Yes, when I was young we had an outdoor cat for like 8-10 years. She had litter after litter of kittens (my parents should have gotten her spayed, or course, but it just didn’t happen). One day she didn’t come home, which was unusual for her. So, we went looking for her and called out to her. We eventually gave up for the night. We didn’t see her the next day, and couldn’t find her. A few days later when still looking for her, we spotted her. There were a couple of wooden lots between us and the next neighbor. She was on their porch sitting on their patio furniture. We took her home and gave her love and food. The next day she was gone. She was back at the neighbor’s. We just left her because it was clear she was where she wanted to be. She knew how to get back to my house, but she was already home–it just wasn’t mine. It was sad, but we weren’t going to restrain her. The neighbors didn’t mind. So, she got to retire.
Yes, when I was young we had an outdoor cat for like 8-10 years. She had litter after litter of kittens (my parents should have gotten her spayed, or course, but it just didn’t happen). One day she didn’t come home, which was unusual for her. So, we went looking for her and called out to her. We eventually gave up for the night. We didn’t see her the next day, and couldn’t find her. A few days later when still looking for her, we spotted her. There were a couple of wooden lots between us and the next neighbor. She was on their porch sitting on their patio furniture. We took her home and gave her love and food. The next day she was gone. She was back at the neighbor’s. We just left her because it was clear she was where she wanted to be. She knew how to get back to my house, but she was already home–it just wasn’t mine. It was sad, but we weren’t going to restrain her. The neighbors didn’t mind. So, she got to retire.