OP here... thanks for the votes of confidence. I am not only sick because he's gone, but my kids get home at 3 today and will burst into tears again if he's not found by then.

I've read the sites for indoor only cats who've escaped and don't know exactly what his behavior would have been. He is very friendly and more like a dog than a cat, always bolts out the door if given half a chance. That kind of cat is supposed to have a further distance possibility from the house, but also more likely to be "found" because he will approach people.

On the other hand, it was dark, cold, and wet when he got out and now it's been over 12 hours and he's cold,wet, scared and hungry. Maybe he's hunkered down tight and low. I've looked EVERYWHERE for blocks since 8 am this morning. I can't go in backyards but I've peered over fences and into every bush I can reach. Way more than 5 houses over too!

I posted on the server, the .net website, a neighbor sighted him probably 15 mins after he got out and broke my heart... he was pacing up and down the sidewalk looking for his door back home. We live in a townhouse on a narrow street.

I'm just sick and keep hoping someone will find him and call. I can't sit for more than 20 mins without going back out looking and calling for him.

Let us know if you get him back! Growing up we had a couple of cats go missing for a couple of days at a time, and one we thought for sure was a goner when he disappeared for more than a week. He came back skinny and sick, but bounced back under a vet's care.

oh, search after dark and after your neighborhood quiets down...like 8pm ish calling her or first thing in the AM.

OP: Cats apparently, usually only go 5 houses away. I found mine 2 streets over, 2 houses down, so nearly at the limit of the 5 houses. She was gone 8 days! and lost a lot of weight. We put signs all around the neighborhood including slipping signs in mail slot to those people who are 5 houses away. She likely in a garage or under a deck or something like that. Good luck!

As long as the kitty has been with you long enough to "know" where he lives (two months or so) it is highly likely he will return. I have been worried sick over this myself - it's great when you see their smiling face again!

Two times. Fliers are your best best. Send them to vets offices and shelters as well. Both times someone saw my flier and called.

Describe the cat but do not put the name or "wearing tags." Most lost animals lose their tag. Put your address, phone number, and the date.

When our cat got out, she got picked up by our town's animal control pretty quickly, and she was at the shelter.

My indoor/outdoor cats have done this a few times as well. Once I found one of them at the local shelter (had to go there in person to find him, even though they are supposed to have records of all animals that come in, don't just call, go.) Turns out he'd been hit by a car. A few years later the same cat got hit a second time, this time fatally. I'll never forgive myself for the fact that he was not wearing a tag with our phone number on it (he kept losing it, and I did not replace it right away). One neighbor called animal control but another threw the body in the dumpster before they got there. Both neighbors called me when they saw my fliers.

Hope your kitty comes home safe!

Yes, call local animal shelters, and even local vets offices. Often, if someone finds a cat--they will first take it to a vets office to see if it's microchipped (if the tags with your info have fallen off).

You also might want to post on Craigslist too.

Yes, your kitty will hopefully come back when he gets hungry. As a kid, I grew up in a very rural area, and my beloved Linus disappeared one day when I was about 10 years old. After a while, we gave up and started hoping that someone else just found him as a "stray" and adopted him. FIVE YEARS LATER, I distinctly remember sitting on my back porch, and up saunters Linus. He jumped up on the porch, came over to me and meowed. I have no idea what he was doing all that time, but he did come back... eventually (and yes, it was definitely the same cat).

Yes. Our indoor only cat got out. He paniced and ran off into some deep woods. The outdoor cats rescued him. There are websites that give a lot to detail on how to lure your missing kitty home. They say that cats panic and hide out usually within 5 houses of their home. Our kitty was so out of his mind fearful when he came home -- we did not approach him -- we left the door open and he sidled in. He ran around in circles (in the house) for another 24 hours. He is fine now. Best of luck.

When I was a child, I had a cat (indoor/outdoor) disappear for a month and return. He was very skinny, but otherwise ok. I was one joyous little girl when he came back.

I feel for your kids...and you. I hope he returns. Don't forget to call animal control as well as the list serve, signs, etc.

Yes. This was when I was a child. He was an outdoor/indoor cat who wandered into someone's garage a couple blocks from our house. They were putting leftover Thanksgiving turkey in the fridge in their garage. He was such a nice, friendly cat that they were going to keep him. I can't remember whether they responded to one of the fliers we put up or to our lost and found ad in the local paper. I really hope your cat turns up soon.

Our cat does this from time to time (sneaks out) and he has always come back in the 24-36 hour range. As best we can tell, he doesn't go far but does hide out until he is hungry/ready to come in. Hopefully this will be the case for your cat too. Best of luck for getting him back.

We lost our kitty last night, likely around 11pm when I went out to check on the grill. This morning, he wasn't around for breakfast and after searching the house, I put 2+2 together and figure he got out (he's a runner). He's wearing tags with our current information and is microchipped. I've posted on the list serve in my community and have been calling him about every 10-20 mins. My daughter was in tears this morning, and my son is putting on a brave face. I'm trying to hope for the best but worry that being out for the entire dark wet night gave him a lot of time to cover ground.

Hoping to hear that most people's cats are found and reunited with their families? We live in Ashburn, but right on the edge of what becomes rural Eastern Loudoun County.