Ideas for finding my lost cat please.

[mrs83]

Hi. This is my first post but I really use some help. We have two cats and one has been missing a week and a day. It is my own fault that he's gone really because we had builders in fitting a new kitchen and I obviously should have locked them in a room together- I didn't because they often fight so didn't want to trap them together, and we have had lots of tradesmen in and the cats have always been fine.

I assumed they would hide in the bedroom as they often do but when I got home last Monday one of my cats was gone. He's an indoor cat by choice- we have a catflap but he never goes out- he hates the outside! If he is scared he goes under the bed or in the wardrobe.

We've searched all over inside and outside, delivered 200 flyers and put posters up in the local area, knocked on loads of neighbours doors (some twice to check they have checked their sheds) and had his post shared hundreds of times on facebook. We have contacted vets and shelters etc and have been out looking loads of times but there's just no trace at all.

I've pretty much given up hope of finding him but I'm so sad that he might have been scared/hurt/lost. I don't know if he could have survived this long alone as he isn't like a normal resourceful cat. He has no resilience and gets very upset if I haven't left him a glass of water on my dressing table to drink at night!

I'm starting to think that he may have jumped in the builders' van- they stopped off at a suppliers yard and then went home- about 30 miles away. But if that's happened I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to try to find him- my husband thinks we've done all we can. Is there anything I've missed?

Hope you find him soon! If/when you do, maybe get him microchipped?

If he's normally an indoor cat I think it unlikely he jumped in the van.
Put the litter tray out. He will be able to smell it.
Stupid idea but are you absolutely sure he hasn't got stuck in the new kitchen? One of mine tries to get behind the cabinets and one tried to disappear down a waste hole when we had building work done!
He may be shut somewhere. Anyone away? Hope he comes home soon. Is he microchipped? If so alert company.

Are the builders still there? Leave food out every night incase he is nearby - when it goes quiet again he might come back in. Ring the suppliers too!!
And face book too!! If you haven't got it ask a friend to make a post!!

Are you absolutely sure he's not trapped under floorboards/behind kitchen units? When I had a kitchen fitted earlier this year this is what happened to three of mine, despite the builders swearing blind that it couldn't have happened.

Is he chipped?

He is microchipped and has been all over facebook.
The van seems unlikely to me but it's even less likely that he went out and about.
When he was a kitten he went through the back of a cabinet under the sink where a hole was cut out and was behind the kitchen units!

He disappeared the day the old kitchen was taken out so no new kitchen had been put in (though some new pipes were in place) The room was all open and we checked that he wasn't in the old or new kitchen units.
The floorboard thing is playing on my mind. The builders insist that they haven't taken up any floorboards or opened anywhere he could crawl in! Most of the room is covered in laminate which hasn't been puled up. I might call the builders this evening to see if they can think of anywhere he could have crawled.I'm a bit scared to look now after 8 days if he is trapped somewhere

I lost my Girlcat when the cat carrier came open in a different village from where we lived on the way to the vets. We did flyers and door knocking and wandering the streets calling her. No cat. It was below freezing for weeks. That was 3 years ago. She's currently asleep on our bed because, after 5 weeks away, someone realised she was lost or stray and took her to the vet to check for a chip. Don't give up xx

Thanks Madratlady. I feel like that is my only hope now- that someone will find him and have his microchip scanned. But it hard to believe he went out- he likes to park himself half in and half out the front door to have a sniff of the air but if we ever close the door on him he runs straight round to the catflap. So it is a long shot. But maybe a noise spooked him and he did something out of the ordinary.
I feel sick thinking about him being trapped somewhere in the kitchen but the builders and my husband were adamant that couldn't have happened. I wish we had asked them to undo some of the work to do a proper check but the first couple of days we thought he was just hiding somewhere.

My neighbours' cat was trapped for a week in a garage and was ok afterwards. Good luck.

The website Catchat has a whole section with ideas of what to do when you lose a cat.
www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-missing-lost-found

My builders were also adamant that it couldn't have happened - yet they had managed to trap not one but three!

Floorboards under houses tend to be connected, so can you lift a board next to the kitchen at least? What about in the cupboard under the stairs (assuming you have one) - that's an easy place to lift boards.

I know someone who's cat left home while building work was going on and reappeared a few weeks later through the catflap like nothing had happened. Don't give up hope. Do agree however with putting food down and seeing if it goes overnight. It's amazing how small a space indoors an upset cat can get into.

After your post we've pulled the floorboards up and managed to see all under the floor. Not there but it's another thing ruled out. Our other cat has been pounding the pavement looking for him everyday! I think he'd be able smell him if he was inside.

We got our cat back yesterday after he had been missing a month. It turns out someone took him in as a stray about a week later (less than 200m away!) and then yesterday took their new "pet" to the vets to register and the vets insisted on scanning him. And now she's home which we didn't expect. Fingers crossed for you but wanted to give you some hope.

My cat was missing for six weeks - and then wandered into someone's house about a mile away and they gave us a call (collar). Toms do wander - especially if there's a change.

Local Facebook groups? Keep flyering - good luck and xx

I found this website useful when my cat went missing (twice). www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/lost-cat-behavior/

Mine, who was a new rescue, was living a few gardens away having hidden upon escape. The way I lured him back was by putting food outside. Many don't agree with this but it worked. He was spotted after a week of me putting food out.

It doesn't always work (he has since escaped again...) but worth a try.

Ps forgot to say - I have been there and it is rubbish. But don't give up. Good luck!

His story jumped out at me, because up until yesterday I was in the same position as you.

We adopted our lovely boy from a rescue last month, and after living with us 1 month and 1 day, he escaped when I was coming home from work late one night. Having never been outside in our area and only living with us for a short while we were distraught.

We did the same as you, we shared on Facebook and knocked on neighbours doors, rang local vets and out flyers out. We had given up hope and were certain he has either been taken in by someone else or had gotten completely lost.

13 days after he disappeared someone convinced me to go round the local estate looking for him, I just thought there was no hope and didnt want to keep getting my hopes up thinking we would find him. After walking round for an hour, who do we find? My missing boy! The cheeky boy had been very resourceful and had found out someone had a cat flap on their shed door where they fed their cats, he had been pinching the food when he could and hiding out all day. He has been less than a minutes walk away this whole time! He had completely lost his way home and needed a bit of help getting back. He has been home over 24 hours now and is so pleased to be back.

We also were told to leave some food and their litter tray or something that smells of them outside.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you hope, it may feel like there isn't any but there always is. I had completely given up and my boy is home now. Never thought he would be. I'm sure your cat is out there somewhere in full blown survival mode. Don't give up

aspiring that is what happened with my new rescue I think. It was actually four months in total (due to a case of mistaken identity) that he was missing and I also think he was pinching food from cat flaps because a neighbour said their cat's food was disappearing more than usual. He hadn't lost an ounce of weight!

Thank you all. The stories of found cats do help! My husband was quite upset last night We had a call with a possible sighting 2 days ago so went to investigate but no sign. And two calls today from on our street (both wearing different collars so probably not ours-there are lots of black and white cats around) We've been out shouting and jingling treats but no luck. I might widen the search a bit more with posters and flyers.

I'm glad you checked under the floorboards, even if it was just to rule it out. As he is chipped there is always hope. I frequently return missing cats to owners that have been gone often a very long time by means of their chip.

Posters and flyers really are your best shot though.

Definitely put posters up, we had A3 laminated posters on lampposts. The one that worked in the end was the poster in the vets. We used a template from the Cats Protection website and had it enlarged, you just print it out and addd details and photos.
Our cat was found after 6 weeks, miles from home living in a stables! Don't give up.

Also try the website petslocated. If the cat has gone some distance in a van, that website is nationwide and will check for your cats description against found cats.
I know you said you've put the details on Facebook, there will be specific lost and found cats groups for your area so worth joining those too.

When SmokingCat did his Houdini impression and escaped, we eventually found him next door in the garden hidden in a corner. The lady we spoke to at CPL said indoor cats don't tend to go fair far but their insuring that stops them calling out to you when you are wandering round and shouting their name. She also advised to go out and look late at night/early in the morning as this is when they are most active. I also tried to litter tray trick and the contents of my hoover got thrown outside the door as well. Hope you have him back safely soon OP