# Stephen is missing :(



## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

I wrote awhile back about Stephen, my TNR kitty who, upon being fixed, decided he was no longer feral. He's mostly stuck around since then. He's pretty independent, so he comes and goes, but I generally see him at least once a day.

Except that I haven't seen him since Tuesday, and I don't know why. I've been talking to neighbors, checking the found ads and looking in the local shelters, but he hasn't turned up. 

I'm hoping someone just lured him away with better food. He sometimes mixes it up with Greg, my other outdoor kitty, so maybe he left because of that. But they had been getting along better lately, and I don't see him being on the losing end of a fight between them, so I don't know.

I hope he's OK. I'm worried about him.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Fingers and paws crossed here for him. 


:kittyturn :blackcat


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

What a worry!  I'll be thinking of both of you, and saying a prayer right now.


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## Janice (Jan 12, 2007)

Awwww... I hope Stephen comes home soonest!!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I hope Stephen comes home soon!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks everybody for your comments. I still haven't found any sign of Stephen. My next door neighbor knows lots of people in the neighborhood, and she thinks that if he had been struck by a car or attacked by a dog, she would have heard about it. She believes somebody took him indoors as a pet.

I really hope so. I'm still checking everywhere, and holding out hope that he'll make his way back to my porch. But if he doesn't, then I hope he's found a safe, friendly place to be, either here or on the other side of the bridge.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Jet, I wrote some extra hints in this sticky. Please try them. I hope they help. 

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7722

Come home, Stephen!


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## PrimoBabe (Feb 23, 2006)

I'm guessing that Stephen wasn't wearing a collar and identification? It's possible that some kind, well-meaning person found Stephen, thought he was a stray cat, and brought him inside for food and shelter.

If that's the case, Stephen will probably return home the next time he slips outdoor. Or, you might be able to locate him if you put up some signs around your neighborhood.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

PrimoBabe said:


> I'm guessing that Stephen wasn't wearing a collar and identification? It's possible that some kind, well-meaning person found Stephen, thought he was a stray cat, and brought him inside for food and shelter.


I hadn't yet put any ID on him, which I regret deeply. I was taking it slow since he's still semi-feral. He particularly hated having his neck and chin touched, and would nip me if I tried, so I was reluctant to try a collar right away. I was going to take him and Greg in together for microchipping, but I was waiting for a convenient weekend, and I waited too long. 

It's possible that someone has taken him in, and it's just as possible that he was already owned to begin with, and finally went home. He wasn't skinny or starving when he showed up, and he's capable of great affection when he's in the mood, so he could be someone's pet even though he's feral-ish. Lots of people let their cats run so wild around here that they aren't easily distinguishable from strays or ferals. Either way, I really hope he's found a home, whether an old or new one.



Jeanie said:


> Jet, I wrote some extra hints in this sticky. Please try them. I hope they help.


Thanks so much, Jeanie. I've been trying to follow all the tips, and every new one helps.


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

This is one part of TNR I don't like sometimes cats just leave. Only they know the reason. One of my fixed ferals Willow has not been seen for a while now at least several months. She normally eats with her Mother & Grandmother but she was the shyest one so I know she was not adopted, I am hoping she is eating at another house somewhere, she used to be chased by the feral tom Tony who was also eating on my porch but since has moved in with me. I believe she thinks he is still there waiting to chase her. I still hope she comes back. 

Our feral cats may depend on us but they also depend of their independence to survive.

I hope Stephen comes home. Since he was only semi-feral he might of been adopted. Just keep spreading the word about him and someone should know something.


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## PrimoBabe (Feb 23, 2006)

> I hadn't yet put any ID on him, which I regret deeply. I was taking it slow since he's still semi-feral.


Please try not to feel so guilty. You do need to take things slowly with a feral (or semi-feral) cat, and it sounds as if you did the right thing. 

I just hope the little guy will turn up soon.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Any news about Stephen, Jet Green?


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

No news, Jeanie. Just a couple of vague reports from neighbors about seeing some black cats running around. But as I've mentioned before, our neighborhood is awash in them. If Stephen were free to roam, I think he would have at least come back to visit by now.  

There's other news that may or may not be related, though. About a week after I last saw Stephen, I had to rush Greg to the emergency vet after discovering a bad abscess on his side. Maybe they finally had a really bad fight, and Greg chased him off for good, I don't know. Nobody saw or heard anything unusual that day, but most people in the neighborhood were at work.

But there's even worse news. Greg has tested FIV+.  I hadn't been routinely testing the ferals up to now, but I would guess that Stephen had it too. So I really hope somebody did take him inside, and is keeping him there.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I'm so sorry to hear that, JG. You must be heartbroken.  I know you have probably done a lot of research already, but this might be helpful:

http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/fiv_in_cats.htm


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks Jeanie. It was a big shock and a bigger heartbreak.  Greg is a wonderful cat who deserves so much better. We are making arrangements for him -- I posted an update in the thread about him.

I know it happens, and it shouldn't have been such a big shock. But the first couple of cats I rescued in this neighborhood tested negative on everything, so I went by the Alley Cat Allies advice and forewent doing it routinely. I guess I just started believing that we would be safe forever.

So I've warned the neighbors. The people across the street just had their cat tested, and he was negative. He was the only one to hang out regularly with Stephen and Greg except for little feral Gladys, who no one can catch. She's so tiny that I wonder if she caught it very young.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

He would probably have to bite another cat to give it to them, but you can't take that chance, with him being outside. He could still live quite a few years. I'm sure you already know that, of course.


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