My oldest Bunty went missing about 10 months ago now. She is a little old lady who never really goes much further than down the end of the driveway so you can imagine that our heart was in our throat one morning when we woke and Bunty was nowhere to be seen. We didn't quite freak out fully at first but after a couple of hours then we started panicking as it just wasn't like her at all. We had triple checked the house and places in the house that were impossible like the cutlery drawer just to ease our minds and so we started the hunt outside. By the evening I was in bits, my eyes stinging from crying - I looked like a mad banshee women and kept going out with a box of cat food calling - my husband was trying to be so supportive but I could see the tears in his eyes. That night neither of us slept much, both going out on and off throughout the night checking. We had called everywhere, CP, RSPCA, all local vets, everywhere - even the council to check if any dead cats had been picked up on the road - I was in tears on the phone to the coucil asking them this and the gentleman I spoke to I have to say was wonderful who ever he was.
Anyway this went on for 10 days and by the 10th day people had started to say things to me like "you have to start facing facts" or "you have to move on", etc etc but I wasn't ready to give up. Bunty has a special cushion that we bought for her in the space room and she sleeps on it - no other cat even seems to use it - its like they know its Bunty's, and every day I would smell this cushion. My husband even said by the 10th day "what about Bunty's cushion" - I snapped back "it stays, don't touch it".
That night I think I cried myself to sleep like all the other nights then at 2am I heard a weird calling - the sort of call that in the middle of the night makes you jump out of bed as its one of your cats but the meiow or call just isn't right. I sat bolt upright and looked over at my husbands side of the bed and in the moonlight I saw Bunty racing up and down the side of the bed calling out - with one had I was wacking my husband trying to wake him and with the other trying to turn the light on. I kept trying to get the words out "its Bunty" but couldn't! The moment the light went on she raced downstairs towards the kitchen and we jumped out of bed. When we got to the kitchen there she was - skin and bone - my husband poured food into her bowl and I fell to my knees crying and laughing (its bringing tears to my eyes typing this). It was amazing - Bunty was home.
We took her to the vets the next morning for a check up and although very underweight she was fine. I brought her home and she curled up on our bed and I layed next to her all that day just looking at her and gentley stroking her.
It took weeks for the normal Bunty to come back - she came home a very different cat and although she is back to her normal self she is now understandibly obsessed with food and weirdly talks a lot more - maybe she is telling mummy all about her adventure.
So just wanted to say - don't give up hope as you never know. On another forum a members cat returned to her after 43 days!
Don't loose hope please, it is heartbreaking but you just never know.
