'My husband is convinced it's our cat': Family's feline goes missing, two weeks later "their cat" comes back and they try to understand if it's her or an adorable impawstor

Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor

Jun 21, 2026 9:30 AM EDT

Losing a cat is horrible, finding a lost cat is amazing, but the unknown of the in-between is very weird.

If you're a cat parent, raising your cat child with love and care, you know how scary the thought of losing them is. We're not talking about cats crossing the rainbow bridge from old age - it's extremely sad, but at least something you can prepare for and expect, knowing your cat has led a great life before their passing. But when a cat goes missing, when you literally lose your cat, as plain as day - it's a very scary thought. We hope no cat parent (and no cat!) will go through it.

We almost lost our cat this way - when she was a few months old kitten, she fell from the third-floor window because she wanted to chase a bird. We later found her, scared and alone, hiding in a bush. After a vet visit, to make sure she's okay (mostly, she was), we took her back home. This was six years ago, she's alive and well. But… the thought of the potential to never find her again is a haunting one that we really prefer not to think about. But there's even a more overwhelming and weird thought we're glad we didn't have to deal with - what if we've found our cat, but we were not sure she was our cat at all?

This is exactly what one family is dealing with. Their cat went missing two weeks ago, and then she came back… they think. Actually, they are so unsure if they really found their cat that they turned to the wisdom of the masses. They posted pictures of their cat and "their cat" side by side to ask the online feline family if they really think their actual cat found her way back home. What do you think? Look below, maybe you'll get an answer we didn't think about.

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We tend to agree with this unfortunate wisdom in this comment. Since their cat's front paws were declawed, her survival chances outside, in a place with many coyotes, are next to zero. With a very heavy heart, we admit we're not optimistic.
We'll take that as an opportunity to stress the fact that declawing your cats is a cruel and horrid act. We stand strongly behind this statement. A cat's claws are an essential part of their bodies, and stress relief - as they scratch surfaces to calm themselves down (in addition to the very natural way they “trim” their nails like that). Taking it away from them is downright cruel. How would you feel if someone took away your nails? Yeah, exactly.
Now, we understand they adopted her like that, and it's not this family's fault she doesn't have her front claws. But, and it's a bit but - a declawed cat should never be allowed outside, exactly for the reasons listed here. Their chances of survival without their claws, their weapons and hunting tools, are very low.
We still hold hope that their family actually found their cat, and she just looks different because of the trauma and lack of food. Hope for cats should never be diminished in our opinion. But it's also important to keep reality in mind.
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