Irvine, CA Lost Female Cat, Lily Is Missing

HappyCatLady .

1 year ago

 💖 RIGHT NOW ( It's dark & quiet) GO OUT the 'escape' door and CALL For kitty in a very calm and NORMAL voice ...keep calling gently over and over. If kitty likes the sound of crinkling a treat bag or opening a can of food then try that...call for kitty for 20 minutes straight - it’s best to sit down on the ground in one spot and continue to call for kittie - then read the rest of this post to learn exactly what to do. Do not lose hope and do not stop taking action.💜🙏Kitty will REMAIN very near HIDING - leave wet food just inside the garage door left open 5" and get a MINI BLINK Camera aimed at the food to send you phone notifications of any movement. Also place Bedding on the FAR OPPOSITE side of where the food is 🙏🐱 Indoor only cats and limited outdoor access cats never go far. They go into survival mode and hide in silence. Most of them will not respond when they are in survival mode. 3 AM is the best time to find a missing indoor only cat. This is the time they become most active and responsive. Sit and quietly call for your kitty. Try to stay low, standing is intimidating to cats. Place some dirty socks and pillow cases near the escape point. Your scent will attract your kitty. If you have a garage, (and that’s the side kitty got out) place the items just inside the garage door left cracked open 5” - just enough for kitty to get in. Also place wet food by the slightly open garage door and get a MINI BLINK camera aimed so you can receive phone notifications of any movement, DO NOT leave the litter box outside, it can attract predators and aggressive Tom cats. Because indoor only cats hide so well they are NOT as likely to be killed by a predator. Don't give up, it can take days. weeks or even months to find a missing indoor only cat. Use a flashlight as late at night as you can to look in trees, under cars and in bushes, under porches, in crawl spaces. Try to look for the glow of the cat’s eyes. The best chance of you being reunited with your cat is to do a methodical search of the area. Most indoor only cats will be within 150 feet of your home. Survival mode usually lasts 5 to 14 days but can last longer. Once their hunger gets to a maximum they snap out of it but this is a dangerous time because they come out of hiding. The majority of cats will try to make a break for home on the 5th night. Make mini flyers and hand them out to your neighbors. Most people don't pay attention to posted flyers though everything to spread lost cat info to neighbors is helpful. It's VERY VERY important that you look for kitty as late at night as you can. If you have other cats, watch them. If they are spending a lot of time looking out a certain window, that’s a good indication the missing cat is in that area. Wildlife and motion activated cameras are extremely helpful. a lot of people are successful trapping their indoor only cats. If you decide to trap, you must watch the trap closely, predators can kill a cat in a trap. Recently a friend used a baby monitor & when her cat was at the front door at 5 AM heard her on the baby monitor.   RENT/BORROW A HUMANE TRAP Ask Nextdoor ‘cat owner’ group or other pet groups if someone can loan your a humane trap to lure kitty with stinky wet fish based food. You can rent from your local SPCA/animal shelter though it can take a few days to access so sometimes reaching out to cat groups on nextdoor and facebook will be faster. If you live in San Francisco I am happy to loan you one of my traps. Traps WORK well to lure scared cats out of hiding before Dawn or after sunset. Never leave an active trap unattended/unmonitored for even 15 seconds. This is an excellent → baby monitor https://a.co/3eieZnX as part of your STAKEOUT where you place stinky wet cat food as bait at the far back center of the trap BEHIND the ‘trip plate’. I would suggest getting the help of a trained person with experience. Be prepared to release a wild animal like a raccoon if accidentally trapped. Though this should not happen as you will monitor from very close by and/or watching the baby monitor live feed without distractions. Also, if you trap another cat - please find out if kitty belongs to someone else by posting online ‘IS THIS YOUR CAT’ on facebook, nextdoor etc and take the cat to determine if micro-chipped. There are so many lost kitties and you would hope someone would do this for your kitty. BEFORE TRAPPING: MUST-WATCH HOW-TO VIDEOS 1. Trapper Tips and Tricks! Presented by Neighborhood Cats : https://youtu.be/DtXyrD6w0bk 2.Trappers Tips & Tricks Presented by Neighborhood Cats and the Community Cats Podcast : https://youtu.be/aL6kSPjrBbQ 3.Trapping Tips and Tricks: https://youtu.be/Q50CsdWtWII

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Valerie C.

1 year ago

I hope Lily is home soon 🙏🏼 I see others have shared advice. I didn’t read over what they shared so much of this advice may be repeated. But just in case there’s something new… 〰️〰️〰️ A person shared with me that they recovered their lost cat after 3 nights of using Step 2, from the suggestions below. Reason to hope. And just recently the owner of a lost cat posted that after 4 days she found her cat, trapped in a neighbor’s garage. (12. a. — below} Here are some suggestions from Pet MD. Maybe you’ve thought of or tried some of these ideas already but I’ll share them all here just in case there’s something new you haven’t thought of. Finding a Lost Cat: Here are a few tips to help you find a missing cat and bring him home safely: 1. Take a large cardboard box and flip it over. Cut a cat sized hole in the side and place it outdoors with some soft bedding inside. Weight the bottom down and make this a safe place your cat can return to. Place water nearby. 2. The best time to search for a lost cat is when the world is asleep. The best time-frame is around 2:00 a.m. Go out with a flashlight and food. You can take a few cans of cat food with you, stand out in the open and pop the cans, or shake a treat jar. You will be surprised how the sound can travel in the quiet of the morning, and oftentimes your cat will appear within minutes of the first can being opened. Enterprising cat owners have also recorded the sound of their can openers opening a tin of food, and played the tape over and over while looking for their lost cat. 3. Make up fliers. Include a picture of your cat and offer a reward as incentive. Post these fliers in grocery stores, at vet offices, feed stores, anywhere you can. Post them at eye level. DO NOT stuff them in mailboxes. You can get into trouble for doing this. Walk your neighborhood with these fliers, put them on telephone poles, and talk to the kids of the neighborhood, the paper boy the UPS driver, the mailman anyone who walks your neighborhood. 4. Call the local papers and place a lost cat ad. Call the local radio stations, many of them will run free air spots for lost critters. Call your vet and let the staff know your cat is missing. Tack up a flier at all the vets in your area, and take one over to any rescue shelters nearby. If you have recently moved and brought the cat with you, check out your old address as well. 5. Locate a Havahart trap and set it in a safe place near your home. [My local shelter has loaned these traps in the past, with a deposit.] You may trap another cat, or perhaps a possum or even a skunk (depending on where you live) but you might also trap your cat. 6. If you see a dead animal on the road near your home, remove it with a shovel and take it to the side of the road. There have been instances where domestic cats will become curious about road kill and go out to investigate, only to become fatalities themselves. 7. Keep a list of everything you do to find your missing cat. Get on cat boards and ask for ideas if nothing seems to be working. Businesses such as Pet-Detective-dot-com and Sherlockbones-dot-com have great tips on their websites and are available for hire or advice. 8. Check your newspaper for the lost and found ads daily. 9. When you can work outside putter in your garden. Or just sit out near your home, talk in a soft voice, sing, or chatter so if your cat is close she will hear you. If she has a canine friend, bring the dog outside, or take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood to see if the cat will come out and join you. 10. Check the trees on your property. 11. Make a map of where you place your posters and or fliers. Check every 3 days to be sure they are still there. Keep tape, pushpins or thumbtacks, black felt markers and white poster board in your car, so you can make up any that might go missing. 12. Go door-to-door with a photo of your cat. Talk to all the inhabitants of the house, kids especially. Past experience has shown that little girls make the best finders of lost cats..... 12. a. 🐈 My own addition to this suggestion... ✅... I’ve been seeing stories of cats reunited with owners after they were found trapped in a neighbor’s garage. 13. Keep the hope alive. There are countless stories of people who have lost cats for long periods of time, only to have the animal show up at their door one day. . .

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HappyCatLady .

1 year ago

🐱💜Dear Guardian....Please know you can find your sweet kitty by taking action to cover ALL possibilities, whether your kitty is HIDING or STUCK nearby and needs your help to get home. #1 mistake is Waiting to take action. Glad you posted. Taking ACTION TODAY IN PERSON IS CRITICAL; Here is exactly what to do 🙏 🐱 INDOOR-ONLY Cats that are not used to being outside or are indoor/outdoor but get spooked by someone or something - will find the 1st place to hide and HUNKER DOWN in SILENCE - They tend to remain VERY NEAR, typically within 1-3 residences and many times right next door - HIDINGin silence. Cats that are scared and in foreign environment will often NOT meow/ respond to calls even from their human (at first) ...though Kitty still needs to HEAR you and keep hearing you (until kitty THINKS it’s safe to come forward) - so do NOT stop calling out... Kitty is in survival mode and meowing would give away the hiding spot to predators. Outside is strange for indoor cat, with wind & loud noises. Be patient. Don't give up! Kitty is out there. 🐱 INDOOR/OUTDOOR cats often get stuck in garages, crawl spaces, under porches, under buildings, in storage areas - post flyers 2 blocks out in all directions though Be sure to Focus on your immediate block 1st! Most Indoor/outdoor cats are found wtihin the block - though keep open to the possibility of further out if you live on a SF street that is mostly cement out front for example (not alot of places to hide) 💥 IMPORTANT 💥 CALL for kitty consistently throughout the day and ESPECIALLY TONIGHT from 9 PM until 6AM (when it’s quiet, dark and cats feel ‘safer’ to move out of hiding) Set your alarm for 11pm 1AM, 3AM, 5AM....go out and call for kitty in your NORMAL, CALM voice & wait...shake treats (if that is something kitty normally responds to) I can’t tell you how many kitties come out of hiding during these late hours…sit down in 1 spot for at least 10 minutes at a time..be patient…(or you can hear meows if trapped in your next door neighbors garage or backyard for example). 🐱 LEAVE A WAY BACK INSIDE 24/7 in case kitty sneaks back inside when it’s dark and quiet. Leave the ‘escape’ DOOR/WINDOW edged OPEN 5” with wet food and water just inside. . If kitty escaped from the front (and you have a garage) leave garage door open 5" WET food (not dry) and water just inside the garage and place kitty’s BED/BEDDING on opposite side /wall closest to the entrance to your home. If no garage, leave wet food and water near escape point out of plain sight of humans walking by. (Do Not put out litter box - the scent could attract aggressive cats) 🐱IMPORTANT: MOST of your neighbors will NOT see your post on pawboost or facebook or nextdoor. This is why you MUST go door to door with FLYERS, and TALK to your neighbors. Stay organized - Take notes on a printed Google map your block - note which address #s didn’t answer the door and GO BACK later until you talk to everyone. 💜🙏 🐱 KNOCK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS DOORS, starting with the first 10 residences/buildings in ALL directions from you. Neighbors won't do anything unless they know your cat is missing! This is why you must go door to door and distribute flyers and post up flyers around your neighborhood. 🐱ASK neighbors to check their RING CAMERAS, Garages, sheds, storage units/areas, crawl spaces , under porches… especially at night with a flashlight to catch kitty’s EYE reflection. Kitty could be stuck / trapped (this happens all the time!) and talking to your neighbors will help engage them into helping keep vigilant. 🐱 GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR NEIGHBORS YARDS: Knock on your neighbors doors and Get permission for YOU to check their yards physically day and evening...explain to them how kitty will hide from strangers and it's best for you to check anywhere kitty could be hiding (they are excellent silent hiders) 🐱💜 PRINT 150-200 FLYERS to give your neighbors door to door ANDalso to POST UP on lampposts (both sides) in your neighborhood, concentrating around your block and expanding out 2 Block out. POST UP FLYERS on streetlamps (place inside a clear protective sheet cover - with the open flap facing down so the weather doesn’t ruin them. You can google: “clear sheet protector” or purchase on amazon or at FEDEX store near you where you can send your print order online for pick up even if they’re closed. Call them once open and ask if they can PRINT right away due to the emergency. fedex staff will always print quickly. They sell the sheet protectors & tape there. Get several rolls of packing tape Download a FLYER ‘template’ on www.happycatlady.com Offer a reward for a PHOTO of kitty to encourage neighbors to search their home. The FLyer should say to take a photo and call and NOT to approach kitty who is scared. ONLINE: 🐱 Post on www.Nextdoor com under ‘lost & found’ and ‘cat owners’ group. with close address range. EXAMPLE 1000-1050 kitty street cross street Paw ave 1. NEXTDOOR INVITE: https://nextdoor.com/invite/tlpjrfjfsfzzypgctspp 2. INVITE LINK TO NEXTDOOR ‘CAT OWNERS GROUP:https://nextdoor.com/g/qazvu50sq/ 🐱Report to Animal Care & control - your local animal shelter’s 💥 IMPORTANT 💥 PLACE A CAMERA (motion activated with night vision) facing out the escape door with food and watch footage daily - you can't believe how many times a cat will return home - eat - has no way of getting back inside (or just WILL NOT go back inside - to scared / in survival mode - IN THIS CASE THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO SET A HUMANE TRAP - please let me know as I have a trap and VIDEO on how to use) and the owners stops going out at night so the cat disappears back into the night...you may see other cats, raccoons and other creatures eat the food..that's ok...replace the WET food only (raccoons LOVE dry cat food so use only WET) 💥WiFI Camera with night vision example: Reolink: https://a.co/5Pb6VTA OR Mini Blink camera: https://a.co/ihc7BSy 🙏💜DON’T GIVE UP. Lost Cat ‘Clementine’ was FOUND after 29 days, just 2 back yards away! A neighbor we flyered and spoke to 2 weeks earlier spotted kitty and we ended up having to trap her because she remained in survival mode and wouldn't come forward to her human (a few days later she was back to normal). And then there was lost cat ‘Lina’ of 2 weeks was spotted returning home to eat food left outside (video footage in backyard) but would not come inside - the owner had to coax her for hours and hours for several nights...some have to trap their cats. each cat is different and needs our patience and determination… MANY guardians find their kitties late night when it’s quiet and your voice and/or kitty’s meow can be easily heard … even scared cats try to come home or may meow if stuck at night. Set your alarm over and over. You can do this! Wishing you LOVE & unwavering determination 💖🙏 damia💖🙏 650-339-6619 ( www.happycatlady.com) https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/lost-cat-behavior/ 🐯PLEASE BELOW example of taking notes on map as I went door to door. F = flyered (not home) Added names I spoke to in person - the goal is to talk to everyone to best engage neighbors - ask them to search garage, storage, sheds and to CALL if think they see kitty (and take a photo) Keeping track on a map is a HUGE HELP - I often return days later to remind folks to keep looking! 💖LINK TO PDF OF LOST CAT FLYER / GOOGLE MAP GRAPHIC EXAMPLE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cYfhp2o-m2C_OKPvdEriHZxYscDmeL5U/view?usp=sharing

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HappyCatLady .

1 year ago

  🔻WARNING🔻New Scam Alert🔻 Scammers will text you saying they’re affiliated with Pawboost and that they HAVE YOUR CAT and that YOU need to PROVE who you are by giving other phone numbers, your email, verifying google codes etc . These are all SCAMMERS - they may tell you to meet them somewhere BUT THEY WON'T Send you a PHOTO of your cat (they'll make up any excuse) Tell them you know they are scammers and to stop! Please Trust that If a neighbor sees or has your cat they will give you info freely and not play any strange ‘prove you are the owner of kitty’ games… Here are 2 recent SCAM texts I received -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fXZaisdpT9AAnYg38Sr4WILds0ewC5KU/view?usp=sharing