is it normal for a male cat to leave the house for a few days?

[Gracie]

my little cat, 8 months old, has been missing for almost 4 days. he left at 8pm on a Thursday, and never returned for any food. that's not like him, he comes back almost every hour for more food! he's not the outdoor type cat, he'd go outside for an hour or so, do his business and come back in and play with us. I think we're bothered more because he has never been out for a even quarter of the time he's been out this time! we've searched all over town, and we haven't seen him. many people in my Facebook have been sharing my post about loosing him also. we're thinking about putting posters up, but I'm not sure wether it's a normal thing for male cats this young to leave for this long! he hasn't had his bits done, but he has had his vaccination so he doesn't catch the feline disease thing, I don't know what it's called lol. if you know anything about this, please tell me!!