If your cat is missing, do not wait, act as soon as you feel something is wrong. It is far better to feel a bit silly that you over-reacted than to kick yourself that you didn’t act sooner.
A cat trapped in a vehicle, shed or garage can perish in as little as a few days, or your cat may be injured and need urgent medical care.
Your cat could be closer than you think but is too frightened (a cat fight or accident) to come home, he could be hiding in your home with an injury or he could be trapped in somewhere close. Be aware that a lost, frightened or injured cat can hide very well and is likely to run away from you, no matter how close your bond is.
1.
Search your house and garden, top to bottom. Check inside as well as behind and under every item of furniture and under as well as inside every hedge/bush/plant pot etc. Don’t forget to check under sheds. Take your time, mentally divide your property into blocks the size of a small cardboard box and search every one to ensure you cover every inch of your property. Don’t forget to look up trees and on your roofs. Feel anywhere you can’t see as cats can get into the smallest of places. Call gently/quietly in a happy voice and do not move too quickly. Do not shout, if your cat is frightened and close, you may frighten it further away if you shout or sound worried. Be aware that cats tend to climb upwards to stay above predators so your cat is more likely to be in a hedge or on a shelf than on the ground. Cats move, check the same places day after day.
2.
Report your cat as lost on your Facebook feed and the following four Facebook groups:
Guernsey Lost and found pets, formerly Animal Aid
Guernsey Lost Pets
Guernsey Cat Community
GSPCA
The details they need are:
a. Photographs of your cat.
b. Cats name.
c. Date and time last seen.
d. Place last seen.
e. Whether or not your cat is microchipped and neutered.
f. Your name and telephone number.
Check the comments at least three times a day. Repost or ask the admins to repost twice a week.
3.
Put something that smells of you outside. The most powerful scent is your dirty wash bin/dressing gown/pillow with a hot water bottle inside to make it extra smelly. Keep refilling the hot water bottle as often as you can. If your cat is lost, the scent may assist him in finding his way home. If your cat is injured and hiding, the security of your smell may draw him home.
4.
Put his litter box and bedding outside IF HE IS A BOY ONLY. Do not do this if your cat is a girl as this will encourage male cats onto your property which may stop her coming home.
5.
Overnight, put fish flavoured (it’s the smelliest!) wet cat food in a bowl outside on your upstairs windowsills. The scent should travel far and may encourage your cat to come home but stop other cats/rats from eating it.
6.
Create a small flyer, you can usually get four on an A4 sheet of paper. Create a poster, A4 or larger.
They should include:
a. A photograph of your cat.
b. The phrase “CATS-NAME IS MISSING!”
c. Date and place last seen.
d. Your name and telephone number.
7.
Go to Guernsey Maps and print off a map of your immediate area, you’ll be surprised how close properties ‘behind you’ actually are. Your immediate area is at least 10 houses (or 250 meters if fields) in every direction from your home. Knock on your neighbours doors and ask permission to search their property yourself, search inch by inch, including in their house if they will let you. You will search a lot better than they will. Call your cat gently, or talk to people in your normal voice that you use at home. Do not shout. Give every neighbour your flyer in their hand, do not just push it through their letterbox, you need to make sure they remember you and look out for your cat. When searching garages/sheds/cars be aware that an injured/frightened cat is unlikely to come when called. You need to check thoroughly and when finished, ask the owner if they would leave their garage/shed door open for an hour just in case you missed your cat, they are very good at hiding! If neighbours are away or are never home when you knock, you need to find a way to get on their property, find their extended family for permission if necessary, do not wait. Do not accept a response of “I’ve checked my garage/shed”, ask if you can check again.
Note: If you are searching for your cat with a torch at night, their eyes will reflect a bright green colour, a rabbit will reflect a more orange colour.
8.
Accept all offers for help, but remember that only you (your cats family) should physically search your home and immediate area, strangers to your cat could frighten him further away. Other people can be a big help by distributing your flyers outside of your immediate area, putting up posters, walking lanes, keeping a look out and sitting in vehicles watching areas for your cat. They should not call or approach your cat.
9.
Walk out / call in. Go to Guernsey Maps and identify at least 6 routes to your house. Walk out at least 500 meters from your house without making any sound, then walk back to your house in as straight a line as possible (you may need to walk through gardens or fields) calling very gently in your normal/happy tone (a cats hearing is 6 times better than ours) and shake a box of cat biscuits and/or jingle his favorite toy. Dawdle. The slower you walk on the way back the better. Call and shake biscuits then stay quiet and listen for your cat meowing in case he is trapped in somewhere, walk ten steps, stop and repeat. Investigate any noises/rustling after you call. If you see your cat following you do not try to grab it as you may frighten it further away, just keep leading it home by calling and shaking the biscuit box. If your cat runs away from you do not follow, just keep walking home gently calling his name and shaking biscuits. This is the most successful way of recovering a lost cat. You are not likely to see your cat following you home. The best time to do this is between 3am-5.30am as this is the quietest time in Guernsey and there is no/little distant traffic noise, however you can do this at any time.
10.
If, after completing steps 1 to 7, your cat is still not home, you can shout. The middle of the night (2-6am) is the time to shout if you think your cat is lost and far away as this is the quietest time and your voice should travel a long way. Shout loudly with a happy tone as you would usually call them for dinner from all four corners of your property for a good 10 minutes on each corner. Only ever shout to your cat from your home.
11.
If there is a potential sighting of your cat, sit in a vehicle close to the sighting and look for movement, at night is the best time as he is more likely to be active when it is quiet. Once your eyes adjust you’ll be surprised just how much you can see in the dark or a streetlight or house light may help. Put smelly wet cat food in a bowl on your vehicle roof and wait for your cat to come to you. It can take many many hours of waiting. If you see your cat, do not get out of the car, open the window and call gently, your cat may come to you. If your cat runs away do not get out of your car or try to catch it as this could chase him out of the area, call Animal Aid to come and set a humane trap to catch him.
The biggest mistake people make is giving up too soon! There are many many cases in Guernsey of people recovering their cat themselves months and even years later by simply by continuing to “walk out / call in” despite there being no sightings of their cat previously.
The bottom line is, unless you’ve found a body, the chances are high that your cat is out there somewhere.