Get Kitty Home Fast: Action Plan to Find a Lost Cat

Last Updated on May 10, 2021 by Holly Anne Dustin

Have you ever had an indoor cat go missing?  It happens. Kids leave the door ajar, a loose window screen, a moment of curiosity, and Kitty finds himself outside without the slightest clue what to do out there. The best strategies to help you find a lost cat take understanding what is going on in his head.

Lost cats will hide in silence. Cats are prey for larger animals and raptors. Their ability to blend in and hide in small spaces is their primary method of protection.  Even injured cats will not cry for you.

Tips To Give You the Best Chance at Finding a Lost Cat:

1. Search every inch of your house.  Cats can fit anywhere. If your fist can fit through a space, your cat can fit through that space. Check inside closets, cupboards and drawers, under the bed, behind dressers and the fridge. If you opened a chest or storage box at any point, recheck it even if you are sure you’d have noticed the cat. Check the dishwasher and dryer. Look even in unlikely places. I once found my “missing” cat in a chair wrapped up in a long tablecloth.

2. If you live in an apartment, check the hallways, stairwells, basement, storage closets, laundry rooms, and any vacant apartments that may have had a door ajar. Ask your neighbors if they have seen your cat.

3. Call animal control, shelters and rescues, and vets in your area. If he has a microchip, call the registration company and let them know he is missing.

4. Call anyone that visited your property that day. Guests, workmen, delivery companies, etc. Your cat might have checked out their truck and gone for an unintended ride.

5. Post on social media. Not just on your own profiles but local groups. Facebook and Nextdoor are good starts. A service like Pawboost.com can help your efforts. PetAmberAlert can help for a price.  Ask local friends to share to other groups they know about it. Pet FBI and Craigslist are other options.

6. Missing pet flyers are still a good way to notify a lot of local people.  Plaster your neighborhood with a good full-body photo of your kitty, a phone number you check regularly, kitty’s name, and the location where he was last seen.  Make big posters for intersection areas or visible spots. Parks, local stores, office buildings are all important too.  Pawboost has tips on how to make a good lost cat poster.

7. VISIT your local shelters. Go as soon as you are sure Kitty is missing. Take a copy of your poster and return often. The hold time here is 3 days before a “found” cat can be adopted out. Don’t count on the shelter to call you. Likely they won’t. Check back repeatedly, in person.

8. Be sure to notify any feral cat feeders in the area to be on the lookout on any new cats that show up.

9. Get out there and start searching. Get permission from your 3-5 closest neighbors in all directions to search their yard, garage, shed, under the porch, bushes with a flashlight. Look up on top of houses and up in trees. Shine the light to see if his eyes reflect the light. Repeat the search at different times and days in case Kitty got frightened and moved. Lost cats are most often found close to home. Check culverts and ditches.

Time is of the essence so get started as soon as you know that Kitty has escaped.

Strategies to Lure a Missing Cat Home:

What is the first thing people say when you tell them your cat is missing? Put his litter box outside, he’ll smell it from a mile away and come home.  Don’t do it, it doesn’t work. And it may draw other cats into the area that will fight with your cat and frighten him away from his familiar territory.

Try these strategies instead:

• Put out food, the stinkier the better.  Try his favorite canned cat food, tuna, or sardines. Eventually Kitty will have to look for food and water.  He’s most likely to be active late at night or early morning.

• Setting a wildlife camera trap up will show you if he has come to the food you put out.  If you seem him on camera, you will know he has stayed close by.

• Set up a shelter by your feeding station.  Or leave your garage door or basement window open so he can get back in when he comes home.

• Shelters and hardware stores often loan or rent humane traps.  If you can monitor the trap, this can be the ultimate way to catch a lost and hungry kitty.

Remember, no one cares more for Kitty than you do. No one else will put the same effort into finding him you are. Don’t give up, he’s out there somewhere waiting for you to find him and get him home safely.