have been a few on Purrs including a set of twins :hug:
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I am sorry to welcome you to Purrs under such worrying circumstances, mcog, and join the others in hoping that Pickle comes home soon. You've read Buddy's tale so you know about Zsa Zsa, whom I reunited with her owners after three months. I hope Pickle comes home before that, but you mustn't give up hope or give up your efforts. :hug:
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Thankyou all for your encouraging words, they really do help. :thanks: And i will keep you informed on baby too :hug:
After triggers suggestion about the feral colonies, i have been looking to see if anyone in my area has posted anything anywhere on the net, i have had no luck unfortunately but i did find this site :( This has got me really really worried now. I didn't even know this was legal :mad2: They are a vermin control company in my area that use traps and snares!!! It mentions that they are even used occasionally to trap feral cats! Thats :censored: awful!! I stupidly thought this sort of thing was illegal, its bad enough that it is intended for foxes, birds and squirrels....but i still can't get over that they are allowed to KILL cats.....am i reading this wrong????????????????????
Here is a link to the site i'm talking about:
http://www.kwacs.org.uk/vermin.htm
and an extract from it:
"Wire snares :-
Snares are used to capture mainly foxes but may also catch feral cats (the offspring of domesticated cats which have been abandoned and bred in the wild). Snares are also used extensively in rabbit control in an effort to minimise crop damage. Any snares used must be of the "Free running" type which means they must slacken when the captured animal ceases to struggle and as with any form of trap they must by law be inspected at least once every 24 hours and any quarry caught removed. "Self locking" snares because of the way they tightened up around the captured animals neck were considered to be inhumane and as a consequence were banned from use under the wildlife and countryside act."
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Have you looked at your home on google?
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&tab=wl (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&tab=wl)
Chances are he got completely lost in the fields after being spooked, obviously i dont know which rd your in but look at places the other sides of the fields from your home and think he could easily emerge out here and go poster/flyer it.
He has to pop out the fields at one side and it could be the one furthest away :hug:
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I think because we all hear stories of cats finding their way home from many miles away we imagine that that is the norm
but this forum makes it clear that it is even more usual for a cat to become quite lost even a few streets away from home
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Thanks Millys mum :hug: We have google earth littered in yellow placemarks where we have carried out out search....many many times to no avail, but we can't help but to keep on searchin. It would be good to be a cat for a night and gain access to everyones backyards ect :) All we can do is keep on searching i guess, still do the village aswell, could be close... or miles away :scared: I even been in all the local graveyards and they're hedgrows....right in them, night and day. Wouldn't have caught me wandering graveyards at night before but somehow the need to find pickle swallows up your fear. I dont know how this will come out, but i've tried to upload a webshot showing the yellow place marks on google earth:
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I know this is really sad, but you know when you've had a break up with your boyfriend/girlfriend and songs remind you of them, well its affecting me the same way with Pickle.....well these 2 are really getting me at the minute :'( .................maybe its the hormones......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft8g3QdMHww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRCNZ8JALms
Think i'm officially a headcase now :Crazy:
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Really sorry to hear Pickles is missing :(
Would you be prepared to approach the local paper for an article? As you are so heavily pregnant they could make a little feature of it with you out late at night with your night vision etc desparate to find him. It would increase his exposure in the local area and would hopefully hit all the homes for miles on end if it's the free papers that deliver.
:hug:
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So sorry you've still not found Pickles, hope you have good news soon :hug:
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Hi Helen :hug:
This is something i have thought of. I'm on the border between 2 newspapers that print the same classifieds listings, i think they're jointly owned. One of them has a 'Your missing pet' feature, pickle is already on that on thier website, but i have thought about asking for them to make an appeal on my behalf. The only thing that is stopping me is the fact my family who i have disowned permanantely get the paper too...and will therefore know i'm pregnant. I think i'm going to have to bite the bullet as i really am that desparate to get him back, maybe if i request it they wont print a pic of me or mention my name?? I think i'm going to give it a go anyway. I'll let you know if i get a response from them.
:thanks:
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Thanks Janey, i hope so too :thanks:
:hug:
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Hi Heather,
Welcome to Purrs. I am very touched you found some comfort in my thread when my cat was missing. Buddy has made it back home, he has lost a lot of self confidence but I know that he knows he is safe, he just has to allow himself to truly believe it.
I never would have found buddy without all the wonderful support I got here on Purrs, all the ideas and suggestions I put into practice and about 2 months later, unbelievably it all came together.
They are like little children, they depend on you for welfare and love whilst still trying to be the boss themselves! Many times I anticipated giving up hope, it is so painful to return home from searching trips empty handed and not getting any new clues, but there is something inside that doesn't let you quit without proof.
Your day will come will you are reunited.
Good luck with your new baby, I hope everything comes full circle. :hug: :hug:
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Hi mcog,
I've just done a dowsing as you have supplied a map and a piccie...spur of the moment thing, it appears that my current necklace is ok for use as one!
I've pm'ed you.
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Thanks Ruth, that was so lovely of you :hug:
I have sent you a PM too ;D As i mentioned, I have had a possible sighting but i don't want to get my hopes up too much incase it turns out not to be in, I am going around 4.30pm and plan to stick round for a bit to see if the cat shows up. Will let you all know either way, fingers crossed!!
xxx
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:crossed: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Hi, just been to look at that cat....unfortunately it wasn't pickle...was a VERY VERY similar though, it came over to us and give us a bit of affection, twas a lovely cat too, only a couple of markings between them, it was either a neutred male or a female. Pickle is entire, although i am aware if someone has taken him in, they may have in their wisdom had him done. Was soooo close, it was a good job i had my portfolio of Pickle with me or i could have thought it was him. I am hoping to try and conttact the girl who rang me to thank her for the sighting as it was so damn close. Again, my thanks to Ruth also, for giving me the inspiration to do a whole new poster campain.....they were bolder and had larger pics, we went round putting them up in the surrounding villages again including some villages we hadn't covered before, which is where this call came from, a particular village suggested by Ruth. The golfcourse and the coutrypark in that village also have copies now too. The golfcourse is putting it up in their clubhouse so if a golfer spots him he can contact us, and even though the country park is closed for the season, the staff that are still maintaing now have the poster in their staff office. We are running a few more off later this evening and doing some more villages further afield. I have a friend who lives their too who walks her dog so i will ask her to remember to keep her eye out for him. ;D We went for a look abit earlier too.....and got checked out by the police as a local person was a bit suspicious of us lurking about the area so frequently, after running a check on us they let us continue with our search, i warned them i would be back later too and would continue to do so for a while yet :rofl: although it was slightly embarrassing trying to explain i was only searching for my cat, i can appreciate why they had to check us out.
I also emailed the local papers asking them to appeal on my behalf yesterday, am still yet to hear anything from them though, will let you know if i do.
Will keep you all informed, thanks all of you for your fantastic support, and for all those who are still missing their kitties...stay positive! xxx :hug:
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Sorry it wasnt Pickle but hope some more sightings come in :hug: :hug:
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So sorry it wasn't your Pickle, still keeping everything crossed you have good news soon :hug: xx
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when I was in your shoes, I got to know every single other tabby cat in the area, I knew all their names and some of them even got used to me!. There was also one that a spitting image of my Buddy, I had to get a photo out and go marking by marking, it was uncanny but there were a few very tiny differences.
We all have our fingers crossed for you. :hug:
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Thanks, i really appreciate all your support, it makes it easier being able to talk, I dont think i was coping all that well before. All your positive vibes are helping him find his way back to me i'm sure. :hug:
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:hug: :hug: :hug:
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such beautiful pictures
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Thankyou, luckily i have quite a lot of pics of him :Luv: Since its nearly christmas i thought i'll post this one i took last year, he was Carbons age then, 7months old. Seems like yesterday. We had put the tree up and he used to sit in the branches. I think he was a bit gutted when we had to take it down:
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Aw he's beautiful MCog....Really hope you get some good news to his whereabouts soon! :hug:
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hope Pickle returns home very soon :hug: :hug:
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I hope he is okay :scared: Its freezing outside, we've already had snow here in lincolnshire :'( Just feel really bad that there is nothing i can do.
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'Wishing you a merry christmas my pickle onion, :xmas 6: hope your sat in front of some old lady's fire eating turkey'
Missing and thinking of you very much my ickle onion :candle: , come home soon :catluv: xxx
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More positive vibes being sent! :hug:
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Hope Pickle is soon home :hug:
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Thanks for the positive vibes and wishes, i'm sure they are helping him :hug: I've still got my bump, was due xmas day but she is hanging on in there, think she wants me to find Pickle first. Nearly had a panic attack on christmas eve, was just going to nip to the shop to get some last minute bits and bobs and went to check where Carbon was before leaving (he's an indoor cat). I couldn't find him anywhere, was like he'd just vanished in the space of 5 minutes. I got a really bad feeling, the same feeling i got the day Pickle went missing. I searched the house for over 15 minutes, calling him and shaking his bell toy, was starting to think he'd somehow got outside, god knows how but i was almost convinced since i couldn't find him indoors....then he appeared, don't know where he'd been hiding, my guess is he thought it was hide n seek he was playing, the relief was immense....i couldn't lose both of my furbabies. I'm glad the snow is starting to clear, i'm going to resume my physical search for pickle tomorrow and more posters, i'm so worried people will be letting off more fireworks on new years. I would trade evrything i own to get him back, i'm convinced he is still alive and out there somewhere, just hope he has food and some form of shelter. xxx
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Cats are very resourceful and bet he has found himself a warm house and someone to feed hin but hope that someone sees posters and gets in touch :hug:
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I really hope so Gill, i worry about him all the time :scared: I've found a few videos and some more pics of him, although its sad to watch them, at the same time its strangely comforting :hug:
I think i might be in early stages of labour, i have the vids on my phone, so i'm taking it with me when i go to hospital for comfort xx :hug: