Lake Forest, CA Lost Male Cat, Niko Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Lauren E.

1 month ago

TIPS TO FIND YOUR CAT: 1. Kitties usually stay close by their home, they hide in a bush or some small dark place and just sit and wait. Even if you call them, they may not come because they are freaked out and scared. 2. A cat's world is centered around scents. They will not be familiar with the outdoor scents because they have never been there before. To help them smell their way home, put things outside that smell like home, like you. A used towel, dirty shirt, dirty shoes. Leave the items out and sit with the door open as much as possible. If the kitty comes back in the door just remain calm and talk to the kitty normal until you can close the door behind him. 3. Do not put food out, you will attract other animals that may keep your cat away. You can walk around with smelly food or shaking treats, but don't leave it outside. 4. Walk around the neighborhood calling your kitty normally. Don't use a panicked voice, it will scare the kitty more. Best to only have people whose voice your kitty would normally come to. They will not come to a kind stranger helping you search. The kitty will catch your scent and hear your voice, and follow it back to your house. Most cats are within 200 cat yards. Which means if there is a fence, you couldn't get over, you would go around, but the cat could go right over. So keep that in mind when checking out 200 yards. 5. Pass out fliers to neighbors and talk to everyone, especially kids and dog walkers. It is a great idea to offer kids $20 if they find your cat and can tell you where he is. Kids love money and a challenge. 6. Check closed garages. Listen for meows when you call. 7. Use a flashlight under bushes and dark places, even during the day. The light will reflect off their eyes. This is how I found Nicholas, in a bush I walked by at least 20 times and didn't see him until I used the flashlight. 8. Sleep with the windows open, you may hear them crying at night. Lost kitties feel safest coming out late at night-early morning. 9. Check the shelter every day. 10. If your lost cat has a cat friend at home, take the cat or dog you have at home out in a secure carrier or on a leash and walk around with him or sit with him outside. Hopefully the other lost cat will hear and smell him. Dogs are good at finding lost cats. 11. Social Media - Facebook, Nextdoor, CraigsList, and PawBoost Lost & Found. 12. Vets have told me that indoor kitties that get lost are too scared to come out of hiding, even for food. It could be at least 10 days before your kitty gets hungry enough to come out of his safe hiding spot, so don't give up too soon. Once kitties do come out they will make a big circle around the area trying to find something that smells like home. So the more you walk out from your house and back, like a wagon wheel formation, the more your scent out there for kitty to follow when he gets brave. 13. If you have a garage, leave it cracked open, kitty may find his way back in. 14. Be careful of scammers. There are terrible people out there that pretend they have your cat but can never find time to meet up with you to return the cat. They are trying to make you frantic to give them money. 15. Check trees too, just found my cat 20 feet up a tree, couldn't get down. 16. Check inside, cabinets, closets, behind books. We have found cats sitting behind books on shelves, sleeping inside clothes in the closet, and in a hole in the wall behind a wall unit. 17. You can purchase a Havahart cat safe trap from Amazon. Watch the video on how to use it. Do not leave it unattended because you don’t want to try and release an angry raccoon. If you watch for a distance you can chase off wild critters. Have a plan if you catch another cat. This other cat may be keeping your cat away. So hopefully your shelter will take him. Maybe he is lost too and you saved him. Or maybe he is a stray and having a check up at the shelter will benefit him, and give your cat a chance to come home if this cat was keeping him away.

Elizabeth H.

1 month ago

♥️🙏🐾

Dawn F.

1 month ago

Time is of the essence. Cats don’t go far from home. Don’t wait for social media to bring your cat home, you need to be proactive. Leave the door/window the kitty exited from open 24/7. If unable, then crack garage door open 24/7 enough to get in. Hang worn clothes and/or your pillow case in a tree or on top of shrubs to create a scent trail. Knock on neighbors doors with a picture asking them to keep an eye out. See if they can check Ring cameras for any sighting. Post signs with kitty’s picture as many as possible, include surrounding neighborhoods. Go out late at night with a flashlight, shaking a bag of food, calling kitty’s name, looking under shrubs for their shining eyes. Post on Ring, Nextdoor and check shelters. Don’t give up. 💕

2 months ago

bump for visibility leave your shoes outside

Carrie B.

2 months ago

Immediately (NOW)walk area shake treat bag or Bang on cat food can calling for your cat multiple times during the day-and-night especially when it's quiet out. Look under all bushes and in between houses. Ask your neighbors to check cameras garage, shed backyard. Post on nextdoor, get family & friends to search every day. Search at midnight-5am too call for ur kitten, listen for her meow

Tina M.

2 months ago

‼️ Can you leave your phone number so we can try and call you? Paw boost does not give out phone numbers.

Tina M.

2 months ago

I am going to post some of the comments I can only post one thing at a time. But like I said this girl is not answering. It says she lives in Green River, which is part of Huntington Beach. Her name is on the original post I put above.

📷 View photo on Facebook

Tina M.

2 months ago

Does this look like your cat? Because this chick on Nextdoor will not answer any questions yet she posted a cat yesterday of a Bengal. Is this your cat?

📷 View photo on Facebook

Angela S.

2 months ago

The best thing to do is to talk to your neighbors today to see if they have seen your cat. You can also print mini flyers and attach them to your neighbors doors if they are not home. You can use painter's tape so that it is easy for the homeowner to remove. You will have the best chance to find your cat tonight from 10 pm onward. Use a flashlight and calmly call your cat while shaking their favorite bag of treats. Best wishes! 🙏

Angela S.

2 months ago

TIPS TO HELP FIND YOUR LOST CAT: - Check the house thoroughly as they sometimes hide in the house in unexpected places. -Check underneath your cars, in the car engine area, wheel wells and around the bumpers. -Ask neighbors around you to check garages and sheds as they can sneak in undetected. -See if your neighbors can leave their garages and sheds open for a few hours. Your cat may not come out right away once the doors are open. This is because when cats are in survival mode, they don't always act normal. Your cat may be scared to come out when others are around. - Put a piece of your unwashed clothing outside the last door he/she exited the house from and leave that door open at night so that they can get back inside. - Hang flyers with his/her picture and post all over your neighborhood & surrounding areas. - Take the flyers door to door asking if anyone has seen him/her. -Walk your neighborhood especially at night calling his/her name and listening as he/she may be hiding in the bushes or under something. - Take a flyer to the shelter. - Put a sign in your yard with his/her picture stating he/she is missing. - Check the shelters in person. - Review shelter's found reports. - File a lost report with the shelters. Indoor only cats and limited outdoor access cats never go far. They go into survival mode and hide in silence. They will not always respond to you, most do not. Between midnight to 5am are ideal times to find a missing indoor only cat. You can set your alarm for 12 PM, 3 AM, 5 AM etc. 3 AM is the best time to find a cat as this is the time they become most active and responsive. ***DO NOT leave litter box outside, it can attract predators and aggressive Tom cats.*** Place some dirty socks and pillow cases outside. Your scent will attract your kitty. If you have a garage, place the items near the garage door and crack the door enough for the cat to get in. Because indoor only cats hide so well they are not as likely to be ed by a predator. Don't give up, it can take weeks 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. Try to look for the glow of the eyes. Calmly call your cat. Make mini flyers and hand them out to your neighbors. Most people don't pay attention to posted flyers. It's VERY important that you look for the cat 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 also helpful. If possible, it's also suggested to keep open a door a few inches at night in case the cat comes home. After several days, you may want to leave some wet food just inside of the door as well. Kibble tends to attract raccoons so it's not recommended. You can get a camera that is pointed at the door, you can see if cat is coming to feed at night. One lady's indoor only cat was missing for three weeks and it was coming to eat the food but was too scared to come inside. She didn't know that it was coming back to the house until she got a camera. She had to get a trap to get the cat back inside. If you decide to trap, make sure that you do not leave the trap unattended as doing so makes the cat very vulnerable to being attacked. Sending prayers for your cat's swift and speedy return. 💕🙏💕

View Full Discussion on Facebook