Losing a pet is always an anxious and heartbreaking experience. Cats sometimes wander off without a clue or disappear without warning, causing understandable uncertainty for their owners. There are basic steps that can be taken to locate a missing feline and bring them safely home.
Here are 9 simple and Essential Steps that can help:
1.Move Quickly, And Stay Calm: When you realize your cat is missing, time is of the essence. However, you need to be able to think clearly and rationally, so make the most of a moment of composure before you leap into action.
2. Thorough Search of Your Home: Your search should start at home. Cats are masters of hide-and-seek and they are notoriously quiet, so check under porches and in closets, but also in drawers, cupboards and the nether recesses of your furniture.
3. Develop a Search Plan: Cats can only cover so much distance in a day, so it's best to develop a search plan. Divide your neighborhood into manageable sections and create a method for your search. Recruit the help of your friends and family members and divide your mapped areas among yourselves so that each of you knows which areas to concentrate on, ensuring you do not repeat the same areas.
4. Use Scent-Based Techniques: Because cats have an incredible sense of smell, you can use scent as a technique to make it more likely that they'll find you. Leave items with your cat's scent outside to attract them, such as an unwashed piece of their bedding or any piece of your (unwashed) clothing.
5. Use Food to Tempt your Cat – an open can of wet food or a packet of treats should do the trick.
6. Spread the Word in Your Community: Make sure everyone in your area and beyond is aware that your cat is missing. This means getting in touch with your neighbors, your local animal shelters and any online community groups or forums for your area. Make sure your fliers include a photo of your cat and your contact information, and deliver them to homes and businesses in your neighborhood and surrounding area.
7. Search During Quiet Hours: Your cat is most likely to be willing to emerge to look for food and a place to hide when there's less noise and activity in the streets. Therefore, your best bet is to search in the early morning and around dusk, when people are less likely to be out and about and less chance of scaring your cat further into hiding.
8. Technology Helpers: Make technology your friend and use it to its full capacity. Post a clear picture and detailed information to any and every platform and social media you can think of. Don’t leave out any detail no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. Set up some motion activated cameras in addition to GPS as motion cameras won’t help in a big city with traffic and noise.
9. Put down some bowls of food outside: possibly a treat they love in an effort to lure them back home with the familiar smell but also remember to never use anything so aromatic as to attract raccoons, possums and other stray animals.
Let me know what is your thoughts about this article . I would appreciate your comment 👇
Let me know what is your thoughts about this article . I would appreciate your comment 👇
