I had my first experience of this recently - we have a visiting cat (he lives nearby). Yesterday my partner was in hospital and our visiting cat showed up, only to give me the most woebegone look - where was the other dispenser of scratches, rubs and fuss?

He then proceeded to explore every nook and cranny of the house with the most delightfully befuddled expression on his face - it was redonkulously cute :3