Rowanne B.
1 month ago
Tips to find lost cats:
• Set out food & water - cats are more likely to roam when they get hungry. Make sure the food is something with a smell that will carry, like tuna, mackerel, or roast chicken.
• If possible, leave an opening into the house near where the cat got out.
• Go outside with their favorite treat bag/box and rattle the treats while calling for them - do this consistently. Cats tend to be active around dawn & dusk, so those are the best times to look.
• Check with your neighbors (go door to door) to ask if they’ve seen your cat and ask if they can keep an eye out; and look under porches, inside garages, up in trees, under cars, and in/around any sheds or bushes where your cat could be hiding - it helps to do this at night with a flashlight, as the light will pick up their eyes and help you spot an otherwise camouflaged kitty.
• Cats can squeeze themselves into very small spaces, so check with a flashlight in the spots you don’t think the cat can get in to.
• Check in with nearby rescues, shelters, and vets to see if she's been brought in, and repeat every couple of days.
• It's possible your cat is nearby (cats typically don’t stray too far unless they need to for food, water, or are being chased) but is too terrified to respond to being called, in which case you want to get a humane trap and bait it with food.
• Set out their litterbox, preferably dirty, so that they can track the scent (you may see some people advise against this as it may attract other animals, but so will the food and scent is one of the most reliable way to help a pet find their way home).
• Hit up all of the neighborhood social media apps (Pawboost is a good one, and NextDoor is sometimes useful) as well as posting fliers. If your pet was adopted through a rescue or shelter you may also want to contact them, as they may have additional resources to help. Dogs Finding Dogs is another helpful resource: https://dogsfindingdogs.com/
As you stated he's not neutered, there's unfortunately a very good chance that he is wandering - some of the female cats around me that haven't been caught in TNR yet are coming into heat.
