What to do when your cat goes missing

Start searching close to home, straight away, and keep searching at dusk and at night. Many missing cats are hiding within a few houses of where they left, and a frightened cat often stays silent. Check small spaces, call your cat's microchip database, tell your neighbours and local vets and shelters, and put up clear posters. Do not give up after a few days.

Why cats go missing

A cat may slip out of a door, climb out of a window, be shut in a shed or garage, follow another animal, or run when frightened. Outdoor cats can be hurt, trapped or taken in by someone who thinks they are strays. A cat that has just moved house may try to return to the old one. Cats that are lost in an unfamiliar place, or injured, often hide and stay quiet. They may not respond to your voice, even though they hear it.

Indoor cats that escape are usually frightened and hide close to the exit. They are unlikely to wander far at first. Outdoor cats range more widely, but many are found close to home too, and some are found only a few gardens away.

What to do, step by step

The first hours

1. Search your own home thoroughly. Cats squeeze into very small spaces. Look in cupboards, behind and inside furniture, in washing machines and tumble dryers, under beds, inside box springs, in wall spaces, lofts and basements. Shake a food packet or open a tin and wait quietly.
2. Search the immediate area. Walk around your house and the neighbouring houses. Check under cars, decks, hedges, sheds, garages and drains. Look up as well: cats can climb and then be unable to come down.
3. Ask neighbours. Knock on nearby doors and ask people to check garages, sheds, basements and outbuildings, especially if the cat could have been shut in. Ask permission to look in their gardens. Leave a note with your phone number.
4. Search at night. Cats are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk, and a scared cat often comes out when it is quiet. Use a torch. The reflective layer in the eye, the tapetum lucidum, makes cat eyes shine green or gold in a beam of light, which helps you spot a cat in a hedge. Walk slowly and call softly. Stop and listen.
5. Use scent. Place a worn item of clothing and the used litter from your cat's tray outside the door. Cats use smell to navigate and follow their own scent marking. Put food and water out for them, in a place you can monitor.
6. Call the microchip database. Report your cat missing and confirm your phone number is correct. Ask whether the database sends alerts to local vets and shelters.

The first days

1. Tell local vets, shelters, rescues and the council. Give them a clear description, photo and the microchip number. Many places hold stray cats for a limited number of days, so visit in person if you can. A phone call may miss your cat.
2. Make posters and leaflets. Include a large, clear photo, the word LOST, the cat's name, distinctive marks, the area and date lost, and your phone number. Hold back one identifying detail, such as a mark or collar style, so you can check a finder's description. Put posters on lamp posts, shop windows, vets, community boards and through letterboxes.
3. Use social media and local groups. Post in local lost and found pet groups and neighbourhood pages. Give the area, date and the photo. Reply to sightings quickly.
4. Keep searching in the same places. Cats may be moving. Walk the area daily at dawn and after dark. Leave a covered shelter with a familiar blanket, along with food, near the door.
5. Consider a humane trap. A rescue group or animal shelter may lend one. Ask for instructions, check it often and never leave a trap unattended for long.
6. Check for found cats. Look at found-pet notices and ask vets about injured cats brought in.
7. Ask about road casualties. In many places the council collects cats found dead on roads and scans them. Phoning is hard, but you will get an answer, and an answer is better than waiting.

Keep going

Do not stop after a week. Cats are found weeks or months later. Keep your microchip record current, keep posters visible, and keep checking shelters. When you find your cat, take it to a vet to be checked, even if it looks well.

Avoid scams

Some people exploit worried owners. Be careful if someone:

• asks for money before showing you the cat
• will not describe distinguishing features you hold back
• refuses to meet in a public place
• wants a reward paid by transfer to a person you have not met

Meet in a public place, bring a friend, and ask for a photo with the details you know. Do not pay a deposit before seeing the cat.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the cat to come back. Start at once.
• Searching only by day. Many cats move at night.
• Calling loudly and walking far. A scared cat may hide close. Search small areas well.
• Chasing a cat you have spotted. Sit down, speak softly and let it come to you.
• Taking the posters down too early.
• Out-of-date microchip details. This delays a reunion.
• Letting other cats slip out while you search. Keep doors and windows shut.
• Ignoring local rescues. They are experienced and often help.

If you find a cat

Be gentle, and use a cat carrier or a box with air holes. Keep the cat in a quiet room. Take it to a vet or shelter to be scanned. Post a notice in the area. Do not assume it is a stray, since many owned cats roam.

When to see a vet

If your cat comes home or is found, go to a vet now if it:

• is bleeding, limping or has a visible wound
• breathes with an open mouth or is struggling to breathe
• cannot stand, seems paralysed in the back legs, or is very weak
• is cold or collapses
• strains to urinate or has passed no urine, especially a male
• has not eaten for a day or more

Even a cat that looks well can be hurt inside, or hungry, dehydrated or carrying parasites. A check is worthwhile.

Summary

• Search your home and nearby spaces in the first hours, then widen slowly.
• Search at dusk and in the dark with a torch, and check small spaces.
• Report the loss to the microchip database, vets, shelters and the council.
• Put up clear posters with a photo and keep one detail back.
• Use scent items and a quiet feeding spot near the door.
• Beware scams, and keep searching for weeks.
• Take a found cat to a vet for a check.