Missing cat - is there anything else I can do?
My fifteen-year-old cat Gizmo regularly wanders off for a day or sometimes two and in the past has always come back. He never goes further than the street behind ours and he often waits for me and then follows me home. He disappeared last Thursday and came back briefly Saturday morning. Then he came in Saturday evening and stayed in for a while. He didn’t seem ill or anything; he seemed his usual self before he went off again that evening. He hasn’t come back since and I’m really worried about him. Me and my friends have gone looking around the area for him, as has my mum, and we’ve phoned the vets but no one has brought him in and the vets have put him on their missing list. All the neighbours know him and haven’t seen him, and we’ve all said that if he had (and I really hope he hasn’t) been hit by a car we would surely have seen him because of how far he goes, and also the vets would have rang us if he’d been handed in. I am making some posters to put through doors and was just wondering if there’s anything else I can do?
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I rang all the vets, put posters up everywhere and posted leaflets through about 200 houses. We kept on going out with his fav toy many times a day calling him and shaking the toy. We went out in the middle of the night too and just called his name and waited quietly. We went everywhere to be honest and could be found in neighbours bushes, climbing up walls and everything.
He was found 5 days later in a bush behind out house, covered in ticks and I think he'd been there hiding the whole time.
Keep faith, I'm sure he'll return.
Here are a list of tips to help reunite you with your kitty...
1. Posters, Posters, Posters with picture and details with contact number.....hand out to neighbours and anyone you see. Put up in local shops, pubs and supermarkets. Stick to all local lamp posts. (If it rains go and collect them and replace however it's best to put posters in plastic wallets so if it rains they don't go all soggy - the neighbours and council don’t mind you putting them up so much that way). Also put one in your and friends cars - it amazing how many people see them this way. Make smaller flyers and push through every letterbox on your streets and the surrounding area. It is a good idea to offer a reward … of course this doesn’t have to be money … a box of cho-colates or a bunch of flowers is just as good.
2. Knock on doors and ask neighbours to check their sheds and garages WHILE YOU WAIT … it's surprising how many people say they will check but as soon as the door is closed they forget. Knock on 10 doors either side of your house on both sides of the street.
3. Check to see if there are any empty buildings for sale in the area. If there are it is worth checking with the estate agent in case they have shown someone round and shut the cat in. Also it is worth checking places where there may be builders in refurbishing a property in case the cat has got under the floorboards or in a cavity wall etc.
4. Look our for any abandoned vehicles, empty or semi-empty skips in case the cat has got in and can't get out.
5. Contact / check any community buildings where functions are held such as church halls, community halls etc. - in case your cat could be shut in a cupboard or toilet.
Please NOTE: The only authorised people who can break into a building if no one can be found to open it are the RSPCA but they are
not always co-operative. Even the police and fire brigade need RSPCA permission.
6. Register him lost at all vets/catteries/rescue homes within a 20mile radius. Follow the link and click on the map to find rescues in your area www.catchat.org/adoption/index.html
7. Leave food out and a toy of his.
8. Leave out an unwashed item of your clothing.
9. Put the contents of your hoover bag on your garden - it’s full of smells that they will recognise and if doesn’t bring him directly to your door will at least hopefully keep him in the area. Alternatively if you have a litter tray that has used put some of the used litter on the garden as this will have familiar smells in it.
10. Contact the local fire brigade and see if they have had to rescue any stuck cats.
11. Ask the local children to look - they are great for knowing all the local hidey-holes and love helping. Also have a word with your local post-person and milk man if there is one that delivers in your area. Also try and enlist the help of people walking dogs as they tend to go “off road” in the fields and parks.
12. Ask the local radio station to announce he’s missing and give out a contact number
13. Put an advert in the local paper
14. Contact your local environmental services dept (bin men) they keep a log of all animals picked on the roadside ... I know this is not a pleasant call to make and hopefully it will come back as negative.
15. Go out after dark when it is quieter with a friend / partner and walk round the local area gently calling every so often (give him a chance to answer you). Keep talking as you walk round that way if he is in the area he will hear you.
16. When you talk to vets and rescues, ask them about any known local feral colonies and where they are based. If Kitty has been missing for more than a few days s/he might have wandered further afield and might be “hanging round” near a colony for security (safety in numbers) and company. If vets/rescues know locations of colonies, these might be useful to get some ideas of where to start looking.
17. If you have Pet Insurance check your policy to see if they will assist with advertising costs or reward costs for a lost cat. Some policies cover as much as £1000 of local advertising and upto £500 reward.
18. Email the lost poster to all the people you know who live in the area and ask them to forward to others they know. This is a quick way to get your poster circulated.
Finally have a look at these sites - they are all EXCELLENT
www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php
www.mymoggy.com/ contact Sue at mymoggy.
http://www.thehovel.com/bb/index.php...ost&order=DESC
www.nationalpetregister.org
www.soyouhavelostyourcat.co.uk/#1
www.petsearchuk.co.uk/lost_and_found_pets.php
www.amissingpet.co.uk/lostandfound.html
www.animalsearchuk.com/
http://www.pet-rescue.org.uk/forums/...?showforum=447
www.lostmycat.org/index.php
www.animalrescuers.co.uk/html/lostfound.html
www.foundandlostpets.co.uk/
www.petsmiles.com/v1/found.php
Also don't forget to check ad websites, such as.....
www.friday-ad.co.uk
www.adtrader.co.uk
www.uk.freeads.net
www.classifieds.co.uk
Good luck and stay positive.
Hopefully your little one has just got itself shut in a shed somewhere.
And finally ……. IMPORTANT NOTE: When you get your furbabe back remember to remove ALL the posters and inform all vets / rescues / websites etc that they are home.
Poster - with photo, description, telephone number and a request to check garages, sheds etc
Put posters everywhere - through letter boxes, on telegraph poles, in vet surgerys, petshops, church notice board, shops.
Talk to people - neighbours, shop keepers, postie.
Put out a scent - hang unwashed, worn T-Shirt/underpants/socks/contents of your hoover bag on the washing line or the fence or tree - high up so the scent travels.
And don't give up!!
A friend of mine lost his cat and it turned up in a locked caravan at the end of his neighbour's back drive.
The neighbour had been cleaning it out a week before so the cat must have sneaked in when the door was open.
I read through that thread, and I'm so pleased about the cats that came home