Tips and stories about missing cats

by zephi

I often read on the etsy  forums about cats that go missing. As I have 10+ cats and several incidents have happened over the years, allow me to give you a few tips in case your cat's gone missing:

1)Cats tend to hide if they are scared or if they find themselves in an unfamiliar environmet. Often they hide under cars, but in many cases they climb INTO the car's engine and that can be very dangerous. Make sure you check every car that's parked around the house. 

2) They hide on the tops of trees. I remember a time when one of my cats was nowhere to be seen for two days. It was mating season and I finally found her hiding up on a tree, while three male cats were waiting for her to come down! 

by SuzeesJubileeZ

3) Look for the cat VERY late at night or VERY early in the morning, which means from 3 am - 6 am. That's when it is more silent and the cat has a better chance to hear you calling or you hear the cat calling you :P Just call her once and then sit there and listen for a few seconds very silent and still. If the cat is locked up somewhere it's very possible that you can't hear him/her easily.

4) If you feed your cat dry food, take a bowl with you a make as much noise with it as you can. Cats know the sound of dry food falling in their bowl and they will surely be tempted to come out!

5)If your cat is missing for a couple of days, make sure you check the basements or storehouses of your neighbours! Three years ago one of my cats was missing for 3 days and I found him in the basement of a house that was uninhabited. Someone was interested in renting the house and I guess my cat slipped in when the realtors were showing the house. I think it's a miracle that I found him! And 6 months ago he did it again, in another house. Thank God, I found him again.


by clingingimages

 6)Maybe it's a myth, but they say that sometimes old cats leave when they sense their death is near. I can attest to that. My 18 y.o. cat disappeared one day, never to return. She had never left the house before and I kept looking for her for many days, but she never returned.

7) If you male cat is not neutered, he may follow other males to nearby neighbourhoods or he can fall in love with a female and have no eyes or ears for anyone else (yourself included). So make sure you neuter your cat if you don't want him to disappear for days in mating seasons.


 8) Last but not least, if a couple of days pass and you still can't find your cat, never give up hope! In many cases cats have come back even after a couple of weeks. If your missing cat does come back, but she seems starved and dehydrated, contact your veterian. DO NOT feed her insane amounts of food, most likely you will cause health problems. Many thanks to Rita aka alatsupplies on Etsy for this important addition!