Lost Cat – What to do if your cat goes missing

6th January 2016

If your cat hasn’t come home, don’t panic. Cats will often go ‘missing’ only to arrive home later that evening.  Male cats are more likely to roam than females, particularly if they haven’t been neutered.

Below is a comprehensive list of ALL the steps you can take to find your own cat, starting with the most basic and working up to retaining a pet detective. Hopefully, Tiddles will have made his/her way home long before you reach that stage but, even if it does take days, weeks or even months, don’t give up hope, cats have been known to waltz in years later, totally unaware of the stress they have put their poor owners through.

So, your cat fails to come home…..

Step One – That day

1. Thoroughly check every nook and cranny of your house and any outdoor buildings such as garages and sheds.  Cats like to seek out warm, dark places to hide sometimes, so look in even the most unlikely places.
2. Let your immediate neighbours know your cat has gone missing and ask them to check their sheds/garages as well. Offer to go with them to check as well, just to put your mind at rest.
3. Contact local vets – all practices in the area, not just your own.
4. If your cat is microchipped, inform www.petlog.org.uk and they will automatically send out an alert to all animal professionals who have signed up for the service within a 30 mile radius of where your cat went missing.
5. Check local animal rescues to see if your cat has been handed in.
6. Put a piece of clothing outside your house with your scent on. You can do this by rubbing it against your skin and then enhancing it with your perfume/aftershave.  If your cat has become disorientated and lost then it will be able to use the scent to find its way home.

Step Two – That day

1. Post details of your missing cat on your Facebook page and all cat-related social media/local neighbourhood groups. If you are not sure how to find them, simply Google ‘Lost Cat Skipton’ for instance. You’ll be amazed how many there are. Also look for local groups. Often roads/areas will have a community page. You will need the relevant accounts eg Facebook, Twitter, to post on them. Type in all the details about your cat again (cut and paste them from a word document to save time), then upload the jpg version of the poster AND a photo of your cat and of course, your contact details.

• www.cats.org.uk
• www.catchat.org/forum.html
• www.lostmycat.org
• www.nationalpetregister.org
• www.petsbureau.co.uk

Don’t forget to let everyone know when he/she comes home and thank them for their help and shares.

Step Three – The next day

1. Create a colour flyer and poster, telling people about your missing cat. Be sure to include:

• A really good colour photo (more than one) showing any unusual markings
• Basic details eg: sex, age, colour, eye colour, distinguishing features etc
• Your name and phone number
• Save this poster as a pdf, a jpg and a word document. They will ALL be useful.

1. If your cat remains missing for a while and you wish to print more than basic home-made posters, visit www.solopress.com who do 1,000 A7 colour flyers, for £21 including free 24 hour delivery.
2. Phone your local council to see if they have taken any stray cats to an animal shelter or found any cats on the road. While distressing, it is helpful in tracking down your cat and gaining closure. Have a friend with you when you call, or ask them to phone for you.
3. Ask your local postman and milkman to look out for your cat on their rounds. They cover a wide area and so may have seen your missing cat.
4. Send information to local newspapers and radio stations, as they may be able to give your cat a mention.

Step Four – In the future

If Tiddles doesn’t come home after a few weeks, you may want to contact a pet detective to track down your beloved pussy cat. One firm claims to have a success rate of over 65 per cent of finding lost pets, with over 800 people a month contacting them for help.

• www.thepetdetectives.com
• www.animalsearchuk.co.uk
• www.completeinvestigations.co.uk/private-missing-pets.php

Be prepared – get organised

No one ever wants to think about their pet going missing but, if it does, it is much better to be fully prepared, ready to move. Just go through these simple steps to be prepared for anything that might happen.

• Create a physical or a computer file called ‘Missing Cat’
• Print off this blog post and put it in the file
• If you have a male cat, think about having him neutered. He is less likely to roam.
• Get your pet microchipped and note down the chip number in the file. If your pet is already microchipped, go onto their website https://www.petlog.org.uk/pet-owners.aspx log in, check the details are up to date. You will need your chip number for this. Save a copy of all the details in the file.
• Take a set of photos of your cat. Make sure they are good quality, taken in daylight, showing him/her clearly from all angles. Save them in the file.
• Set up a www.facebook.com account, even if you never use it for anything else. Keep the log in details in the file. Join local neighbourhood groups now; they are usually ‘closed’ groups and membership will need to be approved, get that done now.
• Find the number of all the local vets, your local animal shelter and the police/council, radio stations etc. Save them in the file.