What
To Do If You Have Lost a Cat
Here are
details of things you can do to increase the chances of getting your lost
cat back as quickly as possible
Search
Look first in your
immediate area. Search your home and garden thoroughly. Look in all rooms in your home, your shed and garage and any
place you can think of where your cat can hide.
Listen for signs of distress.
Check cupboards, boxes, and household appliances like washing
machines, airing cupboards. Make
sure it is not trapped in the loft, cellar or any outbuildings. Look in your garden in case your cat has been injured and is
in any bushes. Has there been
any building work which your cat has explored and become trapped. Speak with all your neighbours and ask them to check their
sheds and garages. Ask
permission to enter their property to look for yourself, your cat may be
too frightened to respond to a stranger, most people will be happy to
co-operate. Is the an unoccupied house
nearby or one not lit at nights? Your cat may have been snooping and
become locked in. If there is, look through the windows or call through
the letterbox. We have have known of a lost cat which had got through the cat flap
of an unoccupied house but could not get out again and had been prisoner
in the empty house for several days, luckily the owner saw the cat sitting
in the window. Was there an
unusual vehicle in the street at the time of disappearance? Was
the driver visiting you or a neighbour? Sometimes cats climb in and are
not found immediately
Pound the
streets
Walk the
neighbourhood. Check the
streets and alleyways, an injured cat may not be able to get home and many
cats choose to withdraw to a quiet place.
Walk at night when all is quiet and call your cat’s name, listen
for it to answer. Go
door-to-door; make up some flyers with a brief description and your phone
number. If you don’t have
access to a PC or printer you can use your nearest shop with a
photocopier, put them through your neighbour’s letterboxes who live to
the front, sides and rear of your property, then the streets beyond
Inform
Register your
details with as many organisations as possible, all local animal rescues,
all vets in the area, the RSPCA and PDSA, as well as your local Cats Protection
branch, so that it can be
identified if it is brought in as a stray or is injured.
Phone all vets within a ten-mile radius. Also contact police and
the Cleansing Department
of your local council. On the Lost and found page we have links to other
websites that operate lost and found registers.
Speak to your local milkman and postman as they may have seen your
cat on their rounds; give them a flyer or a photograph with your telephone
number so they can contact you if they see it.
Often if schoolchildren use your street on the way to school they
are familiar with the pets they encounter on their route and can often be
very helpful in recovering missing pets
If you’ve
moved recently (within the year) go back and check your old area and
contact pet rescues in that area, also phone old neighbours, or write to
give your telephone number in case your cat turns up.
Consider contacting other areas anyway, cats can hitch lifts in
vehicles and may not be discovered or may be deliberately taken to other
areas.
Advertise
This time produce a
quick A4 poster with a brief description and, if possible, a clear
photograph and your phone number. If you are unable to make a poster a small card is better than nothing. Run some copies and place them in the vicinity of your home
– post office, newsagent, grocers, take away, vets, pet shops and other
suitable places. Laminate
some or pop inside a plastic cover and fasten to trees and lampposts.
Also place adverts in the lost and found section of your local
paper and check the found adverts regularly
There is an
excellent article by the Cat Action Trust on Your
Lost Cat - how to find it
which can be viewed at www.cat77.org.uk/articles/lost.htm
When your
cat is found
Remember to inform
all organisations that have been asked to look for your cat.
Keep your cat indoors for a few days to resettle itself, and don’t
forget to make a big fuss!
Micro chipping
Think about
having your cat micro chipped. It stands a much better chance of being
re-united with you. See our micro chipping
page for further information
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