Catastrophising

I can understand how you feel because years ago, when my puppy ran off on the trail of something, I panicked and my mind was in overdrive thinking he could be stolen, run over etc. He returned home two hours later, but the horrible experience has stayed with me. 

The period my dog was away was too short for me to do much but panic and keep searching for my dog, but on other occasions when catastrophising, I list the more positive things that could have occurred and try to focus on those. Mindful breathing exercises help, e.g, watching (with the mind’s eye) the abdomen rise and fall as you breathe in an out, not changing the normal breathing pattern in any way. 

I hope your cat returns soon. Even though she hadn’t been in the habit of disappearing, things can change. I have heard of many cases of older cats disappearing for various periods of time, returning and carrying on as if nothing has happened during the period they were missing.

I can understand how you feel because years ago, when my puppy ran off on the trail of something, I panicked and my mind was in overdrive thinking he could be stolen, run over etc. He returned home two hours later, but the horrible experience has stayed with me. 

The period my dog was away was too short for me to do much but panic and keep searching for my dog, but on other occasions when catastrophising, I list the more positive things that could have occurred and try to focus on those. Mindful breathing exercises help, e.g, watching (with the mind’s eye) the abdomen rise and fall as you breathe in an out, not changing the normal breathing pattern in any way. 

I hope your cat returns soon. Even though she hadn’t been in the habit of disappearing, things can change. I have heard of many cases of older cats disappearing for various periods of time, returning and carrying on as if nothing has happened during the period they were missing.

Thank you ArchaeC for the best wishes, and the idea of listing the positives.