El Cerrito, CA Lost Male Cat, Taj Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

HappyCatLady .

4 weeks ago

❤️ 🙏 I'm so sorry you haven't found your kitty yet. Call for kitty early morning and at NIGHT as you SLOWLY walk around. REPEAT LATE NIGHT…some cats that get stuck /trapped won’t meow initially but do as more time passes and they are stuck in a shed for example..During the day knock on doors ask neighbors to PARTIALLY open garages and sheds and storages and crawlspace - any place kitty could have gotten stuck - leave partially open for 2 hours allowing kitty time to escape..if a neighbor is not home, then tape a flyer to the front door using painter's tape (won't harm the door) Keep track on a printed google map so you don't miss anyone..don't give up ❤️ Don't wait for anyone online - we live all over and your kitty is near YOU and your actual neighbors who are not seeing these posts ❤️ —------------ 💕 As you may know, cats don't leave their territory. Many cats get stuck/trapped at nearby neighbors as folks open and close bats/sheds/crawl spaces/ not knowing a curious kitty snuck inside ...and folks close door and windows when they leave town on vacation - same thing. You must focus completely on in-person searching , continue to CALL for kitty LATE night and walk around as you calmly call for kitty — SET YOUR ALARM fo 12am and 3AM - yes the later the better when it’s quiet outside and if your cat is stuck they might meow back…during the day talk to neighbors flyering every single residence (tape the flyer directly onto the front door top and bottom so it stays - use painter's tape won't harm the door) Mark on a printed GOOGLE. MAP of your block and surrounding blocks as you go door to door to talk to every neighbor possible, asking them to open up their sheds /storage unit/s, crawl space, garage doors for a few hours and then close them again - allowing a cat enough time to get out (they usually do not run out right away) . REPLACE worn out flyers on every lamppost - ((((place flyers inside "clear binder sheet protectors" with the opening facing downward - tape around the sleeve opening so they last even through rain))) people have short memories you must replace the flyers AND post them to every front door if no one answers the door. AT night you will call for your baby when it's dark and quiet - walk around slowly calling in your normal calm voice and listen for meows coming from a neighbor's garage or backyard . THough many will NOT meow if stuck or injured, some WILL ! Your cat also could have hurt a back leg for example and can't jump a fence to get back home. Another reason to talk to your actual neighbors and gain permission to check ALONE under their back decks or under stair cases and crawl spaces and sheds USING A FLASHLIGHT even during the day - to catch the reflection of kitty's eyes. I can't tell you how many stories about lost cats both indoor only and indoor/outdoor cats that are found using flashlights in dark places catching the cat's eye GLOW. I also always recommend to aim a motion activated camera at kitty's escape or EXIT point - where you leave wet food before each sunset IN CASE kitty got spooked and is hiding from ALL humans and looking for food at night. Water bowl 15-20 feet away in the shade (not near the food). The most important thing is to keep taking action in person and not give up! no matter what anyone says. ❤️ damia

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HappyCatLady .

4 weeks ago

❤️ 🙏 Call for kitty early morning and at night as you walk around slowly, and during the day knock on doors ask neighbors to PARTIALLY open garages and sheds and storages and crawlspace - any place kitty could have gotten stuck - leave partially open for 2 hours allowing him time to escape..if a neighbor is not home, then tape a flyer to the front door using painter's tape (won't harm the door) Keep track on a printed google map so you don't miss anyone..don't give up ❤️ Don't wait for anyone online - we live all over and your kitty is near YOU and your actual neighbors who are not seeing these posts ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Don’t stop searching and calling for your cat at night and early morning when it’s quiet. Last month Another lost cat was found 2 doors away UNDER the house TRAPPED under the house for a MONTH! - the neighbor heard something when she came home late and saw a very thin cat - she banged on her neighbor's door (she had seen the flyers for a month!) and he raced over and got his cat - who was SKINNY and dirty but alive!! Don't give up and don't stop taking action in person. Your cat could be stuck in a neighbor's shed or crawl space - please ask neighbors again to open up garages/sheds/storage units/crawl spaces/bats for 3 hours - allowing time for escape. Put out wet food by the door your cat normally goes in and out of ... they are often way closer than we think - just stuck and too scared to meow or sometimes they can't meow for not having water for so many days. Gain permission to go under bats ALONE - shine a flashlight under carefully - in the hopes of catching the GLOW of your cat's eyes. Continue to slowly walk and call for your cat - going right up to neighbor's garages and up against fences...let neighbors know you will be doing this at night...❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

HappyCatLady .

4 weeks ago

🐱💖 Real life Examples of REUNITED INDOOR / OUTDOOR cat cases I was involved with - and why you must cover all possibilities🙏 🐱 Missing cat 'PRETO' INDOOR/OUTDOOR cat - was found 1 week later - trapped in a garage, inside a HOLE going under the garage. His guardians each night would walk around very slowly calling for him in a CALM, NORMAL voice. They crinkled his treat bag and kept calling calmly. He finally meowed after 7 nights - after the 400th call!!! 🐱Missing cat Bowie was found stuck in a tree 30 feet up - an arborist was hired to get up that high after being missing for 1 week! 🐱 LOST cat ‘Squirrel’ (Indoor/outdoor) was found on night 13 hiding disorientated inside the front stair deck of a neighbor’s home. The guardians had shined a flashlight there every night and this time ‘Squirrel’ was there! He did not meow when his guardian’s called… 🐱Lost INDOOR/OUTDOOR adventurous cat "HOUDINI' was found trapped in a neighbor's shed! He didn't meow until night 6 as the guardians calmly called out from the backyards . The neighbor wouldn't allow them to check the shed where they could hear faint meows coming from; they had to call the police to gain entrance and once they got into the shed there was HOUDINI!! now safe home. The neighbors said they never used the shed and didn’t know how the cat got inside . Wow! 🐱Lost cat ‘Hugo’ indoor/outdoor was found 2 backyards away after 2 weeks, a bit confused and disorientated. His guardian Ann was calling for him walking in the connected backyards each night and she found him where she’d looked many times before. You just never know! Try again and again 🐱 Lost cat Tazzy was stuck under a neighbors house for 3 weeks before guardians found him by gaining permission and going under with a flashlight and shined/caught the GLOW of kitty's eyes! He never meowed though they would call for him every nightt. 🐱Lost cat Neo was found injured in a neighbors yard after 3 months MISSING! 🐱Lost cat ‘Blue’’ was spotted by a neighbor who I had spoken to in person and given a flyer - this was 4 weeks later! 🐱Lost cat ‘Bella’ was spotted by a neighbor on a RING CAMERA and called because he saw a FLYER on the lamppost - 6 weeks later! 🐱💜COVER ALL POSSIBILITIES - talk to neighbors. Continue to FLYER Door to door . Post up flyers on both sides of every lamppost ASK neighbors to open any space they may have opened and then closed that kitty may accidentally have gotten closed inside - give kitty time to escape on THEIR time - ASK neighbors to open shed, garage, crawl space for an hour or so... 🐱💜 Call for kitty CALMLY and walk around when it's very quiet outside (LATE NIGHT / early morning before the sun comes up) ..Stay strong. Don’t give up! 🐱💜🙏 💜🐱 Call your cat’s MICROCHIP company to report kitty LOST - make sure kitty’s chip is registered with your current contact info 💜🐱 Sending you Love and unwavering determination. 💜🐱damia foti ( www.happycatlady.com)

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HappyCatLady .

4 weeks ago

**RIght now** (it's early and quiet) *** AND TONIGHT *** Go out and CALL For kitty in a very calm, NORMAL voice, with zero` stress in your voice, and if your kitty likes the sound of crinkling a treat bag or opening a can of food then try that...call for your sweet kitty for 30 minutes straight - listen for faint meows nearby in case kitty is stuck at a neighbors (many cats will NOT meow for fear of predators) Walk around VERY SLOWLY calling for kitty. Be patient - cats accidentally get locked inside garages and sheds and storage areas when neighbors leave town. *** IMPORTANT *** Set your alarm for 3am to walk around very very slowly and call for kitty calmly over and over. Call for kitty early AM before the sun rises and at at night. —- 💜🙏 Dear guardian. I'm so sorry your sweet Indoor/Outdoor kitty is missing. Kitty could be STUCK / TRAPPED at a neighbor’s unable to get back (OR GOT spooked and is hiding nearby) and why you must take action in several ways in order to cover ALL possibilities - ESPECIALLY in person – with the neighbors on the block to start. 🐱 Taking ACTION IN PERSON is CRITICAL: 🐱 Leave a WAY BACK INSIDE for kitty to sneak inside in case kitty is now stuck in a garage and gets released… 💥TONIGHT - CALL FOR KITTY CALMLY and sweetly, with ZERO stress in your voice. Cats are most active at night (KITTY could have been spooked and is now hiding in survival mode OR got STUCK in the process of hiding) Set your alarm for 12AM and 3AM and WALK AROUND VERY SLOWLY calling for kitty in your NORMAL, CALM voice...shake/crinkle the treat bag or shake kitty’s favorite noisy toy. Many cats come out of hiding during these late hours(or you can hear meows if trapped in your next door neighbors garage or backyard for example. Many cats will Not meow if stuck. Be Patient. Scared cats are the best hiders. 🐱🐱ASK NEIGHBORS to check their RING CAMERA and to add a missing cat alert. ASK neighbors to partially open garages and sheds and crawl spaces for a few hours - any place they opened and closed since your cat's been missing. 🐱 GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR NEIGHBORS YARDS: Get permission for YOU to check their yards physically -.explain kitty will hide from strangers and it's best for you to check anywhere kitty could be hiding, under a crawl space or deck (Use a flashlight to catch the reflection of kitty’s eyes. They are silent hiders. Sometimes you have to check more than ONCE in the same yard...https://drive.google.com/.../10I.../view... 🐱 Neighbors will NOT do anything if they see a cat outside, UNLESS they know your cat is missing and have your number! 🐱 PRINT 150+ FLYERS ASAP to give your neighbors door to door and also post up around your block + neighborhood. KNOCK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS DOORS starting with your block. POST UP FLYERS on both sides of streetlights, place inside ‘clear sheet protectors’ with the opening facing DOWN so weather doesn’t ruin them. Google “Protective Sheet Covers”. You can purchase on amazon or any office supply. To save time place ONLINE order of FLYERS at your nearest FEDEX PRINT STORE for pick up, Even if they’re closed. Call once open , asking if they can PRINT right away. They will usually expedite the order. NOTE: Fedex also sells sheet protectors, packing tape + duct tape for posting Flyers on lampposts and blue ‘painters tape’ for taping flyers onto front doors or ON Mailboxes without causing any damage. 🐱Download a Flyer ‘template’ from www HappyCatLady com. Offer a reward for a PHOTO of your kitty and call and not to approach kitty.. 🐱 Spreading the word IN PERSON is Critical in spotting kitty. MOST who are on Facebook and Nextdoor.com don’t get notifications so you MUST go door to door in person, circle your block and across the street to start - make sure every neighbor knows about kitty . Ask neighbors to take a photo and call if they see kitty and NOT to approach. ASK neighbors to check their yards / garages /sheds, roofs, storage units, crawl spaces. Kitty could be trapped (happens all the time!) The goal is to TALK to as many neighbors IN PERSON as possible. Talking to neighbors increases the chances of your cat being spotted or discovered Stuck, talking engages people to care and to actively search 🐱 PRINT OUT A GOOGLE MAP OF YOUR BLOCK with address #s showing and take notes which neighbors were home you spoke to and which homes to try again later if no one answers. Keep trying to catch neighbors in person later that day and the next day/s. Talk to residence around your block and across the street. Without a printed map, it's easy to get mixed up when you're stressing out.(see example ). https://drive.google.com/.../1ZDSAf2ky52.../view… 🐱 APARTMENT BUILDINGS: For distributing flyers, I ring bells and talk to folks and/or at least get inside the building so I can leave a flyer In front of every door step. If not an option then neatly tape flyers down the side of EACH mail box! You want to cover all possibilities. MAILBOXES EXAMPLE _ FLYERING https://drive.google.com/.../1pQTHFCYD.../view… 💥 IMPORTANT 💥If your cat accidentally got out into a NEW, FOREIGN LOCATION, THEN PLACE A CAMERA (motion activated) AIMED at WET food bowl and water (before each SUNSET) you leave by the open escape door or just inside the garage door left open 5” (if kitty got out from the front and you have a garage) you can't believe how many times a cat will return home - eat - but has no way of getting back inside OR kitty just WILL NOT go back inside the house because kitty is spooked , in survival mode. WHen you observe kitty on camera coming to the food BUT continuing to HIDE FROM YOU, THEN RENT OR BORROW A HUMANE TRAP (raccoons LOVE dry cat food so only offer WET). NOTE: You must monitor the trap every second it is set or you could cause harm to your cat. 💥💥 CAMERA: Mini Blink WIFI camera $35 : https://a.co/ihc7BSy OR Blink Waterproof WIRELESS camera $64: https://a.co/d/cDeKLXz IF NO WIFI: Wildlife/Trail camera (battery operated) check footage manually daily https://a.co/d/a4Rqqdp, comes with 8 AA lithium batteries (buy extra) + Micro SD Memory Card - : https://a.co/d/44AXvel 🐱 DON’T GIVE UP🙏 Every day I get texts from cat guardians whose cats were stuck in a shed, under a neighbor’s garage, on a rooftop, inside a storage space or that a neighbor heard a meow in their yard at night. Each cat is different. Return to those addresses if no one was home when you knocked. Keep track on a printed map which neighbors weren’t home so you remember to return - kitty COULD have gotten trapped on their residence,before leaving town so talking to every neighbor is KEY.. Sometimes you have to check the same spot 3 times! → https://drive.google.com/file/d/10I_aHnjJ9rX6rYbGi6v7AWUTJVqggIxD/view?usp=sharing ONLINE: please do not rely on online 🐯 SEE BELOW example of taking notes on map as I went door to door. F = flyered (not home) Added names I spoke to in person - the goal is to talk to everyone to best engage neighbors - ask them to check RING cameras, search garage, storage, sheds and to CALL if think they see kitty (and take a photo) Keeping track on a map is a HUGE HELP - I return days later to remind folks to keep looking! 🐱LINK TO PDF OF LOST CAT FLYER / GOOGLE MAP GRAPHIC EXAMPLE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cYfhp2o-m2C_OKPvdEriHZxYscDmeL5U/view?usp=sharing

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HappyCatLady .

4 weeks ago

🚨🚨🚨WARNING🚨🚨🚨 SCAMMERS will claim they found your cat! Or will tell you about a (FAKE) INSTAGRAM Pet recovery service they used - OR WILL SHOW YOU an AI (FAKE) photo of your cat - these are SCAMMERS!!! SCAMMERS will text you saying they’re affiliated with Pawboost or an ANIMAL SHELTER and that they HAVE YOUR CAT and that YOU need to PROVE who you are by giving other phone numbers, your email, verifying google codes etc or to send money to get your cat from the shelter. These are all SCAMMERS! THEY WON'T Send you a PHOTO of your cat (they'll make up any excuse) OR THEY'LL SEND a PHOTO of a similar cat OR AN AI FAKE PHOTO - or a blurry video - but it’s not your cat! Look closely. Google the photo they send it could be a photo they stole from the internet. Please know that If your actual neighbor sees or has your cat they will give you information freely (and will post a PHOTO on your listing and not make you ‘send a code or personal information or money. 🚨🚨🚨There’s a NEW SCAM they will call you saying they are animal care and control and that your cat was brought in but got hit by a car and needs an operating then they will ask you for payment - THIS IS A SCAM!!!! Animal care and control would NEVER ask for money 🚨🚨🚨 ASK TO FACETIME ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO HAVE YOUR CAT (TO PROVE THEY HAVE YOUR CAT) AND THEY ARE ASKING YOU FOR A $ REWARD. SCAMMERS are the ONLY PEOPLE WHO ASK FOR A REWARD. 🚨🚨🚨There’s a NEW SCAM on Facebook the scammer will say something like ‘my husband found your cat or your cat was hit by a car please message me your phone number and send $ “ meaning they want you to message them from your Facebook messenger your phone number! 🚨🚨🚨The Facebook SCAMMER will tell you to look up a lost cat search team they used on Instagram or another platform saying their cat was found within hours -it’s a total SCAM. LOOK AT THEIR FACEBOOK PROFILE - you may see many (PAID) followers but they are not following anyone, The profile will have a few photos only, usually just selfies and the profile was created not long ago. You will see no posts / conversations with friends , I report the account to Facebook Scammers are heartless

Angela S.

4 weeks ago

This website has tips for lost cats as well as templates for missing cat flyers. 💗 www.happycatlady.com

Angela S.

4 weeks ago

TIPS TO HELP FIND YOUR LOST CAT: - Check the house thoroughly as they sometimes hide in the house in unexpected places. -Check underneath your cars, in the car engine area, wheel wells and around the bumpers. -Ask neighbors around you to check garages and sheds as they can sneak in undetected. - Put his/her bedding and a piece of your unwashed clothing outside the last door he/she exited the house from. - Hang flyers with his/her picture and post all over your neighborhood & surrounding areas. - Take the flyers door to door asking if anyone has seen him/her. -Walk your neighborhood calling his/her name and listening as he/she may be hiding in the bushes or under something. - Take a flyer to the shelter. - Put a sign in your yard with his/her picture stating he/she is missing. - Check the shelters in person. - Review shelter's found reports. - File a lost report with the shelters. Indoor only cats and limited outdoor access cats never go far. They go into survival mode and hide in silence. They will not always respond to you, most do not. Between midnight to 5am are greet times to find a missing indoor only cat. This is the time they become most active and responsive. Place some dirty socks and pillow cases outside. Your scent will attract your kitty. If you have a garage, place the items near the garage door and crack the door enough for the cat to get in. ***DO NOT leave food or litter box outside, it can attract predators and aggressive Tom cats.*** Because indoor only cats hide so well they are not as likely to be ed by a predator. Don't give up, it can take weeks to find a missing indoor only cat. Use a flashlight as late at night as you can to look in trees, under cars and in bushes. Try to look for the glow of the eyes. Survival mode lasts 5 to 14 days. Once their hunger gets to a maximum they snap out of it & this can become a dangerous time because they come out of hiding. Make mini flyers and hand them out to your neighbors. Most people don't pay attention to posted flyers. It's VERY important that you look for the cat as late at night as you can. If you have other cats, watch them. If they are spending a lot of time looking out a certain window, that’s a good indication the missing cat is in that area. Wildlife and motion activated cameras are also helpful. If possible, it's also suggested to keep open a door a few inches at night in case the cat comes home. You can place articles of your clothing outside or some of your cat's bedding/blanket to attract them back to the house. After several days, you may want to leave some wet food just inside of the door as well. Kibble tends to attract raccoons so it's not recommended. You can get a camera that is pointed at the door, you can see if cat is coming to feed at night. One lady's indoor only cat was missing for three weeks and it was coming to eat the food but was too scared to come inside. She didn't know that it was coming back to the house until she got a camera. She had to get a trap to get the cat back inside. If you decide to trap, make sure that you do not leave the trap unattended as doing so makes the cat very vulnerable to being attacked. Sending prayers for your cat's swift and speedy return. 💕🙏💕

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