My missing cat retuns home after 30 mile journey.

Sometime in July, I brought my cat to the vet after he was unable to eat and got sick. Unfortunately after the visit and I was about to load him back into the car, he broke free of the cage and disappeared into a forest reserve that was just behind the vet. I went looking for him for weeks and by mid August (and after asking so many people around), there was just no trace of him.

Today I was listening to some Rolling Stones and he just appeared on the porch, loosing an ungodly amount of weight and missing his front left paw. Trough the forest reserve and rough neighborhood, he traveled about 30 miles to get back. I just fed him and he seems to be in severe fatigue so I let him sleep. I'll bring him to the vet once again for a checkup, but this time I'll be much more careful with the locks.

It's truly amazing what animals can do.

Glad you got him back. Weird how he knew the way from the vet back home. But I guess they're just like that sometime.

ali032373 said:

Glad you got him back. Weird how he knew the way from the vet back home. But I guess they're just like that sometime.

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Thanks man, yeah I'm glad and still getting over the shock, actually. I'll probably have to ask the doctor on how to take care of a 3 legged cat. Life's gonna be a challenge for ol' Tom.

Great story thats amazing .

Been there, lost a cat, looked for ages, and one day after I'd given up all hope she just showed up on the doorstep. Best damn feeling in the world.

Truly happy for you, hope you aren't parted again for a great many years.

That's incredible. It's weird how the cat found your home from the vets. As a fellow cat owner I'm glad you've got him back.

lemme guess....

the cats name is....

Church.

This is ******* awesome! Glad he's back!!!

I'm so glad for you!

I wish I had the same luck. I lost two of my cats this summer. They went away and never came back. The first one two months ago, and another one disappeared a week ago. there's still hope for the second I guess...

But cats are awesome creatures. Five years ago, I experienced something similar. One of my cats went away. I remember it perfectly. It was on the 4th of July. And, day for day, she just turned up, to our greatest amazement, on September 4th!

That's amazing, I hope she is ok and able to recover and enjoy the rest of her years safe at home!

Thanks so much everyone!

@fosing, he's name is Tom.

@16k, Keep up hope that they'll return man, anything's possible.

I'm looking forward to bringing him to the vet first thing in the morning. I need to know how long ago was it that he had his paw severed and what could have caused it. I did Googled amputated cats and they have a good chance of adapting to missing limbs.

I forgot to mention that the forest reserve that my cat had to went trough is infested with pythons, like 7-10 feet pythons and 3-foot long monitor lizards. He probably had to survive in the reserve hunted by these predators with a severed limb. Yup.

I did took some pics of him resting but I'd rather post it along with pics of him during happier times, just so you guys can imagine what kind of hell this cat probably went trough to get home. Thing is, only my cousin has old pics of him so I'll ask her to email me. He used to be huge, about over a foot long and came home scrawny, virtually unrecognizable.

There should be a real study on cats abilities to traverse trough uncharted territory to get home. It's truly a marvel.

That's an incredible story, Ryan. It's amazing your cat found his way home on a 30 mile journey after such a long time. That really sucks about his paw, though. Was it healed or did it have to be treated?

Solidus said:

That's an incredible story, Ryan. It's amazing your cat found his way home on a 30 mile journey after such a long time. That really sucks about his paw, though. Was it healed or did it have to be treated?

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Yeah brother Solidus, it's unbelievable.

The severed paw goes up to his forearm, he doesn't seem to be in pain and the wound looks like it was from long ago and pretty much healed up. Still, I'd love to know if a python or lizard got to him based on what the doctor will say tomorrow. I'm sure it still needs to be treated though.

It's pretty badass that he got home limping on 3 paws, considering he's a pampered house cat.

wow what an amazing story, as a cat lover and owner myself I hope the vet gives your cat a clean bill of health tomorrow. Do post pics, would love to see 'em.

Ryan Pliskin said:

Yeah brother Solidus, it's unbelievable.

The severed paw goes up to his forearm, he doesn't seem to be in pain and the wound looks like it was from long ago and pretty much healed up. Still, I'd love to know if a python or lizard got to him based on what the doctor will say tomorrow. I'm sure it still needs to be treated though.

It's pretty badass that he got home limping on 3 paws, considering he's a pampered house cat.

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That's badass, indeed - your cat's truly a survivor. I guess the vet will find out what happened to his paw, by looking at the teeth indentations or fracture markings on the bone (if he performs an x-ray).

Amazing he survived with a lost limb for so long.

Well, here he was after I found him. He definitely used up all his reserved fat to survive as he used to be HUGE. If I find any old pics of him, I'll post it next time just so you guys can get a sense of how much of a fat, healthy feline he used to be.

Whoa...I'm happy to hear your cat survived and is now back home. That's one tough cat!

Amazing. So glad he managed to find his way home to you. My wife had a three legged cat growing up, so your boy should adapt just fine.

Don't let him out of your sight again!

I'm glad to hear he found you and hope he's recovering well!