HappyCatLady .
2 years ago
š±šš Dear Guardian .....DONāT LOSE HOPE. Lost cat ākittieā was spotted after 4 weeks in a neighbors yard who we flyered so they called us -we kept leaving food and trapped her while watching from a baby monitor to make sure we didnāt trap neighbor cats. The point of this is to Keep taking action every day/night. Cats remain near - they do NOT go far from home....Continue to call for kitty - ESPECIALLY at night 10pm-6am..set your alarm for 11pm, 2am, 5am ...walk around the block and call for kitty ...
If your neighborhood isn't already plastered with flyers , PRINT more flyers and add or replace flyers - IMPORTANT: knock on neighbors doors AGAIN and REMIND them that your sweet kitty is still missing and ask them to check around especially at night especially..ask neighbors with RING cameras to check the footage in case kitty is spotted...whatever you do, do NOT lost hope...keep searching and spreading the word with your neighbors door to door - they need to be reminded kitty is still out there and many many cats are found long after they are lost - we are still early in thisā¦
**IMPORTANT** PLACE A CAMERA (motion activated with night vision) aimed at WET food in bowl every day and night. ( you can buy amazon) ..OFTEN cats remain near but are in such survival mode - they will even act scared of their human's voice and won't come inside and need to be coaxed...Lost cat 'Luna' was spotted on camera after being 'lost' for several weeks, her human was shocked to learn Luna was visiting the backyard regularly late night and would come back inside (she was leaving the backdoor open for her) We thought she was stuck at a neighbors which happens all the time...and it was the help of the camera which helped her human learn about the different cats that would visit and other animals...she eventually spotted her 'live' in her backyard (she did a stake out just inside with a baby monitor) and was able to lure her back inside with food after several hours late night. I'm not saying this is your situation ...I'm saying that you can't rule anything outā¦
- WiFI Camera with night vision example: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07Z841XYDā¦
- WIldlife camera wifi not needed / eight AA batteries: You have to manually check footage: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B099F54JJ4ā¦
listening to a podcast re; finding lost cats (episode 450 on 'The Community Cats podcast) and their advice about taking action right away and consistently....and along with late night/early morning calling out etc is getting permission from each neighbor near you to physically go into their yards to search and call for kitty (by yourself) to search under porches and anywhere they can possibly hide! Studies have proven Indoor cats remain near HIDING IN SILENCE and are mostly found within a few houses away from escape point and outdoor/indoor cats mostly within a 1 block radius...indoor cats that area scared remain near and in hiding until threshhold of hunger will make them come out of hiding to look for food though they will still continue to hide from humans...so it's important for their human to search daily/nightly and not to give up no matter what. They mentioned that sometimes when cats aren't coming back they may be ill and need medical attention so taking action to actively search in neighbors property is so important They also say that cat owners give up way too soon and cats end up at the shelter months down the road by getting trapped by a caring person - and those cats are NOT reclaimed because owners stop checking the shelters...
GAIN ACCESS TO NEIGHBORS YARDS: Knock on your neighbors doors in ALL directions to ask for permission to check yards and around the premises so YOU can call for kitty today and tonight and early morning...scared cats will NOT come forward right away and they are excellent hiders! You have to keep trying this and explain to neighbors that cats protect themselves by hiding - even from their guardian - until THEY feel safe to come forward....
Check your local animal shelter in person every 4 daysššthey dont' show all their 'processed' cats online...
(Borrowed the following from a caring neighbor Kaz on Nextdoor):
In addition to what you're doing keep checking Animal Care & Controlās photo inventory of found cats in case someone has found the cat and turned it in. https://www.sfanimalcare.org/stray-found-cats/
Also, make sure that the catās microchip information is up-to-date. If you donāt have the catās microchip number, check with your vet who should have it in the catās records. In addition to updating wherever your catās chip was originally registered (or even if you donāt remember where you originally registered the chip), register your cat at the free Found Animals chip registry, https://www.foundanimals.org/microchip-registry/owners and the free pet chip registry, https://www.freepetchipregistry.com/ with your current contact information in order to increase the chances that if your cat is picked up, they can contact you. (I say increase the chances because sadly there are multiple databases for different chips and they are not all interconnected.)
We had a sad story on Nextdoor about a lost cat āGonzoā, who was found by ACC, but because the chip linked to outdated information, ACC couldnāt reach the owner, and they ultimately euthanized him because of medical issues.
Sending you HOPE, LOVE and continued determination and perseverance
damia (www.happycatlady com)š±šš