Sterling, VA Lost Female Cat, Vela Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Crystal Y.

2 months 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 !🤞🤞

Jessica P.

2 months ago

Please update your post with the closest intersection and/or landmark to where she was lost to help narrow down the area.

Jessica P.

2 months ago

Some of this is for Fairfax/Northern VA; follow the same steps for all shelters/government programs in your area. 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.

Jessica P.

2 months ago

Please check in and around your house - even “doors no one has opened today” or places your cat “could never get into”. 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 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 ❤️

Paxie W.

2 months ago

I am not an expert, but after ours went briefly missing I have a few tips to share. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Look in storm drains. Bend down and look, dont assume they can hear you calling for them. Even if you are next to it calling out, they may not hear. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Walk the surrounding areas during quite times of the day, especially in late at night and early mornings. Take treats to shake or cans of food to tap. Cats are most likely to be active and venturing out of hiding during those times. Cats are naturally more active during dusk and dawn, and may be less likely to be seen during the day. Additionally, many cats will attempt to return home within the first week, often in the middle of the night. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Don't put out their litter, but do put out a load of your laundry. Your baby knows your scent. Litter might attract territorial aggressive strays or ferals that might fight or chase away your baby. They won't care about your laundry though. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Tell your neighbors. Ask the delivery people, garbage & recycling people to keep an eye out. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Notify the microchip company and make sure they are still in their system 🐈‍⬛✔️ Use free online sources like Canva to make flyers to put up. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Contact the local shelters to alert them. They will check the pets that came in and will be on the look out for yours when new ones come in. They also have resources/suggestions, and can loan you traps. **if you use a trap, check it often as raccoons will injure trapped cats. Do not leave it alone over night. ⚠️ Set your alarm to wake up to check it 🐈‍⬛✔️ Contact the vets in the surrounding area. Someone might take your pet in to see if they have a chip. Leave your info with them just in case someone does. 🐈‍⬛✔️Reach out to local rescues to alert them. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Register them on websites like Petco Lost Love and PawBoost. One will create a flyer for you to print out and both can be used to share on social media. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Check out websites like 24PetConnection , nextdoor neighbors, and the shelters periodically to see if they have been listed as found. 🐈‍⬛✔️ Don't give up.

Ri M.

2 months ago

Post on Nextdoor and Ring apps. Ask neighbors to check car hoods, garages and sheds immediately. Make sure to tap hoods of the car around. Keep an entryway open for cat to get in. Buy or loan a live cat trap from online stores or local tnr groups. Leave your garage open with cat to enter. Put some food and your clothing there for smell. Get a motion sensor camera to detect when cat is around your property

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