The relief I feel is pretty overwhelming.

Merlin's Law: Cats are always sneakier than you can ever expect, even when you take Merlin's Law into account.

You know each of your kitties intimately, so intimately that you have a mother's sense with all of them. You know when something isn't quite right long before most of us would.
I did that once to poor Petunia, who is never an outside cat, and when I woke and she was nowhere to be seen, I went through your experience.
As soon as I opened the door, she raced in and left behind were three piles of what had to be stress vomit. I still haven't forgotten or forgiven myself and that was last summer lol.
Let me assure you, it reinforced my need to be OCD about my 15 years old little baby girl along with Cuddles.
I'm sure he's all over you now lol and all is well in the world.
I'm thrilled it was a small matter Siswan.

For the first 30 or so minutes he just seemed so scared and confused, running all around the house. He wouldn't even eat and I know he had to be so hungry. I finally got him to calm down and sit still by opening a Churu treat.

I know it was the memories of Sian that triggered this much anxiety. Even though my heart rate is good, I still feel very on edge.

I'm going to distract myself by binge watching some classic films.

A couple of months ago our Toby sneaked outside and spent the night out somewhere. We have coons, skunks, possums, foxes, etc. He was not missed until morning, either. He had very dirty paws, but no other signs of wear!

I know the scary feeling of not knowing where your pet is …. I’m glad to hear you had a happy ending!

Sometimes…..

So glad you and Merlin were smiled upon.

I'm so glad that he's back inside, safe and sound! Cats can be sneaky and he's still a baby, full of wonder and curiosity. I understand your panic. My Holly, who I suspect was feral because she was absolutely terrified of me, once slipped out at 11:00 at night. I was inconsolable because I knew she was gone forever. The next day I cried all day at work and my mother came over and went up and down the street showing everybody her picture. We finally found her; she had fallen down the neighbor's window well. She probably fell down there immediately. That was 13-1/2 years ago and she STILL runs away from the front door whenever I open it.

I took both her and my other cat, Martini, to get microchipped the very next door even though they're indoor cats because you never know when they might slip out. Martini used to run out all the time but that was just a game to her. She wanted me to chase her - look, now we're playing!

You are an excellent cat mama, Siwsan! Merlin is still a youngster, full of mischief. He's like a two-year-old.

By the way, Holly finally warmed up to me although it took years. I never would've believed that it would ever happen, but now she sits next to me and demands pets and scritches and is very loving.

The feeling of relief when they materialize is overwhelming. Enjoy the rest of your day. You and Merlin deserve it.

I went through that a couple of months ago. Mine ended up having a 3 day vacation from home. He showed up meowing at the door and I almost squished him to death hugging him. I hate when they do that.

I am glad Merlin is back. I also sing tunes to my animals as cues to what is going on or just their own special song. You aren't the worse Cat Mama but the most relieved!

know that feeling all too well well. Glad he was waiting for you right outside the door for you this morning.

We escaped a potential sad ending story yesterday. We have 4 cats, and we feed them in assorted locations around the house so the one "vacuum cleaner" cat doesn't snarf down everyone else's food - he eats like a dog, so fast I'm not sure he even tastes it.

Our tuxie female is usually the last one finished, and she eats in the laundry room, which is off the kitchen on one side, and opens into the garage on the other side. She usually leaves a few morsels, and Mr. Vacuum Cleaner is accustomed to going into the laundry room to clean up after her. When I went to let him in there yesterday afternoon, it was hot as hell in there, and I saw that the door into the garage was slightly open, AND the garage door to the OUTSIDE was also open.

Fortunately, Ms. Tuxie was happily curled up on our shoe organizer boxes, one of her favorite spots, and had not ventured outside, at least as far as I know. My husband had gone into the garage a couple of times while she was eating, so I'm pretty sure he's the one who didn't shut the door tightly.

Well over 30 years ago, one of our cats got out of the house without our knowing, and was picked off by a car. It was devastating. We never did figure out how she had never shown any interest in escaping. To this day, if I cannot find one of our cats in about 5 seconds, instant panic sets in. They all have TILE beeper devices on their collars, and I always make sure to locate them by sight or by sound before I leave the house.

How is Merlin my animal loving friend.

It took a while but he's back to racing around and giving me snuggles.

Dixie over the last 2 years has given me more grey hair and tears because she is a very very slick escape artist.

Merlin