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My cat is a little over a year old. He started sneezing blood. Took him to the vet and got antibiotics for a respiratory infection.

He is an indoor outdoor cat but after the vet visit he stayed in and slept a lot. Then he felt better and went out. That was in June. It's October and he hasn't come home.

I thought something happened until recently. I saw him once in my front yard, and he acted like he didn't know me. I then had a dead bird on my step, thinking it was him, then again today in the yard.

He doesn't respond when I call him. I did notice he has a new collar on. What is wrong?

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    New collar indicating a neighbor has been taking care of him? And someone else feeding him....
    – Christy B.
    Commented Oct 7, 2017 at 1:40
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    He was young when he went missing, it's been 4 months. I suspect it's because of the age
    – user6796
    Commented Oct 7, 2017 at 1:45
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    He acted like he didn't know you and had a different collar. Is it possible that the cat you saw is a different cat altogether? Did you recognize him by any unique markings, or did you assume it was him because he was in your yard?
    – Flater
    Commented Oct 9, 2017 at 10:53
  • Do you have any picture of your cat? Try using the picture to compare with the cat in question to see if they are same.
    – Sonevol
    Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 10:27
  • My sister has owned two cats that "re- homed" themselves. They seem to venture out and then are perhaps fed scraps of meat or something else that they like better than the food they get at home? Could be they get bored. I'm sorry I can't really offer an answer, but if this is what happened with your cat (and it may not be) I wanted you to know that it's not uncommon and you are not alone.
    – Mollie
    Commented Nov 5, 2017 at 22:59

1 Answer 1

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Cats only remember things that:

  • Put them in danger
  • Benefited them in someway

This means that if he was staying with another owner he may have 'forgotten' you. However, he came back, indicating he remembers 'you' but not his previous name/life/identity. He should come back in time, but if you are still worried you could take him to the vet to rule out any possible neurological/optical defections.

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