When I was a kid, about 8 to 11, we went on vacation and when we came back our family cat had abandoned us. This traitorous feline had found an older couple that fed him but did not expect anything from him. Cats are just like welfare recipients, they want everything but given nothing!
Same thing happened with my sister in law’s cat. She was off working all day, and although well fed, wasn’t getting what he figured was his strokes, so he just up and left. Anita was heart broken about her missing cat. Years later she found out it has just moved two blocks over and was living the “good life” with an older couple who catered to his every whim. I like that about cats...they are survivors.