A month and a half ago, our household consisted of Mongo, a loudmouthed
siamese kitty, Luna a persian puffball, Freddy a very large tabby with
issues and Bob a chihuahua pekinese jack russell terrier mutt.

When Mongo was about 8 months old, I went on a week long vacation and my
housemate of the time instead taking care of him simply opened a window
into the greenhouse, and the greenhouse door so that mongo could go in/out
as he pleased.  He fell in love with the outdoors and spent most of his time
outside that summer.  I've tried since then to make mongo an indoor cat
but he is quite capable of howling for two hundred hours straight.  At the
point when my wife and I are ready to strangle him, we capitulate and let
him out.

Bob came into the household a year ago and was the first dog we had since
my wife's dog of 16 years died 4 years ago.  He's a little lover and he and
mongo leave each other alone.

Freddy was taken in about 2 months ago and is a jeckll'n'hyde cat.  Very very
affectionate until you remind him of how he was tortured as a kitten and then
his ears go back and he attacks.  Don't rub his tummy, bottom of his back,
or pick him up and he's fine.  

Mongo wasn't too happy about freddy and took to only coming home a few minutes
at a time.  I'd close the catdoor when he came home and lock him in until
bedtime and then we'd let him out or else he'd keep us up all night with
his howling.

Things came to a head when we went on a road trip to albuquerque (from here
in sunny hellacious Scottsdale) and brought back a second little dog, sadie,
a wippet jack russell flea.  Mongo was out at the time and when he came home
(to the patio down from the roof), the dog must have run out and barked him
off the property.   Mongo was never properly introduced and was afraid to
come inside.  Sadie didn't know who lived at the house and was trying to
impress us by protecting us from any wildlife that tried to come in from
the outdoors.

That was 5 weeks ago and I only recovered him an hour ago.  I heard three
reports that he was still alive; one from a houseguest who saw him come down
in the patio and them run back out and a neighbor who spotted him.  My wife
also heard his distinctive bounding up on the roof at 3 in the morning.  I
had a ladder against the wall so that I could go up to the roof (townhouses
connected together) to look for him and call for him from up there.  Today was
my third time up there and I heard him distinctly and discovered him in a
nearby alley where I rushed over and brought him home.

In five weeks his weight went from 12.5 lbs to 11.5 lbs.  He was hungry,
but not starving.  Obviously he's an accomplished hunter and lived off the
wildlife;  that or a neighbor was putting out catfood.

I gotta figure out a way to make him more of an indoor cat without him
keeping us up all night every night.