Glennie C.
3 years ago
These are tips we use (as lost pet volunteers) and suggest to owners. You may already be doing all or some of these:
She is probably within a 5-7 house radius from your home. It is not unusual for cats to hide in silence for up to 14 days when they get out of the house. They will not even respond to their owner. Please stay positive and don't give up since it could take awhile to find your furbaby.
Conduct a very thorough search of the 5-7 house radius from your home, do this frequently. Look under/in porches, decks, vacant buildings, sheds, drainage pipes, shrubs and bushes, neighbors' garages, crawl spaces, wheel walls on cars - any place a cat could hide. Ask your neighbors to check their security footage for her.
Please set up a food station close to where she exited the house. If you have a Ring camera, position the food so that you can see on camera who eats the food. Leave a bowl of "stinky" food - sardines, canned cat food, boneless cooked chicken, etc. and a bowl of water. Also, leave a scent item of yours such as a stinky pair of socks, shoes close to the station. Spray with mackerel juice: Buy several cans of mackerel and drain the juice into a spray bottle. You can also add some fish sauce (from the oriental food section in the grocery store). Add several ounces of water to the mixture and select the "stream" setting. Spray the upper branches of trees and bushes in the area leading up to and around the food station. The smell can help lure her to the food. Repeat every 2 days unless it rains. If it rains, spray again when rain stops.
I also read recently where a cat lost in my town appeared at a neighbor's house when they were grilling. (You may also want to grill out to try to lure her. We always suggest this for lost dogs but this is an option for you also.)
Go out in the neighborhood at night when its quieter, maybe around 11 and shine a flashlight under porches, in bushes, etc. to see if you see any reflection from her eyes.
You can also spray the mackerel juice in a wagon wheel pattern - shown in the graphic.
