Charlotte, NC Lost Female Cat, Tink Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Kimberly M.

1 week ago

***How to Find a Lost Cat*** THOROUGHLY SEARCH YOUR HOME AND SURROUNDINGS Start by searching your home thoroughly, including the garage, shed, deck, crawlspaces, underneath porches, sewers, and drainage pipes. Check closets, cabinets, the attic, basement, and appliances like the clothes dryer. Ask neighbors to check under crawlspaces, decks, porches, sheds, and garages, as cats can become trapped. Extend your search three to five houses in either direction and recheck areas often, since cats may move between hiding spots. If your cat is accustomed to being outdoors, widen your search area. The best times to search are late at night or early morning when it’s quiet. Use a flashlight to catch eye reflection. Avoid searching just once and assuming they aren’t nearby. Searching can unintentionally spook a cat, causing them to hide deeper. Cats’ vision blurs beyond 20 feet, so even if they see you, they may not recognize you and could run in fear. Most indoor-only cats are found very close to home, often within 50 to 150 feet, hiding under decks, porches, bushes, or crawlspaces. Many remain hidden for 10 to 17 days before feeling safe enough to come out. BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT Your cat is likely nearby even if you can’t see them. They may hear you but be too scared to respond. Studies show that 75% of lost cats are found within one third of a mile, 18% are found just outside the home entrance, most indoor cats are located within the first few houses, and 59% are found alive when owners physically search bushes and hiding spots. About 56% are found within two months, though many cats return home months or even years later. DON’T ASSUME THE WORST Don’t assume your cat met a predator. Cats are excellent at hiding and conserving energy. Use every search method from the moment your cat goes missing. SET HUMANE TRAPS Use humane traps such as Tomahawk or Tru Catch in areas you can monitor frequently. Shelters often rent traps. Avoid raccoon traps, as they can injure cats due to their short size and slim trigger plates. You can also use your home or garage as a trap by leaving doors open and monitoring closely. CONTACT YOUR MICROCHIP COMPANY Notify your cat’s microchip company that your cat is missing and confirm your contact information is up to date. Contact Veterinary Clinics and Shelters Contact local veterinary clinics, hospitals, and emergency vets and ask to email a flyer. Report your cat to Animal Care & Control and monitor their website regularly, as it updates hourly. Visit the shelter in person every three days. The shelter will hold animals on a 3-day stray hold before adoption. Address: 8315 Byrum Drive, Charlotte, NC 28227. Hours: Monday–Friday 11:00 AM–7:00 PM, Weekends 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. Note: The shelter no longer accepts healthy stray adult cats unless sick or injured. Healthy stray cats should be returned to where they were found. CHECK ONLINE RESOURCES Check the Animal Care & Control lost and found page and file a Lost Pet Notice with photos and details. Reports expire after 30 days, so renew if needed. You can also file a report with Petco Love Lost (https://petcolove.org/lost/). POST FLYERS Post brightly colored, laminated “Lost Pet” flyers throughout your neighborhood and town. Laminated flyers withstand weather and repeated exposure helps awareness. Include a clear face photo and a side view showing body and tail. Focus on high-traffic areas and place flyers in mailboxes secured under the red flag. Give one to your mail carrier. When my cat Charlie went missing, covering my neighborhood with laminated flyers made the biggest difference. LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA Post on Nextdoor, Neighbors app, Reddit (Lost & Found Pets), Craigslist, PawBoost, PetAmberAlert, and local Facebook lost and found pet groups. WATCH HELPFUL VIDEOS Kim Freeman’s YouTube videos are an excellent resource. She is a lost cat recovery specialist and shares proven strategies. CREATE A SCENT CIRCLE Tie strips of clothing worn by your cat’s favorite human to trees or bushes 3 to 4 feet off the ground in a 50 to 60-foot radius around your home. This scent beacon can help guide your cat back. Placing a litter box outside can backfire by attracting predators or territorial cats and is often unnecessary. Don’t give up and stay pawsitive. 🐾

Ginger M.

1 week ago

Pray, talk to neighbors, post fliers, continue to post on Facebook, and don't give up! My sweet kitty, Leo, was missing for a little over a month, but was found safely 🙏

Ginger M.

1 week ago

Praying for safe return 🙏

Holly S.

1 week ago

Call for him at night. It might sound pointless, but I found my cat after 3 days in a storm drain across the street. Best of luck ❤️

2 weeks ago

bump for visibility leave your shoes outside

Mark W.

2 weeks ago

Look under houses in the crawl spaces

Connie T.

2 weeks ago

Please share and ask others to share also! It can help💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Janene P.

2 weeks ago

Please check out this article I copied from a person’s page: Helpful Tips for Finding a Missing Cat From my experience of Coaching/Recovering over 2000 cats as a Lost Pet Professional, I have found that Escaped Indoor Cats are extremely predictable and are not lost per se- just displaced from their inside territory and hiding close by- Waiting to get back in but can't open the door. Right after dark search with a flashlight looking for eyeshine in all the hiding places around the outside of your house and garage - starting at the escape point working out to a 3-5 house radius where the cat could hide including up a tree or on a roof- especially if there are dogs around. Let the flashlight do the work- don't invade hiding places or the cat may move or run. Always leave the escape door open during this search because if the cat runs- it will likely be to that door. Search any basement opening that may be accessible thru a broken window or open door etc. If seen, sit and calmly coax- let the cat come to you- DO NOT approach - be patient. If it has rained -the cat would move to a completely dry hiding place which may include open garages and sheds where they may also get closed in. If not found in the searches- speak calmly to the kitty near the escape door -NOT frantic stressful calling - and make the noises you do at feeding time- crinkle treat bag - open a can etc . It's not about food- it's about a familiar sound. If no meowing answers or no kitty appears after a while- go inside and leave the way in open. Repeat talking before you go to bed. Leave the door the cat escaped thru ajar from late night to dawn and it will likely return- no lights inside or out. No food in the first 5 days as the cat knows there is food in its territory. NO LITTER ever -that's a dangerous myth and clothes do not help- cats do not navigate by smell - they have internal gps. If the door the cat left from can't be left open- leave the garage door up cat height and an inside door open or a place to wait up high like a cat tree.. Most will show themselves when you open the door early morning with the same feeding time noises and talk Also all of this is step for step in my expanded article in the "files" section here on Recovering an Escaped Indoor Cat along with the next steps to take along the way as you may eventually need to feed/film/trap after the first 5 days and put out signs. Cats have no system to recognize their owner's scent... - in fact in a study to see if cats recognzied the owner's scent or sought comfort from it...Cats ignored the Owner's scent as expected. Cats mark human friends and cat friends.... with their own pheromones..in a system called "bunting"because they have no system to recognize an Owner...Cats evolved for thousands of years without owners....- they rely on scent only within their species to communicate and to mark their territory and friendly safe items in their territory..Cats are very, very predictable if you understand their physical and mental systems. Cats use GPS/magnetoreception to navigate to their territory anyway- not scent. They will move toward an Owner's calm voice but have no way to identify a human's scent.....Those are dog skills and behaviors. Cats use scent primarily to differentiate - not to navigate and their scent range is very limited...in the 15-20 ft range unless a scent is on the wind. In cats, scent determines sexual status and is used to communicate, to interact socially, and to identify territory - not to navigate or find home or owners... Please do try putting clothes out with your scent on them!!!! It does work!!!! Prayers🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Carol H.

2 weeks ago

Shared with prayers 🙏 ❤️

View Full Discussion on Facebook