If You Have Lost Your Cat
The first thing to do if your cat goes missing is to check all of his/her usual favourite haunts. Make sure that you check inside & outside of your house:
- Every room and the loft and basement
- Look under the bed/s (including under the duvet)
- Look anywhere that there might be a gap that the cat could have crawled into and hidden or got stuck. Examples would be: behind wardrobes, behind appliances in the kitchen (also check inside appliances such as washing machines - cats have been known to crawl inside when the door is left open), chimney, dustbin, compost bin etc.
- Check your garden and garage thoroughly; look in your shed/greenhouse, check trees and hedgerows
Ask your neighbours to check their gardens, sheds, greenhouses etc.
We suggest that you go outside your house some time between the hours of 11pm & 6am and call your cat. During this time there is little to no traffic and you are more likely to be heard by your cat he or she is in the local area. Make sure that you do not go out alone and especially if you are under 18, ensure that you are accompanied by an adult.
It is possible that your cat might have travelled quite some distance; they can often get inside cars & vans unnoticed. This often happens when deliveries are made and van doors are left open. We have known cats to have travelled 7-8 miles by this method!
Gather Information
What you should do next is to gather together some details that can be registered with various organisations to assist your search:
- If possible, dig out a photograph of the cat. Preferably this will show the whole body and the face - showing any distinctive features that the cat has. People will always remember photographs better than a description, no matter how detailed.
- When and where (including street name as well as area) the cat was last seen.
- Cat's name, gender, age
- Colouring and whether long or short haired etc
- Any distinctive features
- Whether or not the cat has been neutered/spayed
- Was the cat wearing a collar (what colour, any bell or disc etc?)
- Whether or not the cat is microchipped
- Your contact details (name, phone numbers etc)
Inform Local Organisations
Give these details to:
- All local vets in your area
- Any animal rescue organisations in your area and add the details to our register
- Local catteries
- Local police stations
- Neighbours, postman, window cleaner, milkman
Post Advertisements
You can also make up a poster/leaflet to advertise. Get plenty of copies made and distribute:
- Do a door-to-door on your street and surrounding streets. If possible, ring or knock and speak to the person and explain what you are doing. People respond better face to face than to a(nother) leaflet through the door.
- Ask to get a poster put up in any local: vets, post offices, newsagents, supermarkets, pet shops, pubs, youthclubs, social clubs and any other shop or establishment that you can.
- Attach posters to lamp posts, phone boxes, telegraph poles etc.
- Also display one on your front door
- Place an ad in your local newspaper or on your local radio station; you can offer a reward if you want to - you don't have to state an amount, just put "reward available" on the posters/ leaflets.
Don't forget to look for "Cat found" notices in papers, shop windows etc on your travels!
Be Positive
Be positive - the earlier you act, the better the chances are of finding your cat. Cats can and do go missing for days and even weeks sometimes and come back safe and sound. There are even cases where cats have been missing for months and have still been reunited with their families. Remember that cats are incredibly resourceful creatures and (mostly!) very intelligent. They will seek out shelter and food and water. If and when you get that all-important call saying "I've found your cat", try not to get your hopes up too high. Importantly, make sure that you don't go alone when responding to a stranger's call - it may not be genuine.
IF YOU ARE UNDER 18: Please do NOT go out on your own, whether to post leaflets, to go house-to-house, to respond to an "I think I've found your cat" call, or any other reason. ALWAYS take an adult with you..and in fact, it is a good idea to take someone with you whatever age you are.
Be Prepared
However, you must always be prepared for the worst, and to this end, you should contact your local council Environmental Health Department. If you give them a description they will be able to check whether a cat matching that description has been reported killed on the roads.
When Your Cat Returns
Make a very big fuss of him/her and give them lots of treats. Make sure that you inform all of the local organisations that you registered your cat lost with, so that they can remove the details from their register. Also, retrieve your posters from shop windows, lamp posts etc. Finally, please ensure that (if not already done) you get your cat neutered and microchipped to help prevent this from happening again in the future (cats that are neutered are far less likely to roam away from their immediate surroundings).
If You Find A Cat
If you find a cat (or if a cat finds you):
- The very first thing that you need to decide is whether the cat needs veterinary attention. If the cat is phyically injured then please do not give it any food or water - no matter how hungry or thirsty it may seem - as this can delay treatment. If the cat has no physical injuries but is emaciated or in an appalling condition then give it only water and take it to a vet. If the cat has not eaten for a while then it is likely that anything you feed it will cause diarrhea; meaning that the cat will lose even fluids faster than can be replenished.
- If the cat seems okay, don't panic. Its owner may have gone away & simply the cat is protesting. Or it may be the new cat on the block e.g. expanding its territory. Keep an eye on it for a few days unless it needs veterinary attention or is emaciated or is in a dangerous situation. Contact SHUA if you need further advice or are not confident about the situation.
- If the cat seems in decent condition and has been hanging around for a few days then feed it (any meat or fish but preferably actual cat food) and give it a bowl of water (not milk - many cats are actually lactose intolerant, meaning that they have an allergy to dairy products).
- Give it shelter: if you cannot allow it into your home then please ensure that it has somewhere dry and windproof outside for the timebeing. Remember that the cat will need access to a litter tray or to the outdoors in order to go to the toilet! See below - contact local animal shelters to see about getting the cat taken in.
- Jot down some details about the cat (appearance, any distinguishing features, where found and when etc) and register these with local vets, police station, animal shelters, ad in local paper etc. Also check with these various places to see if anyone has lost a cat matching the description of the one you have found.
- If possible, take the cat to your nearest or local vets and ask them to check whether or not it is microchipped.
- HOWEVER if you put up posters or distribute leaflets, we strongly recommend that you do NOT give a full description of the cat; this will allow you to confirm that someone claiming to be the cat's owner is indeed its real owner. It will also prevent anyone from being able to falsely claim that the cat is theirs simply to get a 'free' cat. When you register the details with local organisations, if possible, you can ask them to withhold certain distinctive features information to assist with this (but still allow them to match your cat up with any new 'lost' notices logged).
- Finally, if the owner cannot be traced, or if you cannot keep the cat at your house, then when you contact your local animal rescue organisations you can ask if they are able to take the cat in. They will then be able to care for the cat and assist with finding its owners - or, ultimately, find it a new home. When you contact your local organisation you can ask them if they will take the animal in or put it on their waiting list. Be prepared - in kitten season the waiting list may be in excess of 4-5 weeks.
