Donna C.
1 month ago
Scent drag trails in your yard asap don’t wait it’s having great success
I used to admin a few Lost/Found Cat pages. Reach out to pet tracker Stella Dan Montuori he’s an expert scent dragger.
These tips come from experience and a culmination of tips from cat rescues.
Put items of clothes, blankets, gym bag outside with both your scents on them ideally in the spot of exit/escape. Empty the contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister outside (it will have familiar scents). Check your & neighbor’s swimming pools, sheds, garages, porches, decks, dry docked boats, under crawl spaces, & in abandoned or empty homes (especially ones up 4 sale - could’ve gone in during a showing or open house), and look in bushes & up in trees & roof lines with a flashlight. Their eyes will glow when you shine the light on them. Check with delivery companies (parcel, furniture,
moving companies etc) that may have been in your neighborhood. Cats are curious and have been known to jump in delivery trucks when doors are left open during deliveries. They will also seek warmth in wheel wells & automobile engines when the temperatures get cooler. If you have a drone with camera, use it to scan the neighborhood, yards, wooded areas.
Contact local vets, animal shelters, & animal control. Post pics on all social media pages relevant to town where cat went missing. Inform your postman/woman delivering your mail & give them a flyer. Put a sign on your mailbox if possible. Ask your favorite pizza place to include fliers with their pizza boxes.
Keep calling your cat around your neighborhood as often as you can especially early morning and at dusk when it’s quieter so they’ll hear your familiar voice & know they’re close to home. Shake food & treat bag, tap can opener on can of food when you search. Some cats will seek out food supply from fast food chains & restaurant & hotel dumpsters. Check those dumpsters in your area as well as surrounding areas.
If you’re not absolutely sure he/she got out: Check behind appliances, in dresser drawers, in closets, shelving, cabinets, boxes, storage bins, luggage/suit cases, holes in walls, attics, bats, crawl spaces & rafters in ceiling; check your mattresses & the lining of your sofas, recliners, & upholstered furniture. From Stella Dan Montuori (Dog & Drone lost pet search): Find nearest water source and make a trail home don’t just leave stuff on porch. Dragging a blanket or clothes on the ground leaves a constant scent trail. Cut blanket or clothes into strips 3” by 12”inches and hang so bottom is touching or close to touching ground.Leave every 20 yards or so a teas of kitty litter every 20/30 yards works also. I did this and cat showed up 1 hr later to the surprise of her skeptical owner .I always use cameras and never had a predator follow kitty litter.
From rescuer Julia Toomey: Keep calling, your cat is most likely nearby even if he doesn't come to your calls, they can hear you. They are just scared. Don't stop calling them every day around the clock. Put litter box out so their scent is around (caution in suburbs where predators may be attracted). Talk to neighbors and inform them of his situation. Tell them to call you right away if they see him. Even though they are your cat, once outside they become very scared and may not come to you. Call a rescue group ASAP to see if they can let you borrow a trap. Leave then water and food unless you are trapping him, then the food goes in the trap. Do not act frantic or stressed around them or when you call them, they will pick up on your stress and it will make things worse and they may not come to you. If you see him act as calmly as you can, act like nothing is going on, like your weeding the ground or something and let him come to you and then grab him. Cats will chase a laser toy & is a great way to lead them safely indoors. The more you chase him the more he will run, it's in a cats nature. Just use soft tones with him and he will eventually come to you, be patient. He may not come out until it's dark. You could also leave your door open and see if he will run in but don't stand by the door, it will make him more hesitant. Right now he is in fight or flight mode because he is outside so be gentle. I would definitely call a rescue group RIGHT AWAY so they can help you and also give you advice. Don't wait too long, time is of the essence and you don't want him to leave the area, then things get difficult. If time elapses and he is still not home, make lots of flyers and leave them on peoples doors in a 2 mile radius around where the cat got lost from. These are your best chances for getting your cat back but you have to act quickly.
*Tips for trapping* Do not set trap overnight where it can’t be monitored!! Use smelly fish like mackerel or tuna in oil. KFC works well, boneless of course. Cover top & sides of trap (not front where cat enters or back where it can impede traps performance) with a blanket or towel (one that has scent on it if available). Feed outside of trap to get cat used to it, then feed inside trap WITHOUT setting it, then feed inside trap and set once you see cat going in to eat*
