by Laura Atneosen
Summer is here, and this is the time of year when, unfortunately, many cats go missing. We will offer some advice below as to how to go about looking for your lost cat. We hope that you never need this advice, but here it is…just in case.
- First of all, there are some simple things that you can do to prevent losing your cat, such as:
Keep your cat indoors. Accidents happen, and indoor cats do occasionally get outside and get lost. But, keeping (or at least trying to keep) your cat indoors at all times greatly increases their life expectancy. This is because indoor cats are not constantly exposed to the many dangers that cats face outside, such as cars, predators, diseases, poisons, dangerous weather and cruel people. - Get your cat spayed/neutered. Spaying/neutering is good for your cat in several ways. One huge benefit is that they will not have the urge to wander off to find a mate. Getting your pets spayed/neutered will keep them closer to home if they should happen to sneak outside.
- Have your cat microchipped. This doesn’t exactly prevent your cat from getting lost. But, it does ensure that the cat will likely be returned to you if it is brought into a shelter, veterinarian, rescue group or animal control. All of these places scan for microchip identification. They will contact you, and you can immediately go pick up your cat. Current microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and do not cause any pain to your pet once they are placed under their skin. They are very inexpensive to have inserted and are the only guaranteed way of permanent identification, as collars and tags often come off. Please be sure to update your pet’s chip information whenever your contact information changes. It’s best to just choose a certain date and put it on your calendar each year to call the chip company and make sure that your pet’s information is current.
If by some chance your cat does get outside, do your best to stay calm and take a deep breath. Your best chance of finding your cat is right after your cat has gone missing. So, here are some steps to take to get your cat safely back home to you.
- Immediately get to work, looking carefully throughout your home to make certain that the cat is not inside. Cats have been known to get trapped behind furniture, in closets, in drawers or cupboards, in bed spring mattresses, in rafters, vents, etc. Once you are certain that your cat is not stuck somewhere inside of the home, get outside and get looking.
- Start by carefully walking your neighborhood. When indoor cats go missing, they are typically hiding within a few blocks of home for the first few days, before venturing off to seek food and water sources. Don’t just walk the sidewalks, as cats that are lost rarely use the sidewalks or even walk out in the open. This is not a time to worry about being proper. Get right in there, get dirty and search. Look under trees, bushes, cars, decks, patios, sheds, foundations…anywhere that a cat could seek privacy and shelter, as that will be their first instinct. You can try calling out to your pet, but keep in mind that lost pets go into survival mode and will not typically respond to being called. Tell anyone you see that you are looking for your cat and ask them if they have seen it. Give them your phone number and ask them to call you if they spot it. Keep your cell phone on you at all times.
- Place a bowl of canned cat food (it has a stronger scent than dry food) and water outside on your property – near where your cat went missing. In addition, place your cat’s used litter box outside. Many people have even had great luck by spreading some of the litter throughout their yard to disperse the smell into a larger area. It’s also a good idea to put some items that smell like your cat (like its favorite blanket) and some items that smell like you (such as dirty socks and shirts) around your yard. All of these powerful scents often help lead the cat back home.
- Once the sun is down and you can’t search well due to not being able to see, spend time making flyers. Make flyers and get them out in front of people ASAP. Deliver them to every home and business within a 5 block radius. Make sure your flyers contain a photo of your cat, along with description, the location it went missing and your contact information. Put the flyers on doors, ask businesses to post them on their entry doors or community boards, and ask people who you see out in their yards to call you if they see your cat. Ask that everyone checks their own yard thoroughly, including places where your cat may have gotten trapped, such as inside their garages, sheds, etc.
- Post your missing cat online. In the Twin Cities metro area, you should post your missing cat in the following places: Craigslist (Minneapolis area page, Lost & Found section), Animal Humane Society’s lost and found page, Lost Cats MN Facebook page
- Be sure to supply a photo and description of your cat, the area it went missing and your contact information.
Call your local Animal Control office and file a missing pet report. Animal Control is typically the first place that lost pets end up, as they are open admission (you can drop found pets off there anytime they are open, and they will always take the pet in) - Follow up on any leads. When people contact you with possible sightings, get to that area as soon as possible and do a search there.
Once you know where your cat is hanging out or eating, you will find that often they will be too afraid to come to you or anyone else, and you will need to trap them. You can borrow humane traps from local rescue groups or animal control and use them to trap your cat. There are many tips that these places will give you for trapping, and some places even have folks that will come out and help you do it. Here are just a few general tips on trapping:
- Trapping is most successful at dusk or just after sundown (this is when cats feel safe to come out of hiding for food)
- It is much easier to trap a cat if the trap is placed in the area where they are used to eating
- Use canned cat food or fish in the trap – the more it smells, the better
- Be sure to pull any other food sources that they may be eating from/any other food you had put out (you want them to be hungry enough to go into the trap after the food), but LEAVE THE WATER OUTSIDE THE TRAP – you want to be sure that they always have access to that water, even if they are not yet hungry enough to brave going into the trap
- Once the cat is trapped, cover the trap with a towel, as this calms the cat down, and bring your kitty quickly home for some rest and TLC!
We hope that you never have to use any of these tips and that your kitties stay safely at home with you. But, just in case…keep this information handy:
Minneapolis Animal Control: 612-673-6222
St. Paul Animal Control: 651-266-1100
Craigslist Minneapolis Lost & Found: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/search/laf
Animal Humane Society Lost & Found: http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/lost/lost-and-found-pets
Lost Cats MN Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LostCatsMN
Here are some sites to get more information:
http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/13-tips-what-to-do-cat-goes-missing
https://www.petfinder.com/cats/lost-and-found-cats/tips-for-finding-lost-cats/
http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/lost-cat-behavior/
http://www.purina.co.uk/content/your-cat/your-new-cat/responsible-cat-ownership/what-to-do-if-your-cat-goes-missing
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