Adele K.
1 month ago
Bev’s tips: HOW TO FIND YOUR LOST CAT
(Found on Facebook - not all mine but they are handy)
Your cat has probably been spooked by something in the environment, OR your inside cat has gotten out, become overwhelmed, and found themselves a nice & dark hiding spot where they feel safe.
The mistake a lot of people make when they lose their cat is that they wait to see if their cat will come back.
Please do not delay, do not waste time, and DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR CAT. She/he is waiting for you to come and find him or her.
There are the usual things that you can do to find kitty, like call all the shelters, use social media, look around your yard, etc.
- The moment your kitty is out, the MOMENT you realize, you must get out there and start looking for your cat. Look around the immediate surroundings. Look inside your house and under houses. Look in your yard, in your neighbour's yard. Your cat is probably either in your yard somewhere, or your neighbour’s. It is unlikely that he or she will wander far in those first critical moments. Get a torch and look at night. Ask your neighbours to keep an eye out, show them the picture of your cat.
- Walk around in the quiet of the morning or evening and take a warm BBQ chicken (or sardines or tuna etc) with you or whatever your cat loves that has a good scent trail ability. Shake a cat biscuit packet or tap on a cat food tin with a s....any noise they relate to food time. GO NEAR DRAINS AND CALL OUT. So many cats are hiding or trapped there.
Look up at trees and rooves as cats get trapped.
Search in deserted places like cemeteries and building sites or parks etc .
- Leave food out for your cat at the exit point. Do this every night, no matter where you think your kitty is.
- Walk near bushland in the quiet of the morning or night time if safe to do so with a warm BBQ chicken and call out to your pet (have someone with you for safety). I have seen cats roaming around near bushland near me only at 9pm onwards and up to 5am when dark.
- Print posters of your cat. Do this immediately. Find a clear picture of your cat, with a large font saying “LOST CAT” and mention in them your cat might be trapped in a garage, shed, under a house or a hiding spot.
- something that someone that is walking past, or a passing car, can notice. State description of cat and last sighting, and your details. Now this is the most critical point
– PRINT 100 (or more) COPIES OF THIS POSTER AND SATURATE YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH IT. Put it on every pole within a 200 meter radius of your house. The posters need to be up straight away, ie, the day that you lose your cat. Put them at the local supermarket, vets, bus stops, major intersections, schools, crossings, train stations…Especially on your rubbish bin and letterbox. Give one to your postie. Laminate those outside.
- Get a humane cat trap. These can be bought online, or you can hire one from Kennards or request to borrow one for a donation to a rescue group. Watch some youtube clips on how to set it, practice setting it – then set it in your yard. Do this every night, and keep an eye on it. Please take any other cat you might trap to a vet clinic for a free microchip scan, it’s very possibly a lost or abandoned cat and needs help.
- Do the usual stuff as well – calling shelters, vets. Call them every few days to see if they have picked up your cat. Don’t just call once. Keep calling them.
These things are essential for you to know:
- Your kitty might be able to hear you, but probably will not respond if it is scared. They are surprisingly silent when out in the unknown.
- Most cats break cover at the two week mark because of hunger and thirst, and will start to become more visible. This is when most sightings happen, and when you will start to get calls. You will not get calls if you have not put posters up in your neighbourhood.
- If you are not looking for your cat, and not leaving food out for it – it will start to wander further and further away from the exit point to look for a food source. This is why it is so important to start this process immediately.
- IF the reason for escape is a new pet, like a dog – you must contain that pet, or keep it under close supervision until your missing cat is back.
- If you have moved house, or if your inside cat has escaped, it is probably still very close to the exit point. Do not be fooled by its silence and reluctance to respond to you. It’s very possible your cat will try to return to your former home so do everything there as well.
Especially for inside only cats that have escaped: leave the very same door or window open that it escaped from. Hunger and thirst will make it “break cover” and make a dash for home to wherever it escaped from, most likely very late at night. Depending on the cat, it may take a couple of weeks for it to get brave enough to break cover. Obviously, take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and home if you leave your home unsecured for this time.
- Do not give up on your cat. It takes an average of 2-4 weeks to find them, and it all depends on your persistence. However, we have seen happy reunions many months, even years, after being lost. If you do nothing, the chances of you finding your cat are about 5%. They usually do not just walk back in the door themselves. Your cat is waiting for you to find it.
- People will tear down your posters. Cat haters, council workers, other posters, etc. Go for walks every few days, and replace your posters. Do this over and over.
You will get news from someone, somewhere.
- Sadly, microchips can fail, photos are deceiving, and cats are often accidentally relocated a long way from home in vehicles, especially in tradesmans’ vans, so check in person!
-Update your cat’s microchip to current details and flag as missing by contacting database where chip is registered (see www.petaddress.com.au to find database/registry)
If chip # is unknown: check your paperwork, vet/rescue/breeder, where it was implanted or Council where registered.
-Ask your shire/council if they have a holding facility for cats at their pound and, if they do, what happens to the cats after the holding time (usually 3 days if no microchip, 7 days if chipped but unable to contact the owner). Is there a rescue organization that takes the cats after their hold time is done?
-Several councils have a contract with Cat Haven in Shenton Park so their cats go there (eg. City of Fremantle doesn't have a holding facility at their dog pound so rangers take cats directly to Cat Haven). https://www.cathaven.com.au/collections/found-cats#cats
-when you post on Facebook please remember to include a written description of your cat, for example: grey tabby, because these are key words people use in a search on FB. You want your post to come up if a cat is found matching that description. Also keep “bumping” your original post in the comments to keep your post at the top of the page.
-Install a video recorder, motion activated, that will send a notification to your mobile phone at the exit point where you have food and water for your cat. Ring is an affordable brand but there are many others. That is also a logical place to put a humane cat trap. You are welcome to PM me (jacknbev davies) for trapping tips.
-if your kitty hasn’t been deed, microchipped and registered with your council then please do so immediately upon returning home. Kittens as young as 4 months old can get pregnant. Males won’t have such smelly urine or the urge to fight and spray after being deed.
- Keep going, keep calling, keep bumping your FB posts, keep putting those posters up… sometimes it takes months. Hopefully it will not, for you.
-In the meantime, if you have other cats at home please keep them inside and check this out: Cat Enclosure Ideas-Western Australia https://m.facebook.com/groups/279644759164166
Everyone is welcome to save this info and paste where appropriate.
