West Midlands, England Lost Cat, Milo Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Jenny R.

1 month ago

Any sign yet ?

Ri M.

1 month ago

📷 View photo on Facebook

Polly B.

1 month ago

Think like a cat. Back gardens are their roads and highways. Remember ‘Carbonel’. Puss may be locked in somewhere and not everyone sees Facebook. Please put leaflets through letterboxes, on your block and the one opposite, with a photo and a mobile number, asking people to check their sheds and outbuildings. The WHOLE BLOCK. Many people who work full time and drive do not walk past lamppostss and see posters, so leaflets are best and have a greater reach. A mobile number is excellent in because people can text you to say ‘Puss was in my garden at No 14 last night’. Good luck!

Lydia T.

1 month ago

Stressful! Please be open to many possibilities. Most 'lost' cats are hiding (or locked in / trapped, prevented from returning home), frightened (especially if chased or injured), possibly disoriented, within about 500 metres from where lost. (Less for indoor cats). Some cats fear making a noise, in case it attracts predators, so might not respond to your calls. They can squeeze into the tightest crevices (sometimes become wedged in), why very thorough searches are required. I am aware of 100's of situations where a cat was accidentally locked in / trapped somewhere (eg in a neighbours shed, garage, holiday home, roof, crawl-space under a home / industrial building). Most somehow survived (eg by eating insects), many others didn't. 😞 Please thoroughly search through sheds, garages, under houses / buildings, bats, decks, neighbours' bins, skips, under bushes, between tall walls and fences, in roof and wall cavities, on top of rooves, in trees, vacant homes / buildings (even neighbours on holidays), construction / storage areas, etc. One cat recently spotted hiding under neighbour's roof solar panels. Ask neighbours to check cctv cameras. Don't trust neighbours to search!!! (Or at least not as thoroughly as you. Some don't search at all). Best ask permission to search yourself, or go with neighbour. If neighbours are unco-operative, suggest you involve police to do a welfare check and to keep the peace. Alternatively, offer a reward (bribe) for unco-operative / uncaring neighbours. 😞 Call down drains (with strong smelling food). If you can lift the grate and enter the drain, even better. (One cat found 500 metres, another 3km away in drain!). And /or create a temporary, stable ramp (eg with rolled towels or a branch of wood) from inside to outside of the drain, with strong smelling food outside overnight. Dusk to 5am walks with strong smelling food (eg Whiskas sardines, salmon & meat flavours, or hot BBQ chicken), cat carrier and torch. When no cars: call calmly, stop, sit, listen, wait. Leave a door open if safe, with strong smelling food inside & out overnight, near exit point. Also, in / near other possible hiding places / where might be trapped. If food eaten, set up a sensor wildlife camera to ensure it is your cat. Next night, try waiting nearby with food and a carrier ... Or if safe, gradually (each night) move the food into your yard / home and close door from behind (while cat is eating). As a last resort (as lots can go wrong), place a humane cat trap on level ground, in a safe, discreet location. Google how to use safely, monitor closely. (Do not leave a trap unattended! Some people release distressed cats, or harm / / steal the trap with cat in it! Remain nearby). 😞 Put a towel over trap, to keep cat calm. Don't open until safe at home (or at vet). Posters with reward tacked high on telegraph poles / noticeboards, in plastic sleeve. Also, circulate leaflets (pay postman). Vets, pounds and animal welfare organisations, regularly with photo. If has escaped a new home (cats most likely to escape / become lost, within a month of a move): begin an intense, comprehensive search asap & leave food out / doors open, starting close to the new home, spreading outwards. Unpredictable what might do next: One cat travelled 26km to previous address, arrived 6 weeks after lost. Another found 500 metres away from where lost, 7 months later. Do all advised at old address, too ... Most cats need to be locked in for 3+ weeks to bond to a new home, otherwise sooner or later might try to head back to previous home / territory (& become lost, or worse). Many cats are escape artists until bonded to a new home! (eg breaking through mosquito netting and forcing sliding doors / windows open. Use dowell to limit opening to no more than 2cm). Spray bottle near door. Preferably not in a room with the door leading to outside. (Better a room, with a couple of doors closed , before reaching an exit door). Cannot stress enough, be extra vigilant !! New / timid cats & kittens are prone to hiding / getting stuck under / behind / in, furniture. So also check in / behind / under drawers, wardrobes, low lounges / beds, recliner chairs (don't move leg rest until double-checked), behind fridges, washing machines & dryers. (Always check inside before using, as cats have in these :-( ). Be extra careful moving furniture! Behind / under kitchen cupboards & rangehoods, or any other spaces. Do all of the above many times (in case your cat moves around). Track down where any vehicles (eg tradies / removalist vans) which puss might have entered: call the driver to ask where travelled to. Check cctv cameras & do all of the above there, too. 😞 🙏 Please consider keeping your precious cat indoors and / or invest in a very secure cat enclosure, or catio. (Research has found it adds 10+ years to average age of cats. Safer for cats and wildlife). As responsible adults, we curb children's freedom to keep them safe, similarly for cats :-( 🙏 Update microchip details / ensure correct. Not all vets are aware: microchips can migrate! (One cat's microchip recently located in arm pit!). Ideally, vets to do an extra thorough, all over body scan. (Don't solely rely on microchip).🙏 Be aware of dodgy scams or people offering to find, or claiming to have found, your cat. Seek independent evidence (eg ask for photos or distinguishing features, do reviews, etc & watch out for AI generated pics, using your cat pic), before providing personal details or money. Don't give up searching (some cats found weeks, months, years later) ... 🙏

Chloe C.

1 month ago

Neutered and chipped?

Verity L.

1 month ago

Here’s some good advice I got from another site: Firstly, check your own home, garden, and the immediate vicinity THOROUGHLY. Cats seldom stray far, but some of them have a positive genius for getting shut in sheds, garages, cars, greenhouses. Check also any standing water-butts, ponds, etc. Unless your cat is an indoors only cat, put their bedding and dirty litter tray outside too but under cover so that it doesn’t get wet. Anything that smells familiar will help guide your cat home if s/he has lost their scent. Put up posters (in plastic) as soon as possible. Put posters up further than you would think. Knock on your neighbours doors up to two streets away and give them each a poster. Ask them to check sheds/garages/outhouses WHILE YOU WAIT in case your cat has got shut in (cats are incredibly inquisitive!). Ask neighbours to prop open doors so if your cat is scared and hiding s/he doesn't miss the opportunity to get out if the door is only opened briefly. Check For Sale or Rent homes in case the previous resident forgot to unset the cat flap from In-Only and has trapped your kitty inside. Check under all bushes, decking and in gardens, using a long stick and a torch if necessary. Go out looking at night to check, when it is quiet and there is less traffic. Work your way back towards home as you call them, so not to inadvertently lead them further away from home. Take a powerful torch.ter used cat litter outside and leave out food. If possible, make sure there is a way for your cat to get back in the house even if you are asleep (eg, wedge open the cat flap). Next check all the surrounding streets, again checking under bushes and in undergrowth. If there are fields/woods nearby, thoroughly search these too.Check any empty houses as cats can get through the smallest of spaces. KEEP doing all these things as when scared cats go into survival mode and may not even respond to their owner at first. Check your microchip details are up-to-date. Make posters/fliers and put them up anywhere and everywhere (eg stuck to telegraph poles and similar). Stick one in the back window of your car. Local shops, post office, pub, local primary schools (small children are incredibly observant) anywhere really. Ask local vets to display a copy. Speak to local postman and dog walkers to ask them to TELL you if they see your cat. Consider printing off enough fliers to put them through people’s letterboxes down your street and in the area. Not everybody is on social media. If there are any distinctive physical conditions or characteristics about your cat, make sure you feature them prominently in any fliers, online appeals, etc. Alert all vets in the area and give them a description of your cat. Ask local vets to display a poster of your missing cat. Even if your cat is chipped, not all vets routine scan for a chip!!! Chips can also fail or migrate to anywhere in your cat. Ring the RSPCA/cats protection and any rescues in the area as any of these places may end up with him so best to give them a description too. Again, not all rescue centres routinely scan a cat for a chip See if the local paper runs free lost and found pets ads. Check the found and make sure your pet is listed as lost. Again, not everybody is on Facebook. Use Facebook (set to public and tag yourself in your kitty’s photo so you can follow up any leads from subsequent shares) to share your missing cat. It is ESSENTIAL to include a clear photo, colour/breed/distinguishing features, where s/he has gone missing from (district, town and county) and when your cat was last seen. Say if your cat is chipped and neutered or not. Ask people to share/retweet. Share your cat to any local lost and found pets’pages, on national lost cat pages, on the Facebook pages of any local cat rescue groups, on local vetsand larger community groups. The bigger the audience of the groups you share to the better. Always include your post code and a mobile contact number. Ask everyone to share. If you are not on social media, ask a family member or friendly neighbour to do this for you. Follow up any and every lead you get until you have absolutely discounted 100% that this is your cat. Remember that most people are spectacularly unobservant and quite capable of identifying a tom as a queen and vice versa. Contact all the local vets by phone to see if your cat has been brought in injured. KEEP DOING THIS at weekly intervals, as you may not speak to the same person every time, plus your cat may have been brought in the day after you phoned the last time. Contact all the local cat rescues by phone to see if your cat has been brought in injured. KEEP DOING THIS at weekly intervals, as you may not speak to the same person every time, plus your cat may have been brought in the day after you phoned the last time. If your cat is chipped, contact the chip company to ensure they have your correct and up to date contact details, especially your telephone numbers. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Alert the chip company that he's missing, put him on animal search any missing pet register as both are free. When you get them back keep them inside for a month and put a collar on them to signal to neighbours that your kitty has a home. Cats have an internal GPS which only resets once they are used to their surroundings and feel safe. Having them inside for a month with lots of toys helps them to spread their scent which helps them to reset their GPS to recognise their new home. Without doing this they will try to return to their last location as the crow flies.

Anna T.

1 month ago

Hope Milo is found soon 🐾💕

Greg L.

1 month ago

Why let any cat out when it's so dangerous let alone a pedigree that are dopey as and worth a lot of money i.e people will steal them for money 😥💔 unbelievable

Maureen L.

1 month ago

Put out unwashed clothing and empty hoover contents in garden and something with hes scent on go calling between 2am and 5am

Sherry M.

1 month ago

Shared

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