Marin Friends of Ferals
  • Lost

WHAT  TO  DO  IF  YOUR  PET  IS  MISSING

Day 1:

  • Contact all neighbors and have them check closed garages or sheds. Ask them if they’ve had any deliveries, landscapers, etc. Could your cat have gone into their vehicle?
  • Go to the Marin Humane Society and register your lost pet.  Take a photo and record as much detail as possible describing your pet. www.MarinHumaneSociety.org.
  • Develop flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood, both residential and commercial areas.
  • Contact local rescue groups; send them a copy of your flyer.  You can locate local rescue groups through petfinder.com.  Enter your zip code to obtain a listing of local rescue groups.
  • Is your cat micro-chipped? If so, contact the micro-chip company, they will notify all local vets. If not, make a note to have your cat micro-chipped as soon as he/she is found.
  • Post your missing cat flyer at all local vets and pet stores.
  • Put an ad on Craigslist under PETS.
  • Recruit your friends to help you.

Day 2:

  • If your kitty is shy, he/she will hide for a few days. Keep putting food and water outside your door.
  • Put out an article of your clothing or bedding from your kitty so he/she recognizes that familiar scent.
  • Obtain a trap or have a local rescue group help you with trapping. A shy cat might need to be trapped.
  • Continue putting out flyers everywhere. DO NOT GIVE UP.

Day 3:

  • Kitty will be hungry and a lost cat normally does not go far.  Use tuna or sardines with oil or roasted chicken. Be especially alert for your cat at dusk or sunrise. Pick up food at dark so as not to attract raccoons. Continue putting up flyers. Listen to the daily recording at MHS to see if your kitty was found.

Day 4:

  • Continue putting out food; repeat day 3. Contact local children in your neighborhood or at the near-by school.  Show them your poster and ask that they watch for your cat.  Talk to everyone. Contact neighbors who might have been away or who have housekeepers and have them check under decks, garages, sheds.

Day 5 and ongoing:

  • Continue providing food in a familiar spot. Check that flyers are still posted around the neighborhood. Walk the neighborhood, calling your cat’s name, rattle a treat can if he/she is familiar with that sound. Keep a trap set at your home when you’ll be there (never set a trap when you aren’t present). Ensure that local feral cat groups know about your missing cat, as they can be on the look-out at their feral cat colonies.

Flyers should contain the following information:

  • Exact date cat went missing.
  • OFFER A REWARD.
  • Name of the cat in BIG LETTERS.
  • DESCRIPTION OF CAT – color, shy/friendly, gender, breed, age, include health issues, especially if cat is deaf.
  • Picture of cat.
  • Location of where cat was last known to be, include nearest cross streets.
  • Your phone number in BIG NUMBERS (include area code).
  • Once reunited with your cat, take down all flyers and let everyone know the outcome.

link to the Marin Humane Society’s lost pet page

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