my cats disappeared

its been 5 days and my 2 year old "big boy" has not come home and one of his sons is missing too for a full week now. I'm bummed out.
don't know if this has anything to do with it but momma cat had a new litter just about a week ago. I saw 5 little ones. the she dragged em off somewhere. and now she brought them back to the back porch yesterday.

I’m so sorry to hear about your cats missing. I was wondering how rural you are and if you have a dog. If you’re rural, coyotes can be an issue. My brother-in-law has had a couple of cats disappear also.

I know they’re pretty bad this year by me in NY and decimated my free ranging chickens. They disappeared too, but a few groupings of feathers told the tale and seeing 3 coyote pups on trail cam confirmed it.

A good size dog hanging around is the best deterrent. I haven’t had that this year.

Hey Bruce;
Maybe your boy cats are extra smart and are being very discreet around the new mom...
New moms are full of love for their babies...
That big stinky Tom that she liked so much a couple months back...
Well she might be more inclined to rip his face off right now.

Maybe he took his son and went off hunting for a few weeks...
Teach the boy the rules of being around friendly females and then about new momma's with babies...
Better to leave and check back in from time to time , delivering fresh meat and quickly backing away to go off hunting again...

Human dads can have a similar problem...

It is not uncommon for male cats to take off together.  I have had then vanish for up to 2 weeks ....and they were neutered.  To be sure, there have been several who did not return.

We had a big grey striped tom cat named Jeremiah when I was a kid. He was one mean assed cat, only my sister and myself could touch him without losing some blood and even us, only if he was in the mood. He had a way of letting you know.

He disappeared for days, weeks, even months at a time.  Came home one time minus an ear and with his tail all bent. When we moved briefly to town my dad put him in a box in the trunk of the car. When released he ran across the street and up the wall of a house to the eve, jumped off and disappeared for six months. Must have gone home, figured out we weren't there and came back.

Did I mention he was a mean assed cat? Really an understatement, he was evil. He feinted fear of the neighbors dog, just to lure it in and then one day instead of running he attacked.  Was quite sight, that poor dog running home squealing and trying to sling Jeremiah off his head. The dog belonged to the preacher across the street. He came over, mutilated dog in arm and told my dad he had to pay the vet bill. My dad got a big laugh out of that.

Any way, tom cats do tom cat stuff. Wouldn't be surprised if your cats come home pretty soon, you know, just to rest up till next time.

I do have a dog, I adopted him two years ago, and he will bark like crazy if coyotes come around. but he has to be kept on a chain or else he is terror and chews everything up including half his dog house and neighbors chickens.
ive not heard a peep from him recently even on moonless dark nights.
hopefully big boy and his son found some friendly female felines and will come home fat and happy.

I don't want to give false hope, as there are many dangerous things out there for cats... but I will tell you as a kid, out cat disappeared for 6 months one time (we had even gotten another cat, thinking this one was dead). She came back covered in burdocks, but otherwise fine.

We had a brother-sister tag team. They would take turns roaming the countryside. When our girl didn't come back, the boy stopped his galavanting. He's only been gone two or three nights since. She disappeared two years ago now.

I do hope your boys come home soon.

Hoping those boys come home soon to reassure you!
Cats are such a law unto themselves. Ours come, and go. Disappear then return. Always a worry wondering if they're okay. The theory that the new mom may be being territorial and scared them off till her kittens grow up a bit sounds feasible to me.