Sarasota, FL Lost Male Cat, Blacky Is Missing

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Alexandra W.

6 days ago

From Jamie Katz, pet detective 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... Shared 🙏🏻

Alexandra W.

6 days ago