My cat is missing and I'm pretty sure another animal attacked him and probably killed him.  He was spotted still alive on a doorbell camera less than 24 hours ago, but we found his collar and it was scratched and bloody. The blood was dry. No sign of a body though.  No flies, no vultures. Coyotes have not been seen around here in years, but bobcats are reported from time to time. Is it too soon for vultures and flies to be out? Is it possible he's still alive? I'd have to think whatever drew his blood and ripped his collar off probably finished the job.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it is recovering somewhere and will show up. Could just be a cat fight.

Vultures mostly use sight to find a carcass, turkey vultures use smell. It hasn't been hot this week but they don't need to wait long for a small animal that doesn't have a thick hide. If there aren't places to hide, they can spot a carcass easily.

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as a lifelong cat owner, I'm very sorry to hear this. Could be a possum; they will mix it up with cats if they want to secure territory. Did the collar come off a lot? If not, then you might be looking at something more sinister, like animal abusers or Satanists.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

as a lifelong cat owner, I'm very sorry to hear this.  Could be a possum; they will mix it up with cats if they want to secure territory.  Did the collar come off a lot?  If not, then you might be looking at something more sinister, like animal abusers or Satanists.

Yeah the collar was a plastic ratcheting type that can be loosened with force.  It had some stretch marks too.  It was found in the middle of a mowed area.  Doesn't seem like something a person would leave behind.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

as a lifelong cat owner, I'm very sorry to hear this.  Could be a possum; they will mix it up with cats if they want to secure territory.  Did the collar come off a lot?  If not, then you might be looking at something more sinister, like animal abusers or Satanists.

Yeah the collar was a plastic ratcheting type that can be loosened with force.  It had some stretch marks too.  It was found in the middle of a mowed area.  Doesn't seem like something a person would leave behind.

That’s sad. It could have been a dog too. 

I had no idea cats and possums went at each other.

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Yeah the collar was a plastic ratcheting type that can be loosened with force.  It had some stretch marks too.  It was found in the middle of a mowed area.  Doesn't seem like something a person would leave behind.

That’s sad. It could have been a dog too. 

I had no idea cats and possums went at each other.

My only experience was with a mama possum (with babies) that took up residence in our garage; the cat took a few shots and then gave up. Not a fair fight, really.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

Sorry man, that's not cool.. I've had that happen.

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That’s sad. It could have been a dog too. 

I had no idea cats and possums went at each other.

My only experience was with a mama possum (with babies) that took up residence in our garage; the cat took a few shots and then gave up.  Not a fair fight, really.

Yeah once babies are involved there's no telling what a mama will do.  There are rumors of a mother cat taking kittens in and out of the area, but that may be over now.  Kittens grow up fast.  My cat didn't have balls and didn't have claws so I imagine he might miss warning signs and then not be able to defend himself after he trespassed.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Any advice on how to break it to elementary school age kids? They know he's missing, I told them he's probably not coming back, but they don't believe me. They ask me why I think that when I've told them stories in the past of cats coming back after days of being missing. They have no idea about the collar.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Any advice on how to break it to elementary school age kids?  They know he's missing, I told them he's probably not coming back, but they don't believe me. They ask me why I think that when I've told them stories in the past of cats coming back after days of being missing. They have no idea about the collar.

I would leave out the gory details but tell them the cat is most likely dead. Kids can deal with the death of an animal and it’s something they should deal with to help them to understand that death is a part of life.

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Yeah the collar was a plastic ratcheting type that can be loosened with force.  It had some stretch marks too.  It was found in the middle of a mowed area.  Doesn't seem like something a person would leave behind.

That’s sad. It could have been a dog too. 

I had no idea cats and possums went at each other.

One of our cats was killed by a possum under our house two years ago. My husband said it ripped her throat open. The next possum I saw after that (a few days later) I knocked the living [BLEEP] out if it with a baseball bat.

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Any advice on how to break it to elementary school age kids?  They know he's missing, I told them he's probably not coming back, but they don't believe me. They ask me why I think that when I've told them stories in the past of cats coming back after days of being missing. They have no idea about the collar.

Damned if I didn't think this thread would be about something else. Condolences on the cat, losing a pet is a terrible thing that we all go through eventually. I'd just tell your kids what you already did, that sometimes cats leave and we don't always know why. Sometimes it's because they are sick or feel like they're going to die soon so they leave to be by themselves until they do, and we just don't see them again.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Ah comiserations mike! It's horrible when they go! For what it's worth I'd say homebiscuit is about spot on, honesty is usually the best policy,... and most kids aren't daft anyways if you try to fudge it ... All the best pal!

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