okay, so a few days ago my cat ran away. he slipped out of the door crack when i opened it to take the trash out. i didn't panic, because he had done this before several times, and only stayed in the yard, so i went and took the trash out while my cat was outside. when i came back, he was still there, but only accompanied by my neighbour's outdoor cat. they were friends, at least sort of, so i stayed outside to see what they'd do. then my neighbour's cat went near the spruce hedge that separated my and my neighbour's yard from eachother. i thought nothing of it, until my cat followed him. i now realized what was happening, and basically ran to him. he just looked at me, and then went from the gap beneath the spruce hedge, while my neighbour's cat stayed in my yard. i started to panic, because my cat had never went beyond the spruce hedge so he basically was lost without his cat friend accompanying him. and plus, there were many houses behind that hedge, and even a road. so i started crying, fetched his favourite toy and some of his favourite snacks. i yelled his name, even went behind the spruce hedge yelling his name and shaking the snack package. when he didn't show up, i went back to my yard and cried there (yes, i'm very emotional). after about an hour, my cat showed up. he showed up. i went to him, still crying, and i got to pet him a few times. and just when i was about to pick him up and take him inside, he ran away again. i was so shocked, and so i started crying again. i went inside and ate something, took my grandmother's dog out possibly still crying (don't judge). when i came back, he still wasn't there. i waited for him, until he finally showed up with the neighbour's cat. i fed them both some of the snacks, pet them and then watched them when they climbed the rowan on my yard. i'd stopped crying, and when my cat had had his fun and was laying on the grass panting, i picked him up and took him outside. he hasn't run away since, maybe because i've been more careful about whether i let him out the door crack or not.