Donna H.
3 weeks ago
📌🐾 📣 Open Escape for Reentry‼️
⭐️ Keep point of escape open for reentry with a plate of smelly food inside of house.
Kitty might try to get back in from either fear, hunger, thirst, weather or comfort.
If still nearby, keep looking and listening for meowing.
👉Return: I’m noticing a pattern of return around 3am - 6am.
➡️ Alternative Opening: If you can’t leave an opening in your home for reentry and you have a garage, open the door about 6 inches up with food and water placed in back of room or find some place where cat may shelter and leave food (lamb chop seems to entice) & water there.
👉 Seeking Shelter: During the winter months cats may look for a place to keep warm and they’ll want to seek out shelter from the rain, cold and snow.
📌 If cat is an indoor cat it should hopefully be very near still and hiding in fear.
• Search Immediately - Look under bushes, under porches, under decks, especially under sheds, including any small place they can crawl into & corners they can back into, look in-between fences, check car engines, on top of car tires & under cars, look up in the trees and on roof tops, in window wells, nearby sewers, garages, in and behind garages and sheds and neighboring properties. Look in all corners of the above and under items in those places. Most of the time they back themselves into a corner and remain quiet, even to you because they’re scared. Listen for the slightest noise of movement and move items around and use a flashlight looking for glowing eyes.
•Search when it’s quiet, early in the morning and when it’s dark with a flashlight for glowing eyes, shaking a bag of treats while calling out their name and then stop and listen for faint meowing.
•Try a Cat Meowing App and playing it in hopes it draws out the cat.
•Some cats hide at the house directly behind the house cat was missing from.
•Use a night vision motion detector video camera with sound that sends notifications to your cell phone. Aim outside at each door, where food is placed and at the humane trap. Ring, Arlo or anything else that records.
•Shelter- Place near where cat escaped adding straw (not hay), some catnip inside and spread some on a toy. Throw toy in back of shelter and watch to see if it’s taken out and played with.
👉 Scent- Put used litter box outside. Plenty of people have told me their cats returned shortly after placing the litter box either outside, in garage or another enclosure and I stand by this.
•Empty contents of vacuum bag orter your unlaundered items such as socks, pillowcases, something cat laid on, etc. to attract lost cat.
•Leave smelly food near where you want them to return. Ex. Tuna, sardines, Mackerel, chicken, lamb or treats. Bbq hot dogs, bacon or chicken sending the aroma throughout the air.
•Trackers: Pet Trackers may offer assistance via phone of what to do next and or in-person with a tracking dog.
Time is crucial: Cats usually stick closer to home, but could end up over a mile away.
•Capture/Trapping- Ask for experienced help on groups that trap, handle strays and TNR.
**Important: A live trap must never be left set overnight or unattended ‼️ Opossums and raccoons can easily enter the unattended traps instead of your cat and harm themselves ripping out their teeth and nails. Then after being trapped, they’re released wounded and toothless.
-If you choose not to use a trap, place small amounts of cat food & water out and hopefully you’ll eventually be able to determine where the cat is hiding.
👉 More Exposure!
•Post on & join all lost groups of Facebook
•Post on Neighbors Ring App or on Neighbors Ring website. It alerts the community in radius of up to 5 miles around your home anonymously.
•Post on Next Door App or on Next Door website.
•Post on Lost My Kitty website (they send out emails about kitty & you remain anonymous).
•If microchipped, notify chip company & they’ll send out alerts.
•Flyers: Keep it simple! No one needs to know why, how, your pet's habits or about the family. Only Include:
photo of pet (cropped with only that pet missing)
name of pet
date last seen
cross streets & town
phone number
Print at least 100 copies. Cover in plastic. Get helpers & post on trees, poles, at supermarkets, pet supply stores, pharmacies, hang on your car, etc.
•Handout flyers to Mail Carriers, Amazon Drivers, Fed Ex Drivers, UPS Drivers, Newspaper Delivery person, Crossing Guards, Veterinary groups, Shelters, Groomers, Police Precinct, Town Highway Division, etc.
•Enlarge a flyer, wrap in plastic, post on front lawn so drivers and walkers can see it.
•Animal Shelters- Go in person everyday to check and see for yourself because employees may not know of all the pets that were brought in.
•There’s many reasons why a cat has gone missing,
One of the more common scenarios for a lost outdoor-access cat is that the cat has become displaced from his home range. This may occur if he is new to the area and becomes lost or if he is scared out of his territory (such as by fireworks, construction, a loose dog, or another cat) and either becomes lost or is afraid to come back. Some cats will choose to leave their homes when there is a significant change in the household such as a new baby, puppy or roommate. Some cats are more sensitive than others and may leave due to a change in routine such as a prolonged injury or illness of their owner or even a small change in circumstances such as a remodeled room or change in brand of cat food.
Researched & written by Donna Harman
