What to do if a cat is missing. How to find a missing cat

Cats often leave home, but in most cases this is not due to the cruel treatment of the owners of their pet. Cats are motivated by their freedom-loving nature. But the owners of a missing cat should not give in to despair, it is important to act correctly so that the chances of finding a pet are maximized.

Causes of missing cats and actions of the owners in such a situation

Cats are great lovers of walking "by themselves", hunting for mice and birds, this is inherent in their very nature. All the owners often saw how, sitting on the windowsill, the cat watches the birds fluttering from branch to branch near the window. At the sight of such a picture, the poor fellow's whole body trembles and his tail twitches, and he himself makes hunting sounds, looks pitifully at you and asks for freedom.

Watching birds out the window can encourage a cat to go in search of adventure.

Even a neutered cat suffers from a lack of communication with his "brothers". And by depriving him of the opportunity to defend his territory, you do not allow him to assert himself, and this is necessary due to the feline instinct.

Therefore, truly loving owners, especially owners of private houses, allow cats to walk on their own. Alas, sometimes cats do not return after such walks. But even in high-rise buildings, cats can jump out of the window, run out the ajar door, run away from the owner in an unfamiliar place. There are many reasons for the disappearance: the animals are frightened by someone or something, they went hunting, love appeared, they were stolen, they fell into a trap, they were hit by a car, etc. The sad statistics says that almost half of the lost cats do not return home.

Having discovered the loss of your pet, start the search immediately and do not stop looking for it, hope and believe in success!

What to bring with you when you start your search

When starting to search for a lost cat, you need to take with you:

an old blanket that can be easily thrown over a cat: a frightened animal will not immediately run towards you, but with a blanket you can catch it and protect yourself from cat claws;
a flashlight for searching in dark rooms where cats like to hide most of all: a shed, a basement, an attic, an entrance - these places should be avoided first of all;
good quality color photograph of the animal.

If the animal is accustomed to dry food, you can take the bowl and shake it, gently and loudly calling the pet.

The right time to search

The owner of the lost should remember that:

If the cat disappeared in the late afternoon, there is no need to postpone the search until the morning.
In the morning, you need to start searching as early as possible: there are fewer cars and people in a hurry. In addition, in the morning, cats come out of enclosed spaces, looking for food.

In the evening, glowing eyes are clearly visible, by which you can detect the loss.

Where to look for a cat in the first place

First of all, you need to inspect the entrance. In a multi-storey building, inspection should begin by going upstairs, be sure to look behind the garbage chute, and only then go down to the first floor. Do not ignore the old, obsolete large items often left right at the entrances, especially large cardboard boxes.

A teenage kitten ran out of the apartment when gas pipes were being changed in the entrance. They remembered him, having gathered for dinner: there is no cat. We went looking, but it was getting late. We decided that he would take a walk and come back himself. But now the repair is over, but the mustachioed one is still gone. They walked around the yards, looked into the basements, mourned, and decided that such a beautiful cat had simply been stolen. All this time, the poor fellow lived in a change house, which was placed in the yard while the pipes in the house were being replaced. The workers, seeing the unlucky traveler under the door, let him in, fed him, and he stayed. The repair was coming to an end, and the animal would have ended up on the street if one of the locksmiths had not attached a note to the door of the change house with a request to “adopt” a beautiful and smart cat. The hostess saw this piece of paper and, looking into the house, identified her mature cat. The workers received a case of beer, and the fugitive was washed for a long time in the bath.

dolfinaria

Next, you should inspect the areas under the windows and tall trees. It happens that animals, out of curiosity, simply jump out of the window and can be severely injured or broken. Often a cat, having climbed onto the highest branch, cannot descend on its own. There were times when the owners resorted to the help of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in order to save the "top climber".

A height lover may be afraid to climb down a tree on his own

To make sure your cat hasn't been hit by a car, carefully inspect the sides of nearby roads and highways. Look under cars in parking lots, under benches and bushes, examining them carefully from all sides. Go around the places where stray cats huddle nearby.

From personal experience. The cat will not come out to every call. Rather, in search of a cat, her most beloved person should take an active part. Once we could not find a cat at the dacha for a long time. Objectively, well, he couldn't slip away from the closed area anywhere. Jumping on the fence is not in his habits, digging a tunnel - what for .. But the fact is - THERE IS NO CAT! And his husband was looking for him. I was resting on the second floor from the child)) I hear my husband with more and more hysterical intonations rushing around the site calling out: “Tima! Tim!!!" He is generally very worried about the cat and should always know where he is when he walks. Not surprisingly, as a child, my husband lost a jackal in his dacha. Not found. He was very worried. As a result, after a desperate cry: “Masha! The cat is gone!!! I realized that everything was serious and it was time to join the search. I had only to go down into the garden and call the cat once, as he jumped out of the bushes to me with a joyful “mama!” So…

Marmazette
https://forums.zooclub.ru/showthread.php?t=29616

Help neighbors, ads, internet, nurseries

A missing person's announcement in the local newspaper should be made as early as possible. In addition, you need to stick it on bus stops, poles, bulletin boards. A well-written ad contains indications of age, gender, a detailed description with a photo, the name of an animal, and a promise of a reward. You should not refuse the opportunity to find a cat using ads and videos on the Internet.

A well-written ad must contain a photo, description, name of the animal

The author of the article found her beloved pet just with the help of an ad in the newspaper two weeks after the loss. Although the town is small, it was difficult to look for a cat in winter. In search of the lost, they went around all the enclosed spaces that they met on the way, asked all the acquaintances and strangers. Daily prayers calmed the soul, gave hope and helped to renew the strength to find a pet. There was not a single day when the search would stop. And the work was rewarded!

Go around all near and far neighbors, showing a photo of a cat. Often, teenagers agree to help by catching similar cats for a small fee. Be sure to chat with the janitors gossiping on the benches of older people. Don't forget to ask dog walkers who walk their pets and may have seen a lost dog.

Basements, and not only in your house: my friend found her missing cat in the basement three houses from hers. How she begged for the keys is another story. Get the janitors. Ours have always helped in such searches. And one more thing - in addition to the basements, inspect the attics, because if the cat ran into the entrance, he could hide in the attic.

https://www.forumhouse.ru/threads/165479/

If there is a shelter for homeless four-legged friends in your area, be sure to visit there too. In metropolitan areas, you can contact the pet search service, which has a database of lost ones and is directly involved in the search for disappeared pussies.

Video: what to do if the cat is missing

How to catch a found cat

If you find your lost cat, do not rush to grab him in your arms right away: the found pet will most likely be scared, so be careful. Observe the following procedure:

Can a cat come home after a while

Lost pets often return home on their own after a few days, and there are times when cats come after six months or more. Is it possible?

The mother-in-law, who lived in a small village, had a cat named Marquis, a beautiful black cat with a white apron. Once he disappeared for three days, and returned with a severed front paw, which took a long time to heal. After a while, the angry neighbor declared that he would not stop and kill the cat if he hunted their chickens. A week later, the cat disappeared. The heartbroken grandmother mentally reproached the neighbors for their deed. Once, a neighbor reassured her, saying that the cat was not killed, but was taken away from home. The son, who came to visit his parents for the weekend, put the poor man in the trunk and released him in a suburban forest, 70 km from the village. Since then, the woman prayed to God that the cat would stay alive and someone would shelter him.
Six months have passed. One frosty snowy day, a woman heard a plaintive meow under the window. Opening the door, she saw on the threshold the exhausted, emaciated Marquis, who stood on three paws and looked at the hostess with frightened and betrayed eyes.

Even a snowy road is not an obstacle for the cat on the way home

The return of cats home after a long time is a very real phenomenon! There is still no explanation for this unique phenomenon. Scientists only guess that cats (especially street ones), due to their ultrasensitivity, are able to perceive even small deviations of the electromagnetic field. Knowing the peculiarities of their territory, they find the right direction to their native threshold according to their “internal compass”.

In France, the cat set an orienteering record by returning home after 7 months and covering a distance of 700 km.

How to prevent the loss of an animal

The first rule is to teach pets to respond to the nickname, which should be concise and not too ornate.

Many people neuter or neuter their pets, thinking that this way they can avoid running away from home. Yes, this procedure will help get rid of many problems: unnecessary breeding, cat marks, but even in this case, the cat can run away from home.

In apartments, it is necessary to put metal bars on the windows, as there are plenty of cases of animals falling from windows. Landing a cat, unfortunately, is not always successful.

When traveling with your four-legged friend over long distances, use durable carriers to make it impossible for him to escape from his temporary prison.

If your cat is missing, there are a number of steps you can take to find it. Usually lost cats tend to hide and not even respond to the call of their owners. Organize a thorough search in all possible places, spread the word about the missing pet as widely as possible and try to make the cat return on its own. These are the best ways to find your missing pet.

Steps

Organize effective searches

Start searching immediately. If you organize a thorough search right away, then chances are high that you will find a cat near the place where it was last seen. The more time passes before the start of the search, the greater the chance that the cat will wander even further from home.

Take a flashlight with you. Even in the daytime, it is necessary to have a flashlight with you so that you can examine the dark nooks and crannies and see the reflection of the eyes of the cat hiding there.

Try to quietly call the cat to you. Don't expect your cat to respond to your call in the way it usually does. A lost cat is usually so frightened that it may not want to leave its hiding place even for you. Call the animal in a soft, quiet voice so as not to frighten it even more.

Stop regularly and listen. A trapped, injured or hungry cat is more likely to meow. Whether you are looking for a cat alone or in a group, take a few minutes of your time in each search area to listen carefully for a cat meowing somewhere.

Keep other animals away. If you have recently moved to a new location, your cat may have been chased away by another cat. Ask owners of other cats to keep them at home while you search for your pet, and be prepared to expand your search as you explore the entire area around your home.

If you have dogs, their enthusiasm may scare the cat during the search. However, if your dog and cat are very friendly, it may be beneficial to take the dog on a quest.

Take your cat's favorite toy with you. If your cat has a favorite toy like a mouse or a tuft of feathers on a string or a stick, take it with you on your search and keep it in plain sight, as if you wanted to play with a cat. This can convince the cat not to be afraid and come out of hiding.

Call friends and neighbors to help you find it. Warn all participants in the search so that when a cat is found, they behave quietly and do not make sudden movements so as not to frighten the animal in any case. It's usually best to have the owner try to get close to the cat, as it's probably already very frightened.
- Give your cell phone number to everyone involved in the search and provide each person with a flashlight, even if it is daylight outside.
Interview random passers-by and ask them for help. If someone is just walking by, ask if this person has seen your cat, while showing her a photo if you have one.
- Janitors, children, and other people who spend a lot of time outside can be useful sources of information.
- Offering a reward for returning an animal usually increases people's motivation, even if the reward is small.
Try to search for the cat again after sunset. If the first time you searched unsuccessfully during the day, go back and repeat all the steps after dark, when the street becomes noticeably quieter. Don't forget to grab a flashlight and start calling your cat affectionately. Lost cats are sometimes more willing to leave their hiding places at nightfall, as they feel safer in the dark.

Install motion-sensing digital video cameras around your home. It may happen that the camera captures your cat, and you realize that she is hiding somewhere nearby, and you concentrate your searches in nearby places.

Don't stop searching. Most lost and frightened cats prefer to hide rather than run far. For this reason, some cats may hide for weeks in the same area, simply moving from one hiding place to another at night. Periodically, there are cases when cats are found even a couple of months after the loss.

Check possible hiding places
1. Look for places where the cat might be hiding. When a cat is lost or frightened, it is not uncommon for a cat to run to the nearest hiding place it can see. Look for her in dense vegetation, under the porch, in cracks, garages, sheds. Start from where the cat disappeared and move away from it.
  - Also look under storm drain grates, pipes and other openings.
2. Search the area several times within a radius of five houses. Many cats hide and remain silent for several days before responding to their owners' calls. Repeatedly return to inspect the same area around your house with the family member whose call the cat will go to more willingly.
  
  Check out the high places. Even a cat with its claws removed can climb up, especially when frightened. Check trees, rooftops and other high places. The cat can even crawl through the joints between the roof and the wall of the house if they are not properly sewn up.
  
  Look for warm spots. In cold weather, the cat can get stuck behind the heater, in the valve of the heating pipe, climb into the engine compartment of the car from the bottom.
  
  Look around the neighbors' houses and in their yards. Knock on all neighbors within a few houses of where the cat was last seen. Ask them for permission to survey the area around the houses, again concentrating on identifying possible hiding places.
  - If the cat had the opportunity to get inside a building, ask its owner to search the interior. If the building owner is unwilling or unable to do so, ask if you can view the premises yourself.
3. Think about places where a cat could get stuck. The following are some examples of situations in which a cat may be trapped.
  - Construction sites often have pits, brick cages and various equipment in which a cat can accidentally get stuck.
  - Neighbors can accidentally lock a cat in the garage without even noticing. Call neighbors who have recently gone on vacation or for some other reason have not opened the garage for a long time.
  - A cat can jump into a car, into a delivery truck, or into a moving truck and drive away. This is more likely if the cat enjoys car rides or enjoys exploring vehicles.
4. Look for a cat inside your home. Your cat can get stuck or injured under furniture, in a locked room or closet, or in places you rarely see, such as in the attic or basement. She may even hide just like that, especially if your house or neighborhood is currently quite noisy or sounds unusual for her.
Make arrangements for the cat to come back
1. Try leaving an unwashed shirt that you've been wearing for a while at your doorstep to attract your cat with a familiar scent.
  
  Don't leave food outside. Unless you plan on being on duty all night yourself, it's best not to leave food out so you don't attract stray dogs, cats, or wild animals.
  
  Try to stay at home or ask another family member to see if the cat shows up. Cats are quite territorial and there is a chance that your pet will periodically return to the house. If there is no one at home at the time of return, the animal may leave again.
  
  Leave your baby monitor outside the door. On the baby monitor's receiver, turn the volume up and take it to your bedroom so you can wake up if your cat appears at the door and starts meowing.
  
  Set a humane trap. You can try to rent such a trap with a fairly simple principle of operation in some animal shelters. You can also buy a trap.
  - Check the trap every hour. If another animal falls into the trap, release it and set the trap again.
2. Use catnip as bait. Spray catnip on the front door of your home and surrounding area. This step may not be entirely wise if your neighbors also have cats.
  
  Empty the contents of the dust container of your vacuum cleaner outside. It will probably contain your cat's hair and smell familiar to her. After about ten days, re-empty the accumulated contents of the dust container.
Spread the word about a missing cat
1. If your cat is microchipped, make sure your contact details are up-to-date on the microchip so that veterinary services can contact you if the cat is found. Microchip implantation is a very common operation that is done to a pet only once. The microchip is implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades by a professional veterinarian. It is about the size of a grain of rice, but carries a unique code that can be read by a special scanner held over the animal's body.
  - When a chip is implanted in a pet, the pet's owner provides registration information, which will be stored in a central database until the pet's owner changes it.
  - The microchip code is linked to the information about the owner of the animal in the database. After the scanner finds a specific microchip code, it will be possible to check the available information in the database and contact the owner.
2. Post ads in the right places. It is best to post ads within a radius of one and a half kilometers from the house. In addition, there are several strategies for effectively positioning ads, so more remote locations may be suitable for ads, which you can also walk to.
  - Put up signs at veterinary clinics in case someone brings your injured cat in for treatment or wants to become its new owner.
  - Post ads near schools and playgrounds at eye level. Children are often more observant than adults, especially when it comes to animals.
  - Dog walks, pet stores, and grooming salons are frequented by people who love animals and are more inclined to help you actively search.
  - Post ads on bulletin boards in public places, schools, pet stores, libraries and any other places where it is allowed, post ads on the Internet on sites dedicated to missing animals.
3. Post a color photograph of your pet online. Many people, having picked up an animal, try to find its owners via the Internet. Consider posting a picture of your missing cat on social media yourself, or looking for a picture of your pet among the many found animal websites. In all your own messages for social networks, do not forget to include contact information.
  
  Place an ad in the local newspaper. Pay a local newspaper to publish a missing cat ad with a description of the pet's appearance and your phone number. The more limited the local importance of the newspaper, the better. If there are no local newspapers in your area, try to arrange with some local community centers that send out newsletters to their clients so that information about the missing cat is included in one of the next letters.
  
  Change your answering machine entry. Record a new message to the callers on the answering machine so that people leave information of interest to you on it. For example, say, “You called (name). If you are calling about my missing cat (name), please leave a message about when and where you last saw her, along with your name and phone number. Thanks in advance".

We love our pets very much, because they become full members of our family. Imagine that your beloved cat is gone. You walked around the rooms, checked the area and nothing. First of all, you need to calm down and remember when you last saw him. Perhaps, after analyzing the last moment of the meeting, it will be possible to build a logical chain that will recreate the picture and allow organizing searches in the right direction.

A cat is a smart and quick-witted animal. But even she can get lost. There are many reasons for missing. Some pets, seeing a bird through an open window, may succumb to an uncontrolled instinct and jump after it. Others run and hide, frightened of someone. Still others jump after the mouse, not understanding what awaits them. Often the reason for the loss of a cat is the negligence of the owner, who did not lock the door. Not all cats need to be looked for, some return to the house on their own. This applies to animals that are accustomed to the street. Cats often run away after moving. In this case, you need to look for them at the old address. If a pet cat is missing, you need to urgently start an independent search.

27 tips: What to do if your cat or cat is lost. Memorize them, or rather save them, because when this happens, you will already be prepared.

It’s worth starting from the apartment - in 2 cases out of 10 the cat did not disappear anywhere, but hid somewhere in the house, sensing danger.

If your cat is missing:

1. Inspect furniture, cabinets, niches in the house, look under the bed. There are many places where a cat can hide.

2. Look from above on cabinets, sideboards, walls. Perhaps it is from there that your pet is closely watching your actions.

The cat - Bushido San hid on the sideboard

3. Empty boxes at home are very fond of using our mustachioed friends as shelters.

4. Looking under the bathroom, there is a chance to see your pet resting on the cool floor there.

5. Don't forget to check your washing machine. Especially if it's front loading. Using the open door left for ventilation, pets can easily get inside.

6. If there is a balcony, you need to check it. Adjacent neighbors' balconies could be where your pet moved in. If there is such a possibility, you need to check.

Analyze how the pet could leave the apartment: through the door or window. This will make it easier to determine the direction of the search. Once in unfamiliar conditions, pets run to the nearest shelter. After falling out of the window, the cats hide near the house. The area under the windows is being examined - perhaps the pet landed unsuccessfully.

Case from Natalia:

“Once our cat, as usual, was sitting on the balcony and watching what was happening in the area. Suddenly, at one moment, he jumped after a bird flying by. We were on the 5th floor. Below, under the balcony, we did not find it, it was not nearby either. The search turned up nothing. But a month later, returning from work, I saw a familiar cat's head peeking out of a hole that was under the porch in the entrance. He recognized me, got out and gave himself up. The nose was broken, in some places it was dried mud, or blood. They went out and fed. Everything ended well.”

Places to look for:

7. If the cat ran out through the front door, then it is worth inspecting the upper floors of the landings.

8. The presence of an attic and free access to it allows for the possibility of checking in this direction.

9. Basement with open windows. If the pet fell out of the window, most likely, having landed, she hid there from fright. If the basement is lit, it will not be difficult to find it.

10. On the street, be sure to check under the cars that stand in large numbers near our houses.

11. Crowns of the nearest trees, bushes. You can search for a cat alone, but it is better to involve a group of people in this action. Relatives and friends can help in the search. If the cat is domestic, she will hide nearby.

12. You can take cat toys and try to lure her into view. To attract attention, the cat is called and lured with food. When she comes out, try not to scare her away.

13. If the cat disappeared in the country, inspect the neighbors' plots. Pet could get into their house.

14. If the pet disappeared in winter, do not worry too much, he can hide in any warm place. Therefore, we examine potential sources of heat.

15. Inspect the nearest roads. A cat can be hit by a car if it tries to cross to the other side by throwing itself in front of passing cars.

16. If the loss was discovered during the day, then it is better to wait until the evening or night, when the fuss subsides on the street. In the silence of the night, extraneous noises will no longer be heard and your pet will be more likely to hear your call. As long as it's nearby, of course.

17. In the evening, when all the neighbors are at home, you can try to find out from them if they have seen a cat. Perhaps they will indicate a direction or a place.

18. At night, a cat can give out glowing eyes in the dark. For example, when you comb the next bushes with a flashlight.

19. In many of our yards there are playgrounds where mothers like to relax and children play. Be sure to ask them. Children are especially attentive to the world around them, so they may well tell where your pet was seen.

20. Grandmothers on our benches are as attentive as children. If a cat ran past, they will definitely notice it, and maybe even try to feed it.

21. Talk to cleaners, janitors who service your and nearby houses. They start their work before anyone else and can find the missing pet. Get them interested in a small reward.

If the above steps did not help you find your pet, then the next step is to reach as many people as possible who might notice it.

22. On social networks, you can find a group suitable for your place of residence and write a missing message there. Be sure to describe the signs and post a photo. Without a photo, there is a risk of getting feedback from people who have seen completely different pets.

23. A huge number of people read the paper press, so it makes sense to advertise in the newspaper. It is highly recommended to include a photo of your pet.

24. If you have a printer, then be sure to print out the ads and post them in your area. In your house, as well as in neighboring ones, stick announcements at each entrance. After that, place at shops and at public transport stops.

25. Place ads on mailboxes, but this can be difficult because access to the entrances is sometimes limited.

26. It is worth contacting volunteer organizations. They usually have websites.

27. Call animal shelters and veterinary clinics, it is possible that the cat has been there for a long time. You need to visit these establishments and leave a description of the animal to the workers.

In order to avoid all the difficulties associated with the search, you need to take security measures in advance. If you hang a medallion on a cat's collar with a note that contains the owner's name and phone number, this will make it easier to find the owner. Contacts, if necessary, should be updated. It is not necessary to indicate the home address and the name of the pet.

From an expert:

“It is better to walk a cat on a harness. There are devices that transmit information about the location of the pet to the owner's phone. It is imperative that such a device has a certificate and is authorized for use. Do not risk and do not order such devices on the Internet. It is necessary to monitor the windows and doors - they must be locked. When searching, do not give in to panic and lose hope.

From the author:

In any case, if lost cat, do not despair. There are many examples when a pet returns home on its own. Even if he is lost in the country, there is a chance that he will find his way home on his own.

I had a dog and had cats. The dog ran away for 3 months. Then she returned. Neighbors knew about the loss and called when they noticed her at the entrance. The cats also ran away, but almost always found themselves and, once at home, ran headlong to the kitchen in search of their bowls.

Now I am pleased with the presence of a cat - Bushido San. He is very independent. Finding himself in the country, he immediately leaves for his cat business. But it always comes back. Even if I have to leave without him, after a couple of days, when I come back, he already meets me and looks inquiringly at the bag where his cat food is.

Don't worry, everything will be fine.

The words "missing cat" are associated in our thoughts with anxiety and despair. Those of us who have four-legged friends at home have become so accustomed to their pets that they cannot even imagine their lives without the mischievous cat Barsik or the affectionate and beloved by all family members Sonechka. Therefore, information about the loss of a kitten or an adult cat, even in completely unfamiliar people, causes compassion and a desire to help. It is for such sensitive and sympathetic people that our section of ads “Cat Lost” is designed. Whoever does not knock will not be opened, and in such a situation, all the possibilities that increase the probability of finding a missing cat at least by a fraction of a percent must be used to the fullest. If by the will of circumstances you have lost your beloved animal, and the loss of kittens is not uncommon, do not be afraid to use any methods in your search. The more people who find out about this, the more likely it is that your pet will still be found and returned to your home safe and sound. It is enough to register on our website and advertise about missing kitten or about a cat that disappeared in an incomprehensible way, which went for a walk and did not return. With all our hearts we wish you luck, and you regain your loss!

Sometimes our beloved pets get lost. The most common cases of loss of cats are when they fall out of windows and balconies or run out of the apartment into the entrance, and then into the street, while the owners go out by opening the front door.

What to do to avoid losing a cat?

To prevent the loss of your beloved cat, please keep it safe!

Install mosquito nets or purchase special strong "Anti-cat" nets on the windows to prevent the cat from falling out of the window. "Window flights" often take place in spring and summer, when a variety of smells beckons, and birds tease and butterflies flutter outside the window (desired prey!), After them, a pet is excited and can stretch and, as a result, fall.
Glaze the balcony. Open balcony windows only for ventilation, and so that the cat cannot slip into the open gap and get stuck in it (which is also very dangerous!).
When leaving the house, make sure that the cat does not slip through the front door after you. Warn your children to be careful when leaving the house.
When transporting a cat, use special carrying bags for its transportation, reliable and equipped with strong locks and latches.

At the same time, let the cat out of the carrier only indoors with the front door closed. Never open the carrier outside.

What to do if you still didn’t follow and your cat got lost?

Most importantly, don't despair! Tears of grief will not help, you need to immediately begin to act! The cat may be in a shelter closest to the house.

First of all check out your driveway and neighboring entrances (if you are sure that the cat ran away through the front door). Grab a lantern, go around the yard, look under cars, through basement windows, inspect all kinds of nooks and crannies, call the cat by name. Carefully inspect the various secluded places and narrow spaces in the entrance and on the street near the house. Cats manage to get into such small cracks that it's hard to even imagine. If the head of a cat crawls through, then the whole cat will crawl through - this is due to the anatomical features of the cat. So do not ignore the various narrow spaces.

According to statistics, in most cases, domestic cats, once on the street, look for a safe place, hiding in the nearest shelter, which is most often the basement of your house or the basement of one of the nearby houses. Therefore, first of all, contact the management company that services your home. The Criminal Code is obliged to give you the keys to the basement of your house. Having received the keys to the basement, dress in clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty, put on your boots, take a flashlight with you and go down to the basement, go around it, carefully examining every corner of it. At the same time, do not make loud noises that can frighten the cat, call her by name. Often the cat responds and goes to the voice of its owner. But being in a stressful situation for themselves, cats can hide and sit in a shelter, not respond, or even run away in a panic.

If you don't spot your cat in the basement during your first round, don't despair. You may be lucky next time or even the fifth time.

Do not stop trying to find your cat in the basement. Go around the basement every day.

Also leave food outside daily at home, at the basement windows. Let it be wet cat food, preferably odorous. The cat will starve and come out to the smell of food.

In the event that you fail to notice or catch a cat, use a special trap cage. In such "cat traps" there is nothing dangerous for the cat, they do not harm her. Odorous wet food, for example, with a fishy taste, is usually used as bait food, and, as practice shows, dried squids are also excellent for bait. Traps are usually placed near the basement window, where the cat is most likely to hide. Specify the principle of operation of this trap, based on this, correctly install it. You can ask for or rent such a cat trap at the local animal protection forum or in the local animal help group on the social network. For example, we have a city website where, among various thematic forums, there is also a forum for helping animals, where animal rights activists coordinate and help animals in trouble together. Very often, the owners of lost women are rescued by such communities.

The cat can be in the tree. Take a look around. It happens that cats hide not only in all kinds of openings, but also climb trees, sometimes escaping from dogs. If the cat climbed very high, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and firefighters will not come to your aid. As practice shows, they do not respond to such calls. Therefore, you need to either try to remove the cat from the tree on your own, or call the Zoospas (if there is one in your locality). Or be patient and wait for it to go down by itself.

The cat was picked up and sheltered or will be sheltered by caring people. These thoughts and a timid hope for such an outcome usually warm the souls of the owners of the lost. And, of course, this sometimes happens, and from this it follows that you definitely need to notify as many people as possible about your loss. In this case, the finders will know to whom to return the found cat. And first of all, what you need to do is to walk around the neighbors who live in the same entrance as you, knock on each apartment, ask about who could see, and possibly shelter your cat.

The cat can leave in someone's car. This can also happen, for example, in winter. A cat, trying to keep warm, can climb under the hood of a car parked next to the house and leave in the same car, while "getting off" in a completely different area or even in another city. In this case, the geography of searches can expand significantly. But even in this case, there is a chance to find a cat, because we live in a world of modern information technologies and fast communication. Therefore, you need to act through the Internet. Be sure to place an ad on various resources on the Internet.

Why is it important to write a lost pet notice correctly?

Sometimes we accidentally stumble upon ads posted on pages in social networks, written in this way: "my beloved ran away today, I'm crying." Or "our Funtik jumped out of the balcony, whoever picked it up - return it", or something like this: "our baby is missing, help me find it" and the photo is attached ... Such announcements are useless. These "babies", "darlings" and "Funtiks" will not be returned to you even with a strong desire. After all, the one who found your Funtik does not know that he is Funtik. The person who finds your pet will most likely search for an ad about the disappearance of an animal on the Internet using the keywords "lost", "disappeared", "cat", "cat" and the name of the city / settlement, district, street, hoping to find an ad from the owners .

To increase the chances of finding your missing cat, your listing should be objective, clear, detailed, and non-controversial, regardless of your emotional state. So how how to write a letter about a lost cat.

In the ad, you should definitely place a color and high-quality photo of a cat or, better, several photos from different angles.
Write a title: "Lost (or missing) cat" or "Lost (or missing) cat." This is necessary both for printed ads and when placing them on the Internet (for searching on the Internet, and social networks in particular, these keywords are important, because the search takes place by words, not by photos!).
Indicate the locality/city, district/street where the animal was lost.
Write down the date of the loss.
Enter the cat's name, gender.
Do not forget to give a verbal description of the cat's appearance in the ad, indicating its breed, color, size, age. Describe the distinctive features of your cat, special signs.
You can specify the circumstances of the loss.
Leave your contact phone number and a link to your page on the social network. It is important that your page is open for private messages for all users registered on the social network. Stay connected.
In the ad, you can specify a guaranteed reward for the finder. This to some extent increases the chances of finding and returning the animal, but at the same time increases the chance of running into scammers.

ATTENTION! Beware of scammers who can also call you and demand to transfer money to your phone or bank card, threaten to kill your cat they allegedly found. Unfortunately, such cases are also not uncommon. Dishonest and dishonorable people also occur. And most likely they don’t have your cat, but there is only a thirst for profit. It happens that these dishonest and heartless people profit in this way from the owners of the lost. The owners, on emotions and with a hot head, transfer money to scammers. This should not be allowed.

Check every information you receive. First, in a telephone conversation or correspondence, ask to send you a photo of a cat. Arrange a personal meeting. Give rewards only when meeting from hand to hand: first they give your cat, after which you reward those who found it.

But it should be noted that there are more decent and caring people. They also call, write, give advice, support the owners of the lost ones, share their experience and useful information for searching, and sometimes return the found cat by responding to the ad.

Where to distribute, post information and announcements about the loss of a cat?

✔ Printed ads (or in extreme cases, written by hand) stick on your own and nearby entrances, on poles, special notice boards, at bus stops. Keep in mind that printed lost and found animal ads usually don't hang for long, they are usually quickly torn down by post-posters. Therefore, once every 2 days, update the previously posted ads. Glue over and over.

✔ Interview your neighbors, local kids, dog breeders who walk their dogs near your house, grandmothers on benches near the house, caring residents who feed homeless animals in the yard.

✔ Distribute leaflets to neighbors and passers-by, leave leaflets in nearby stores and veterinary clinics. The leaflets should also contain a photo of your cat, its description and your contact phone number.

✔ Call local shelters and shelters, leave information there in case a cat comes to them.

✔ Place ads on the Internet:

On special sites. In the search engine, type the name of your city/settlement, search by keywords: "animals", "cat/cat", "lost", "found". Upon request, sites about missing and found animals in your city should drop out, where you can view and post information about your lost pet.
In social networks. Be sure to post ads on social networks. The effectiveness of word of mouth and the "rule of six handshakes" has been tested and proven. Spreading information through reposts helps a lot, this method really works. To place ads in social networks, you need to register in them. Post information about your lost cat on the wall of your page on the social network, and also be sure to post ads in special communities and groups for helping animals in your city / region, as well as simply in groups of city and local communities.
Browse sites like Avito, and application Yula, selecting the category "animals", place your own ads there.

Use all options and search methods, seek daily, persevere, do not give up ! And then you will find your lost one.

I hope that these tips will be useful to the owners of the lost. And now, after reading them, they will know how to look for and find a runaway cat. However, I would like to hope that these tips will not be needed. I sincerely wish no one to lose their little friends! Love, take care of your pets and take care of their safety!