Nashville, TN Lost Male Cat, Gary Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Annette B.

3 weeks ago

See if local radio and TV stations will do a personal interest story.

Annette B.

3 weeks ago

Go out early morning or after dark. Chances are you cat is scared and hiding....take a flashlight ...if your cat doesn't come to you, shine it around to see if it catches it's eyes...under bushes and in the trees. Put a BIG, COLORFUL sign at the last place seen so people know where your cat belongs if they spot him or her…ask your neighbors to check sheds, crawl spaces and garages. Go to your local shelters every day or 2 to look for yourself…please don't depend on a phone call. The person you speak to may not be aware that your pet might have been turned in. If possible, leave your door or window open a crack while you're home.

Annette B.

3 weeks ago

Be sure to GO to your LOCAL SHELTERS with a photo and report your pet lost (your pet may have been taken to a shelter that is not the closest one to you). They have a board for both lost and found pets. Many finders take pets they find to them. Remember, NOT EVERYONE is on Social Media. There's some excellent advice on Missing Animal Response Network on Facebook as well as their website. Additional advice can be found on the website under the drop down menu labeled lost pet help.

Annette B.

3 weeks ago

Give flyers to the local vet offices and mail carriers too!! Missing Animal Response Network has excellent advice on what to do when your pet goes missing. The section about NEON signs is a must but all of the tips will also help you in your efforts to find your pet. Try putting a large lost sign at the last place seen (someone else may have seen something). Also check on Craigslist under pets lost/found.

Annette B.

3 weeks ago

Try posting on the local Nextdoor app (if possible), lost. petcolove. org and watching Craigslist.🤞 Also try putting out unwashed laundry and some stinky shoes at the last place seen with you nearby and hopefully your pet will smell it's way back to you. DO NOT PUT YOUR PET'S BEDDING OR LITTER BOX OUT because it can attract predators where your scent will scare predators off but still attract your pet. If it comes down to it, try renting or borrowing a trap from the shelter... Put something in the trap that your kitty cannot refuse. Putting up cameras may help too. BEWARE of scammers saying they found your pet and want you to email them or send them a code. They will also tell you to text or connect through Instagram to a certain group that helped them find their pet. DON'T do it! It's a scam. Also, be wary of calls from shelters. There is a scam, copying shelter's phone numbers and saying that your animal is there and needs emergency treatment and to send money.

Julia L.

3 weeks ago

Sharing💕Please set up a live trap (near where your cat escaped) baited with Sardines in water...very smelly so scent will carry far and hopefully your cat will follow it back home and into the trap. MAKE SURE TRAP IS MONITORED AT ALL TIMES—ESPECIALLY IN HOT/COLD WEATHER! If possible, set up trail cams in the area so you can monitor what animals are frequenting the area…you might just catch a glimpse of your cat. Also go out with a flash light when the sun sets...look under cars, decks, porches, bushes, in dx sheds/garages, beneath hanging branches and up trees (in case cat was chased). Post on Next Door App, and other Facebook community pages…the more eyes keeping a look out the better! Give flyers to local businesses, groomers, pet stores, vet clinics, and mail carriers, delivery drivers like UPS & FedEx since they are in the area daily and may see your cat. Displaced indoor cats tend to hunker down nearby where they exited the home. They only move farther away to search for food or get spooked. Hand out flyers to at least 7 houses in each direction, including houses the next streets over (backyard neighbors). Find out who feeds the community cats in your neighborhood/community because if your cat found that person’s feeding area he will be less likely to keep wandering because it is a known food source. At night, when it’s quiet, sit outside close to where the cat escaped and read a book/magazine out loud, your cat may hear your familiar voice and follow it back home. Don’t get discouraged, keep looking!!!! Hope your cat is found safe and sound soon💕 Also like to share this information regarding litter boxes: Kitty Litter Myth NOVEMBER 27, 2017 by KAT ALBRECHT Many web sites (and even some pet detectives) recommend that if your cat is lost that you spread cat litter, cat feces, or scent articles of the cat owner around the home that the cat is missing from. The concept is that your cat ran away or is out of the area and by putting something with your scent on it (a dirty t-shirt, dirty underwear, etc.) in your yard, it will attract your cat and encourage him to come back home. Some also advocate putting out dirty cat litter or feces—as if the cat needs this cue to help him find his way back home. The MAR Network does not advocate this practice for the following reasons: The first reason we don’t recommend the kitty litter method is that the urine/feces scent could attract aggressive cats into the yard where a missing cat could be hiding. Cats are territorial and when an indoor-only cat escapes outdoors, that cat is often hiding within the territory of another (outside) neighborhood cat. Dirty cat litter can attract community “tom” cats (intact male cats) or other territorial neighborhood cats and that scent could predispose them to want to defend their territory, drawing them into the area where a displaced cat is hiding in silence. These territorial cats are put into defense mode when they detect the pheromones from another cat’s urine and feces, causing them to be ready to fight. These cats are then more likely to beat up and chase the lost (displaced) cat from his hiding place, making a recovery more difficult. However, using cat food (and a wildlife camera) will draw a territorial cat in also, but the scent of food will not likely trigger the same level of aggression / readiness to fight as urine and feces would. None of this has been proven in a scientific study (yet), but it is the opinion of the MAR Network that you are better off investing time and effort in conducting a physical search for your lost cat and using wildlife cameras or a humane trap than you are in putting out dirty cat litter. You can likely find many on-line testimonials from cat owners who claim positive results from scent luringtering dirty cat litter or feces in their yards or placing their cat’s litterbox on their porch. It is more likely that these cats returned home due to one of two factors: a behavior called “The Threshold Phenomenon” (described above) or simply due to their temperament than due to anything that they smelled. Cat owners mistakenly associate the fact that their cat returned home due to a scent lure (dirty cat litter) when, in fact, their particular cat would have returned home on its own anyway with or without a scent lure because it finally reached its threshold (indoor-only cats hiding in fear) or the cat was trapped somewhere and finally got free (outdoor cat trapped in neighbor’s garage, up a tree, etc.). As stated earlier, in many cases a food lure (placed inside a humane trap or set down on the ground with a wildlife camera pointing at it to capture photos) is the best type of lure to use and is a highly effective recovery method. Another scent that could help (at a humane trap) is to spray Feliway, a pheromone that helps to calm stressed cats. The final reason why the MAR Network does not advocate using dirty cat litter as a scent lure for cats is the most important one: it is a passive approach to finding a lost cat. Cat owners might believe they are “doing something” by placing dirty clothing or cat feces in their yard. Some Internet folklore posts have claimed that “cats can smell a mile away” and advise you to simply put your cat’s litterbox outside, claiming “it works!” However, scientific research has shown that these cat owners would have a higher chance of recovering their cat by conducting an aggressive, physical search of their yard and their neighbor’s yards. We understand that it is less intrusive to your neighbors to set out a dirty cat litter box on your porch and hope that your cat will come home than it is to ask your neighbor permission to enter their yard and to crawl around under their house or deck, but a physical search of your neighbor’s yards (and baited humane traps and/or digital wildlife cameras) is the most effective recovery method for finding a missing cat.

Marie S.

3 weeks ago

Here are some tips I found on finding a lost cat. It’s crucial to start immediately. First, don’t panic. Stay calm. Your cat needs all your energy to help bring him home. Don’t waste any time; start immediately. Indoor cats don’t travel far from home. About 90% of missing cats are usually hiding nearby, within a 5-house radius of your home. Draw a circle around your home and go out 5 houses in every direction. Thoroughly search this area and knock on every neighbor’s door. If you can’t afford a security camera, see if you can borrow one from someone. Put food and water outside by the door if you think he got out. Check all possible hiding spots on your property and around bushes. Check storm drains, inside sheds, garages, and look up in trees and under cars. Check the same spots multiple times. Let your neighbors know and ask if they can check their property, sheds, and garages or if they’ll let you check. Cats are most active in the early morning and late at night. At night, look around with a flashlight. A cat’s eyes will reflect the light. If your neighbors have a security camera, ask if they could check it. Put flyers up around the neighborhood. Let the local vets know and even go to the shelter that takes in animals from your town. Leave a flyer with both. Let your police department and animal control officer know too in case anyone finds him and contacts them. Leave them with a flyer as well. Put out the cat’s bed or towel and some of your unwashed clothing so that they can catch their scent and yours. If your cat is indoor only, you must set a humane trap immediately....(Google local rescue groups in your area to borrow one or call your local shelter and ask them for one or ask them to help you trap). Get lots of tuna in vegetable oil NOT Water, because it is very smelly, and does not freeze in cold weather....if you know the direction your cat went, SOAK the ground with tuna juice from two different directions, one from the direction your car went and one from another direction close by up to the door of the trap & put very little bits of tuna along the way on the tuna juice trail, up to the front of the trap and then very little bits of tuna through the trap to the back of the trap where you leave more tuna on a paper plate .....(on the outside of the trap and through it leave only VERY LITTLE bits of tuna, you want the cat to be hungry and go to the back of the trap); this MUST be monitored at all times and in the heat must be changed out every hour... do not sit close... you want to be able to see it but you want to make sure your cat comes in close, things should be very very quiet and if it’s getting dark, lights should be low outside and inside the house; On top of the trap put UNWASHED clothes you have worn, (T-shirt/socks) and on top of that cover it with a towel that you also used so all these items have your scent on it; If this is an indoor/outdoor cat you can also use the tuna juice trail leading up to a bowl of tuna… This also MUST be monitored.... Only people who your cat is comfortable with should be searching for her; Everyone should have a BRIGHT flashlight with them at daytime and night time, search every area thoroughly, checking every inch, lost cars can curl up into such tight balls...look under anything with a tarp on it, pool covers, grill covers, furniture covers, in any kind of a hole or crevice, all the way under porches, under bushes, in bushes, in trees, all the way underneath sheds within that 5 house radius, many cats hide all the way under sheds ... please ask your neighbors if you can search their properties thoroughly, please check all their garages every square inch, under cars, anywhere a cat could hide, sewers, water basins if they are by you, again every square inch... Make up flyers with a really good picture of your car that is large, put “Missing” at the top and the date.. put your phone number underneath in big bold letters that can be seen clearly and the cat’s name… Deliver posters to as many neighbors as you can, also give them out to all local delivery people, the mailman, fed ex man, workers in the area, dog walkers, all of them see so much… Bring them to the local police, animal control, vets offices and animal shelters, starting within a 2 mile radius of your home (you may have to go out further later if your cat is not found) …Also ask all local businesses if you can put flyers up in their windows; put them up for at least a 2 mile radius on telephone poles, etc.; Go to all local animal shelters at least every other day and call them on a daily basis..You must go there yourself because they are overwhelmed and there are Night people that may not realize that your cat has been brought in.. Do NOT put a litter box out as it will attract Feral cats and other predators who will scare your cat away and will catch mouse droppings and bird droppings and change the scent. Go out at night and walk slowly, looking for the shine of your cats eyes with a BRIGHT flashlight, usually they are most active half hour before and after sunrise and sunset.. when you are searching call your kitties name softly and then really listen to see if you can hear him.. remember they are usually within a 5 house radius... If this is the only cat in the home, and you can, leave your screen door open at night & sit there quietly, you’re cat may come right in the door or leave a window open that your cat can come home thru... if you have a garage, leave the garage door open slightly... keep the lights low in and outside your house and keep things inside and outside your house very very quiet, so that it does not feel threatened by coming home; Some cats come home on their own, some you must search for, and some you must trap with a humane trap… Some cats who get out are so terrified they will revert to some feral behavior and hide even though their owner might be very close by and calling...... for these cats you have to trap them. Cats who are indoor/outdoor will also mark their territory with the scent glands from their mouth when they rub their face against a tree, etc. and they also have scent in their paw pads that they will follow to go back home, but when it rains these scents are diminished and then they cannot find their way home. That’s why it is imperative to begin searching immediately for them. There’s a site called LostMyKitty. They offer a service that does Amber alert phone calls to surrounding houses for a fee. If you decide to use this service, choose the free option first. Keep repeating everything and take all of the suggestions. I hope these tips help and you find your cat soon. Your cat wants to come home, keep the faith and don’t give up. See video below. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15zkDNZJnB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Ri M.

3 weeks ago

📷 View photo on Facebook

Lori O.

3 weeks ago

I'm so sorry about your baby.🥺💔 Most cats stay close to home so it is critical to stay as proactive, and persistent, as possible. ●Crack your garage door or leave a porch door open where they got out so it can get inside. Cats return at night when you're sleeping so you miss them. This also ensures if your cat was chased away, it can sneak back inside when it can. ●Check everywhere outside even in drain pipes and drains, in logs, under bushes and cars, up in trees and anywhere it's collar could get hung. Use a BRIGHT flashlight after dark as it will make your cat's eyes glow and very easy to spot through bushes or under things. Much easier than daytime searching when they are hunkered down and hiding in plain sight. They won’t respond to your call. They are scared even of you. ●Check under your house and your neighbor's houses, in sheds, garages, bats, etc. ●Indoor-only or new to the area lost cats tend to not recognize their owners outside because it is a different environment and they are scared. Sit outside every single day especially in the morning and at dusk/night so your cat can get used to you being there. ●Put food in a plastic container with a lid and periodically shake it and call your cat's name. ●Print flyers with their picture for neighbors and businesses in the area. ●Put picture posters in public areas, like on street signs and in your front yard, and offer some type of reward, if you can. ●Put the reward amount on the flyers and posters. A reward will incite people to intentionally be on the lookout for your cat or to return it to you. ●Work with a cat rescue to immediately set a cat trap or you can purchase one at Tractor Supply, Home Depot or on Amazon and set it yourself. You will need to monitor the trap(s) so cat isn’t left stuck inside and vulnerable to other animals. Put human tuna in the back of the trap so they will go in enough for door to close behind them. Cover trap with your dirty towels or sheets with your smell. ●Post on the Ring app, Nextdoor app and Pawboost and visit pet rescues/shelters in person regularly to see if someone has found your cat and/or has taken it to one. Give them a flyer and report your cat as missing. ●Consistently visit rescues and shelters. They only hold a cat 3 to 5 days without a microchip before putting it up for adoption, and only for 7 days with a microchip. Even if the cat has a microchip, the chip can float and be missed by the scanner. ●Set notification alerts for the Facebook lost and found pets groups in case someone has found your cat. - buy small cameras to put outside for $10-15. The camera will alert you when movement is spotted. Monitor especially between midnight and 5 am. (Sorry) - Consider a recording of your voice outside your home and also their and your smell….(bed) cats can smell up to a mile away. - Where cats get out of the house/car is where they go back too when trying to get back inside your home. Even where they escape out of a car. They go back to that spot. - Stay persistent or you won’t get your cat back. Persistence pays off. No one loves your cat like you do! Your cat needs you to find them and bring them back to you and your loving home!

Karen K.

3 weeks ago