Clearwater, FL Lost Male Cat, Rufus Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Kelly R.

2 hours ago

The way I got my cat back after 6 months is I put up fliers and go door to door. Talk to everyone in your neighborhood. I went out almost nightly. Find out who is feeding cats and go talk to them, as he may have showed up there. Post on neighborhood ring camera. Check the shelters daily, don’t call but check the websites. Most cats will be within a couple of blocks or houses and I made the mistake of thinking he would come back on his own, but I had to find where he was and bring him home. Don’t ever give up cats are resilient and smart. Good luck!! I know these comments are a dime a dozen but mine is what I learned from having my cat missing for 6 months… don’t wait for your cat to find you and don’t put litters out waiting for it to come home… go search and talk to everyone!! Do this immediately and your chances of it not waiting months increases!

Gab K.

3 hours ago

Please read till the end..Walk around calling your cat as you always do. Look under bushes and in hiding places. Look at dawn and dusk with a flashlight to catch the glare of your cat's eyes. Leave garage door and lanai partially open if possible. Your cat will try to get back inside ..most likely at night. Use a trap...The only way to find his way home.or to the trap is by smell. Use some of your used clothes, put them outside and around the trap. A friend of mine used her shirt and dragged it through the neighborhood. Her cat found the smell and followed it home. It is all about the smell. You can also cut a shirt of yours into small small pieces and leave a scent trail back to the trap. I read a few days ago that a lady put out a trace with the old litter throughout the neighborhood. It worked. Her cat came home! Use the litter to lead your cat to the trap. Also try to distribute flyers throughout that neighborhood...as many as you can ( 3 miles radius at least). Check shelters in person...don't just call. Put battery operated trail cameras or motion cameras (Amazon for $25) outside. Your cat might show up in the middle of the night. When you know the time you can wait for for your cat and slow blink to make contact. NEVER GIVE UP! I read once that you can put a chair outside and cover it up with a blanket and the cat can jump up and hide under the blanket and feels safe. They said you should put one of your shirts under the blanket and food and water next to the chair. It might be worth a try to put up a chair

Jamie L.

4 hours ago

You can purchase a trap from Tractor Supply or Home Depot or Amazon or see if you can borrow or rent one from a local rescue or TNR group. Put a piece of your clothing with your scent on it inside and some wet food and set the trap and cover it with a towel (they feel more secure hidden) and monitor it.🙏❣️ remember kitties are naturally nocturnal, so they will hide during the day and move at night time looking for a food source or trying to get home. This is when most of us are sleeping.That's why the trap is ideal. Monitor it very frequently and early in the morning. If you catch a critter go ahead and release it and wash the trap and reset. They leave a smell behind which may deter your baby from going in. If you catch another kitty, you can always take it to a local vet or shelter for a free chip check and you might be able to help return someone else's missing baby home.♥️ also get a big sign in the front yard so in case someone does have or sees this baby and does not see this post, they can contact the owner that way. Also get lots of signs posted in the neighborhood. Keep checking on your local county FB group pages. You can search the group by "cat" to see all the cat posts only💗

Paula V.

9 hours ago

Please put this on lost and found pets of Pinellas county and all of the Dunedin pages. If you have lost a cat read my first long paragraph. If you found one, Please read the last paragraph The only way a lost cat can find its way home is with its nose. Immediately anything with the cat's scent on it and anything that stinks of you like your smelly socks something that you sweated in overnight and your stinky sneakers even your dirty clothes and your underwear! Cats usually stay within a five house radius of their own home for up to a week sleeping in the bushes and coming out at dusk Dawn and late at night. These are good times to take walks shaking the treat bag and calling for them. Cats can smell up to a whole mile away. So do that immediately and also put this on nextdoor. com and the other lost and found pet sites. Go on those sites looking at pics of found cats too. There might be a match.They tend to come home late at night or early in the morning so if you can keep a window cracked or a door cracked so at least you hear them. Good luck IF YOU HAVE FOUND A CAT: Please post this on all the lost and found pet pages in your county as well as all the neighborhood pages. Look on those pages just look at the photos try to make a match to someone that lost this cat. Any vet will check for a chip for free. In the meantime please give food and water to the kitty and shelter if you can.

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