I have had two cats since I graduated from college. Oliver and TeeTee. These cats have traveled with me from Oregon to Miami to Los Angeles and back to Oregon and have always been constant and true companions.

When my son was born, they ignored him....didn't act jealous or extra clingy, so I was happy. But when my son started walking right before he turned 10 months old, the cats started to pee everywhere. We tried everything from taking them to the vet to spraying feline pheromoones everywhere on a daily basis, to adding extra litter boxes and making a safe haven for them in the garage where they could escape my son's wild races and ravings. All to no avail. The peeing continued, and when my son ended up sitting in apuddle of it in his jammies one night, we knew it was time to quasi-exile the kitties. So they became outdoor cats.

We bought them a beautiful, big, cedar doghouse and filled it with flannel blankets, always kept the water and food bowls full and gave them lots of lovin everytime we were outside. In the beginning they stayed in the fenced yard and eventually they dug a hole under the fence and started exploring the neighborhood. They've been outdoors for over a year now. At night I always put out a bowl of wet food for both of them and like clockwork they are at the backdoor at 7pm every night. I swear they can hear me open a can of food from a mile away even if all my windows are closed. Well, last night Oliver wasn't at the door waiting for his meal.

This morning his bowl was still full, and TeeTee keeps roaming around the yard as if searching for her brother. I have a sinking feeling something bad has happened. I have looked around the neighborhood and haven't seen him.....but he has never gone missing before. I want to push this out of my mind so that I can go on with my day and take care of my son more effectively, but I can't. Oliver is missing. He has a tag with our number and address on it......but this isn't the kind of area where a concerned citizen would take him in to a vet or the Human Society if they found him.....I'm at a loss. Literally.