Toby is missing!


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Old 08-13-16, 03:49 AM
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Toby is missing!

I haven't seen Toby since Thursday evening.

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This is not like him, while he does like to be outside he always wants to sleep with me. He is also the most vocal of all the cats that live with me and I haven't heard a peep. I am suspecting the worst as other than with people, he is fearless and would often chase away raccoons. He has never strayed during the ten years or so he has lived with me.

You might remember me telling how a four foot high fence could contain Toby as he can't jump.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 05:47 AM
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Ohhh...that is very worrisome. He is a nice looking kitty! Have you asked around the neighborhood? Maybe somebody brought him in and he is being held captive.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 06:17 AM
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Furd,

I hope he comes home. Cats have an agenda if their own and nothing we can do about it.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 06:23 AM
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Be sure he didn't follow you into a shed or get locked in a closet.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 06:53 AM
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How upsetting! I hope he's OK and you find him soon. Can you put up some missing signs?
Please keep us updated.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 07:29 AM
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Be sure he didn't follow you into a shed or get locked in a closet.
That is a good one! Many times we have been calling our cats and it turned out they followed us into the garage. Although it sounds like Toby would announce himself if he was in a closet.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 07:49 AM
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No, he didn't follow me into any closed space and get locked inside, he is a very vocal cat and would have been crying his eyes out if that had happened. Nor did he get captured by someone and is being held against his will as he is extremely wary of anyone other than me and won't let people get within ten feet of him, if even that close.

I can try asking but I doubt it will do any good. If he doesn't show up soon I have to assume he finally bought the farm. I live right on the edge of an urban forest that has quite a variety of wildlife and despite his abject fear of humans he is (or was) quite brave when it came to other animals invading his space. Many times I saw him chase raccoons three times his size off the back porch.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 05:31 AM
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Oh Furd, I am so sorry to hear this....he may turn up yet though. Dont give up hope. Check with your local animal control, and your local Craigslist under Pets.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 06:09 AM
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One of our Friendliest Barn Cats disappeared the night of June 30th. I've posted information in the Post Offices, Local Stores, and on the Bulletin Boards at the Libraries. No sign of him.

I reckon he was taken and carried off by a Fisher Cat (Martes pennanti) , many of whom prowl our area:

Fisher - Martes pennanti - NatureWorks

On Summer Nights, we'll hear their eerie screehes in the woods, which carry for miles.

Older smarter Barn Cats are wise enough to stay in the barn and not venture out to investigate !
 
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Old 08-14-16, 06:42 AM
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Best of luck locating your friend. Sent Molly out last night to potty, and she was out there all of 10 seconds and came to the storm door pawing to come in. I let her in, and saw the shadow in the back yard of the bear. Smart girl. So far the bear and her cubs have broken down 5 mature apple trees, consumed all the apples on the limbs they could break, taken out most of my corn and pooped everywhere.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 10:22 AM
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None of the neighbors I have talked to have seen him. I talked with my friend, Janie and she opined that maybe he felt it was "his time" and went away to die. We have both had cats that did that and being cats they often do not seem sick to us.

He was not a young cat, at least fourteen years old and maybe older. For the last week or so he would come to the door but not come in when I opened it, I would have to coax him him quite a bit and then when inside he would want to go out almost immediately.

I'll always remember him as being more like a dog than a cat. He absolutely could not jump. Just to get up on the couch or a chair he had to first put his hands on the seat and then it was as much using his arms as his legs to get up. He always wanted to lie across my leg and when my nerve problem started getting worse and I could not take the pressure, I would move him off and he would move right back. We would do this and each time he would move some part of his body back, his arm and head, then just his arm until finally he would just be leaning against me. Sometimes even that pressure would be too much and I would have to slide him a foot away but it rarely took more than a minute or two before he was right back against my leg.

Douglas never much cared for Toby but after Douglas was in the fight with the raccoon Toby hated raccoons with a passion. One night I was watching TV with Toby against my leg and he lifted his head and started growling. I didn't know what was going on until I saw the raccoon out on the deck. Douglas saw it and ran out of the room but Toby jumped to the floor, raced to the patio door and started barking at the raccoon like a dog along with snarling and growling.

There were other "dog characteristics" as well. When he first came he stank something terrible. I finally gave him a bath and the water ran off absolutely black so I soaped him up again and then it was better when I rinsed him off. He cried during the entire time until I threw a towel over my shoulder and picket him up, wrapping the towel around him. His fur was so short and somewhat sparse that he dried almost instantly. He ran out of the house and I figured that I would never see him again, at least not up close but he was back a couple of hours later looking to get petted. He didn't come into the house until a day or two later and for years I would torture him by telling him he was going to get another bath. Sometimes I would pick him up and take him in the laundry room and as soon as he saw the deep sink he would start crying. I threatened him a lot but never gave him another bath.

He also had the dog characteristic of licking people. Even the few times I had to take him to the doctor he would lick the doctor or the vet techs; they thought it was cute but I had to admonish them to NOT encourage the licking as he would do it to me on a regular basis.

I mentioned that he didn't get along well with Douglas but when Squirmy first came Toby was all over him like he was Squirmy's mother. They were the best of friends and I think that while Douglas is missing Toby like a person would miss a boil, Squirmy is really missing him.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 12:51 PM
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Furd, your friend Janie may be absolutely correct. And that is the way you should be looking at it. It's not easy but most domestic animals only live a short time compared to us. But what's important is the way they interacted with us and how we treated them. I'm sure you gave Toby a good life. And that's all that matters. And yet he just might come back. I still miss my dog every morning thinking he's going to be there. But I'm not upset or sad. Hang in there.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 03:23 PM
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Not to offer too much hope, but I had a black cat that one day ran off. Something it had never done before. Everyday, I went out on the back deck and called for her. Everyday, I stopped by the SPCA to see if someone had turned her in. While I was visiting the SPCA, I took a fancy to a beautiful gray cat with through the roof personality who would reach through the bars to try to get a hold of me and would pull my finger toward her to cuddle through the bars. I inquired as to what the availability of the gray cat was. They told me one more week (minimum hold) and if not adopted, 5 days after that she would be put down. Well, I went back on adoption day and picked up the gray cat (Smokey) and brought her home. She was every bit the wonderful cat I had hoped she would turn out to be. 3 days after I brought the new cat home, I hear something out on my deck. It was my black cat (Shiney) missing for 3 weeks - had a couple of battle scars but none the worst for the experience. She didn't care much for the new family member but that is life sometimes. Interesting note on the gray cat, was the only cat I ever owned that would fetch. I would throw a toy across the room, she would dart after it, pick it up and bring it back for me to throw again. My friends couldn't believe it when I showed them.

Hope you have the same fortune with Toby.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 04:07 PM
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When I moved to this house there was a grey kitty that would visit every day. This went on for years and then I didn't see him for about a month. After a few weeks he disappeared again and it was a full year before I saw him again. By this time he was fairly gaunt but still as friendly (with me, anyway) as ever. I fed him every time he came to visit.

I surmised that his people had moved, taken him with them but he didn't like the new house and returned to his old stomping grounds, not just once but twice. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible but while he would come inside to eat during the nasty weather he was never really comfortable in staying inside. As time marched on he lost more and more weight and ate less and less. His coat was still full and shiny and his eyes bright but it was obvious he was wasting away. When I picked him up he was as light as a feather.

I would have taken him to the doctor only I felt the trip (some 45 minutes minimum) would be so stressful as to hasten his death. I did what I could for the little guy but it was during weather just like now, abnormally high temperatures, that he stopped coming by. That was several years ago now yet I still miss him.

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Greykitty in the back, Douglas and Toby's back in front of Douglas.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 04:32 PM
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While reading these posts my dog-cat Simon is on my desk bumping my head with his. All great animals! Hope your Toby comes back, if not, I hope he is in a better place.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 04:39 PM
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Most likely not a Fisher. There have been several studies done that seem to indicate that Fishers are not responsible for missing cats. LINK
Several years ago the Maine wildlife department did a very extensive study of Fishers. Stomach contents of hundreds of Fishers were examined and not one instance of cat remains were found.

More likely a coyote which will take a house cat.
 
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Old 08-14-16, 05:03 PM
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A good friend related a story about him going face to face with a fisher that had his cat cornered in an alcove on the side of his house. Fortunately he grabbed a weapon, shovel or something and was able to convince the fisher to depart. But several neighbors lost cats and it was assumed that fisher was the cause. I've only seen a few in the wild and they were certainly big enough to take down most cats.

Joel, my heart goes out to you as dogs and cats have always been part of my life. Hope he makes it home.

Bud
 
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Old 08-14-16, 08:09 PM
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Male Fishers typically weigh 8-13 lbs! Did you consider that maybe your friend's cat had attacked the Fisher and it was in the process of getting it's ass kicked?

From WIKI -
Interactions with domestic animals

"In some areas, fishers can become pests to farmers when they raid chicken coops. There have been a few instances of fishers preying on cats and small dogs;but in general, the evidence suggests these attacks are rare. A 1979 study examined the stomach contents of all fishers trapped in the state of New Hampshire; cat hairs were found in only 1 of over 1,000 stomachs. More recent studies in suburban upstate New York and Massachusetts found no cat remains in 24 and 226 fisher diet samples (scat and stomach contents) respectively. While there is popular belief for more frequent attacks on pets, zoologists suggest bobcats or coyotes are more likely to prey upon domestic cats and chickens."
 
 

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