Hillsborough County, FL Lost Male Cat, Jack Jack Is Missing

Karla S.

1 week ago

Here are some tips, if you haven’t tried them all: if you can secure any other pets inside your home tonight & leave the exit point open, your cat may walk back inside during the night. Indoor only cats and limited outdoor access cats never go far. They go into survival mode and hide in silence. Most of them will not respond when they are in survival mode. 3 AM is the best time to find a missing indoor only cat. This is the time they become most active and responsive. Sit and quietly call for your kitty. Try to stay low to the ground, standing is intimidating to cats. Place some dirty socks, t-shirts and pillow cases outside. Your scent will attract your kitty. Place the items near the garage door and crack the door enough for her to get in. DO NOT leave food or litter box outside at night, it can attract predators and aggressive Tom cats. If you do have many stray cats in your area, I would not leave food out at all, for the above mentioned reason. Because indoor only cats hide so well, they are not as likely to be ed by a predator. Don’t give up. It can take months to find an indoor only missing cat. Use a flashlight as late at night as you can to look in trees, under cars, under decks, porches, sheds, and in bushes. Try to look for the glow of your cat’s eyes. The best chance of you being reunited with your cat is to do a methodical search of the area. Most indoor only cats will be within 160 feet of your home. Survival mode last 5-14 days but can last longer. Once their hunger gets to a maximum, they snap out of it, but this is a dangerous time, because they come out of hiding. In addition to posted flyers, make mini flyers and hand them out to your neighbors. Some people don’t pay attention to posted flyers. It’s VERY VERY important that you look for your cat as late at night as you can. If you have other cats, watch them. If they are spending a lot of time looking out a certain window, that’s a good indication the missing cat is in that area. Wildlife and motion activated cameras are very helpful! A lot of people are successful at trapping their indoor only cats at the point of where they exited the house, but again, this is most likely to happen in the middle of the night. If you decide to trap, you must watch the trap closely, predators can a cat in a trap. Post on Nextdoor. Most importantly, if you see your cat, DO NOT CHASE it. Sit down on the ground, bring a carrier, put it upright, with the door open facing up, and wait for the cat to come to you. You can have some treats or open tuna to entice them to come to you. But please, do not go after them , you will just chase them further away. A humane trap was how I caught my indoor cat during the night. He returned during the night to the exact spot where my he had exited the house.

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Allison B.

1 week ago

Put anything outside that smells familiar and like YOU , a towel or piece of clothing. Cats can smell for miles. Also put stinky stuff out like tuna, sardines, clam juice. Walk around at night with a flashlight looking under cars, in bushes and up in trees his eyes will reflect in the light. Clang his food bowls walking around to calling his name. Ask your neighbors to look in and under sheds, decks, in garages in case he’s locked in. Good luck I hope he comes home soon 🙏🏻 Also post on petco’s site called love lost… https://lost.petcolove.org/ And on Nextdoor and lost and found pets of Hillsborough County Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Lostandfoundpetsofhillsboroughcounty/?mibextid=LQQJ4d Post flyers and ask around with your neighbors in case someone took him inside. My friends cat was once in the house across the street for a month! If you’re not certain he got out please check everywhere inside I once read of a cat stuck in a recliner chair and dresser drawer. https://www.dailypaws.com/cats-kittens/cat-safety-tips/how-to-find-a-lost-cat https://www.pawboost.com/blog/7-effective-search-tips-for-finding-your-lost-cat/ More good tips The cat must be able to associate the outside of her home (that he is unfamiliar with) with the inside of the home that he knows. The ONLY way he will be able to do that is by smell. So she should put things that smell like her and the inside of the house (used towels, unwashed t-shirts, blankets, pillow cases) outside the last door he went out of. Cats have an amazing sense of smell. Also put his food and fresh water there too. Cats almost always hide within a 3 house radius when they get out. They aren’t active during the day but may come out at night. If he’s not back by dark, she should go out late tonight, when it’s really quiet and her neighbors are all asleep, and search for him with a flashlight. She should walk around slowly, calling his name, and pausing each time to listen for faint meows. Pausing each time to listen for faint meows is critical, because lost cats don’t usually come running and he may have to be coaxed out of hiding. His eyes will reflect in the light and it will make it easier to see him.

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Paula V.

1 week ago

The only way a lost cat can find its way home is with its nose. Immediately put out the dirty litter box along with anything that stinks of the cat and of you. Cats know our scent.too. put out your stinky socks your smelly sneakers something you sweated in overnight even your dirty underwear seriously and also put out the cat's food along with the dirty litter box. Cats usually stay within a five house radius of their own home for up to a week sleeping in the bushes and coming out at dusk Dawn and late at night so those are good times to call out and shake the treat bag. They can smell up to one mile away from their own home. Good luck