Cascades, VA Lost Male Cat, Mochi Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Jessica P.

2 days ago

Please check in and around your house - even “doors no one has opened today” or places your cat “could never get into” including closets, bedrooms, behind/in walls, attics, garages, etc.. Go out at night with a strong-beamed flashlight to look for eye shine and call out softly for your cat. Also ask your neighbors to check garages, attics, cellars, window wells, etc.. Some immediate actions to take and what worked for us to find our lost cat who was missing for over two months: Is he/she microchipped? If so, report them lost with the microchip company (and make sure your contact information is correct!). If anyone scans it, you will be notified. Also contact (and visit in person!!) all rescues, all animal shelters, and all vets in the immediate and the surrounding areas to give them: - the microchip number - pictures from different angles Here are some local VA shelters’ contact info: - Fairfax County - https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalservices/lostandfoundpets/filereport - Loudoun County - https://www.loudoun.gov/545/Lost-Found-Pets - Prince William County - https://www.pwcva.gov/department/animal-services/report-lost-and-found-pets/ Make flyers and hand them out to everyone you can; not everyone is on social media. Also post flyers around the area. Ask for people to report sightings so you can narrow down the search. (This is what worked for us - we posted flyers and 1-2 weeks later posted flyers again in a wider area; found our lost cat after almost 2 months because someone had been seeing the cat and then contacted us after seeing a flyer from the second posting of flyers. We then set up a trap at the sighting location and checked it every 1-2 hours. Finally trapped him 3 days after setting the trap.) Post on social media: - Bring Ace Home - PawBoost - Petco LoveLost - Local lost pet pages - Neighbors (free app by Ring; you don’t need to have a Ring product) - Nextdoor Rescues in the area should also be able to lend you a humane trap. Make sure you check it every 1-2 hours and don’t leave it overnight (unless you can keep checking it every 1-2 hours). Raccoons can seriously injure a trapped cat. Put food and water down at your home every day and have a camera on the feeding station. Good luck ❤️

Jessica P.

2 days ago

Other tips from a fellow foster/trapper/volunteer with an animal rescue group: - [ ] Look on Pawboost.com to see if someone posted a FOUND listing. If not, - [ ] Create a free posting of your kitty on Pawboost.com with good photos and as much information as you have about where/when s/he went missing. They’ll create a proxy email for you to avoid spammers/phishers. - [ ] Create free flyers from Pawboost that you can print and post around your neighborhood. - [ ] Contact Fairfax (petresourcecenter@fairfaxcounty.gov) and Loudoun county animal shelters ((703) 777-0406) as well in case someone has turned him/her in and file a LOST CAT report. Share your photos with them and when you have time, go to their facilities in person to check if your cat is there. The staff doesn’t always have time to do a thorough check among the cats in house. - [ ] Start walking around your neighborhood after dusk with a flashlight, slowly and quietly, looking under bushes and decks, in open garages, calling for him/her and then listening for him/her to respond. You can bring food with you, but most cats are too scared to come immediately to the smell of food. - [ ] If you do spot him/her, call somebody to bring a carrier over with the food in it to try and attract him/her; do not try to pull him/her out from under a bush or garage or wherever you find him/her. Most cats will withdraw further because they’re scared. - [ ] Last thing, put something that smells like you on your porch. Cats will be attracted back to a familiar smell and this may be a good way to get him/her to come back on her own. Chances are high that s/he’s only within one street of your house if s/he lives indoors normally. Best of luck to you and I hope you get him/her back very soon.

PattiCarol F.

2 days ago

If you have a shed or garage or enclosed porch, prop open the door overnight and put unwashed laundry inside. He may go in overnight. Don't put food in there because it may attract other critters. Leave a window or door open to your home after dark. He may come in. Please borrow a trap from your local shelter and set it up ASAP. Sending prayers.🙏

Nayak S.

2 days ago

📷 View photo on Facebook

Dianne B.

3 days ago

Talk softly when calling late night and during the night to early morning when it quiet out .. Might wait in between to see if you hear them meow nearby .... For indoor cats if there is any way you could leave your door garage door or window slightly ajar if possible they know where they got out and will often come back in on their own .. If you didn't see them get out check deep dresser drawers, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, under beds in box springs, behind the frig, the stove, behind or under the sofa, under or in the recliner the washer/dryer or inside if left open .. basement crawl space .. attic .. anywhere small or behind a cat can hide they will! If out cats will hide during the day and are more active late evening near dark to early morning , daybreak ... have a spot light to shine to see eyes in the dark .. they are usually close by and will often come back to the door .. or hide under bushes or decks to feel safe ! Also check crawl spaces under houses , garages, sheds of neighbors nearby ...No food out after dark it will attract area strays and wildlife to the area ... check culvert pipes .. storm drains .. up trees .. and colder weather they will get under car hoods for warmth and on tires also ...this can happen and they could be miles from home . Cats in a new home need at least 30 days to adjust to a new area and may and will travel to get back to their old home .. In some cases a set trap may be needed and monitored! A Trail cam or night vision goggles can help to monitor the areas outside! Post to Nextdoor Ask neighbors to check their Ring Doorbells... Beware of loose and roaming dogs in the area as they will chase and your cats! For automatic garage doors please place a 6x6 block or cinder block so that the door will not come all the way down and trap your pet as they can be injured! Check with area Shelters, Animal Control, and Vets offices also put flyers ... Am sure you have tried most all of these! Don't give up!!

Crystal Y.

3 days ago

Here are some some tips that have been found to be very effective in bringing missing cats home: File a lost report with animal control and check nearby shelters *in person* and often. If they are chipped, be sure to report them to the microchip company. Cats do not typically go far, especially those that are not used to spending time outdoors. If they are indoor or indoor/outdoor pet(s), look very throughly inside… EVERY nook & cranny inside the home. Always keep in mind, cats are the absolute best at Hide & Seek. If you’re able to, leave the opening you think they got out cracked for them to re-enter, (they’ll usually go back in the way they went out). If used to being given treats, shake the treat bag, canned food opened with a can opener, use your outdoor electrical socket or an extension cord to plug the opener outside to “call” them to eat. Put wet/smelly food out in the evening & monitor it closely. Pick it up during the day or if you notice it's attracting strays. Although often times suggested, do NOT put the litter box outside or make trails with dirty litter. This may draw predators and/or other more aggressive cats that may chase your’s away and into deeper hiding. Put out unwashed articles of their and your bedding & articles of clothing, especially those of their favorite human. You can also make "scent strips" from these unwashed items and place them in trails leading to your door or window . Go out late in the evening and in the very early morning with a flashlight… look high & low for the glow of their eyes… under vehicles (including tire wheel wells & under the hood), under porches, in sheds, storm drains & other exposed pipes, in bushes AND on roof tops & in trees, etc. They will be most active between dusk and dawn. Sit quietly while softly shaking a bag of treats and softly calling their name. Make chum trails leading to your door by using a can of canned tuna in water (no oil) or canned cat food and a gallon of warm water. Shake well and sprinkle in trails leading to your door and/or the opening you believe they left from. Get fliers up right away with phone number asking for sightings and ask neighbors to check garages, under porches, etc. Post in PawBoost, Ring and Nextdoor apps. Set up a humane trap. Animal Control or a rescue organization maybe able to loan you a trap at no cost. Monitor the trap continuously and with a motion-activated camera if possible. WATCH OUT for scammers (they’re all over lost & found animal groups, preying on those in their most desperate times)!!! They will claim they have them (or know who has them & asking for money without providing a new picture… NEVER send or give any reward UNTIL they are safely in your possession. Hope this helps! Fingers crossed !🤞🤞

John A.

3 days ago

Cute kitty.Shared.

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