If you are the owner of a cat and they have ever gone missing, it might be useful to know how to find a lost cat. Cats tend to wonder off and sometimes do not return. It helps to be prepared for these scenarios. There are a few easy steps which you can follow to get through such a stressful event.
It is important to remain as calm as possible. It is, perfectly normal to feel upset under these circumstances, but getting panicked will do more harm than good. Also remember, stressing out will take precious time away from actively searching for your cat. Try not to assume the worst and put your fears aside. The best thing to do is to take action as fast as you can.
Delaying your search will only give more time for your cat to get further away, making it harder to find. According to a recent study, cat owners tend to wait for a few days until they start looking for their pet.
The first step is to let your neighbors know that your cat is gone. They can easily keep an eye out for it and let you know if they see it. Also, tell the veterinarians and animal shelters from your area. You greatly increase the chances of the cat being found with just a few phone calls. You could even check out some lost pet community pages like animalshelter.org and craigslist.
Do not just call your shelters once, do so regularly. Your cat might have been taken in after your initial call. Also, some crowded shelters and pounds can only keep animals for a few days, after which they are euthanized. So, make sure that this does not happen and check in with them frequently. In order to motivate people to help look for your cat, you could offer a nice reward. This way, you increase the chances of them actively helping in your search.
There are a few more important things you should know about how to find a lost cat. If you have an indoor cat and it has escaped, it will likely stay close to your house. It is not used to what it sees, hears and smells outside, normally it will be too scared to go far and will probably hide somewhere close, so crouching down to look for it could be helpful. Here are a few places you should check out:
- Under the deck
- Under the porch
- Inside pots
- Inside boxes or barrels
- Inside a garage or a shed
In most cases, your cat will stay put in its hiding place, unless it gets hungry, in which case it will go out to search for food. Also, there is a greater chance for it to get out from its hiding place during the night. So, if you cannot find it during daytime, do not worry, keep looking at night.
Hopefully, these tips on how to find a lost cat will be of use to you; good luck in your search!
