Dawn W.
10 months ago
My heart goes out to you. I have been through it myself. Here are some tips I've put together over 20 years of working with cat rescue.
What To Do If Your Cat Got Out & Is Missing:
* Don't wait for him/her to come home. Yes, he/she may do that, but most cats are scared and go hiding in small places, mostly close to home, a few houses or a block away. (They can go a few miles if chased or desperate, mostly in desperation looking for water and food.) They hide under cars, decks, patios, porches, in sheds, drain pipes, stairs, window wells, garages, bushes, woods, up trees, roofs, etc. Walk around calling their name, shaking a treat bag or favorite toy with bell. Carry smelly food to encourage them if scared and hiding. Listen very, very carefully for low meows. Use a flashlight to catch and reflect their eyes. A good time to go looking is twilight and very early morning/pre-dawn, when it’s quiet and calm so they may feel safer to come out and it’s also feeding time.
* Talk to and alert everyone you know and that lives in your vicinity, as well as local businesses. Notify and check with animal control/shelters/humane societies and local veterinary offices. Post on and check lost sites, such as Lost Cats of Wisconsin (file your report there to create your FREE flyer and a post on Pet FBI ), Craigs List, Nextdoor, various community FB pages. Post flyers on corners/posts, in front of your home, and with neighbors and anyone in the vicinity.
* Put out a carrier or something right outside your door for shelter and safety. Place clothing/blankets with a familiar scent, yours and/or theirs, inside or nearby.
* Searching, go out a few blocks, then back close, then out farther and back close. You may miss the cat or the cat may move or may not be meowing. Repeat over and over, looking carefully on the ground for paw prints and for places they might hide.
* If you have a garage, leave open with smelly food favorites, water, clothing/blankets with familiar scent, their old litter box in garage. If you have a family dog who is close to the cat, give the dog something with the cat’s scent and then a treat; and then go walking around, watching your dog very carefully. You can even do this with another cat close to home, if you have a cat harness and leash.
* Get or borrow a humane live animal trap and set it up with tuna or some other smelly cat food. Be sure to check it frequently. But in extreme weather, do not set it unless you can monitor it constantly and bring in immediately if caught.
* And never stop looking! Never give up! Too many give up too soon. It may take weeks or more before you find and/or someone turns in your cat to an animal shelter.
Make sure to contact and also GO IN PERSON to your local shelter/humane society (HAWS) to look at all of the cats they have there. Don’t rely on just pictures or the person answering the phone to have all updated info on who they have there. They do their best, but you need to check in person on a regular basis.
