Makes his own rules, walks his chosen path and knows dogs are dull.
He aspires to rule the world.
The best way to find a cat is never to loose one! Our feline friends remain a mystery. We are inexplicably drawn to the independence of a cat and the dependence of a dog.
An agonizing question you must ask yourself if your cat goes missing, ‘Do all missing cats want to be found?’ Exclusively indoor cats are well cared for prisoners. If your cat is a ‘door darter” (A. Fraser, Feline Behaviour and Welfare) suggests reassessing the home environment. Are there adequate resources for your cat to stay engaged? If it is a multi cat household, ensure there are individual resources (toys, litter trays, scratching posts etc) for each cat. Draw parallels to your lock down days. How does it feel? You have no freedom to leave the house, feel the lack of resources, and long for the freedom of the outdoors. You may have become your cat!
“For all the cats (indoors, indoor-outdoor, outdoors), the median distance from home was 50m, and 75% of cats were found within 500m.”
Psychology Today
Take these quick steps to search for your lost cat
- Check the entire premises around where the cat lives which includes attics and crawl spaces in homes any easy to hide places in the garden or storage loft.
- If you have recently moved retrace any steps you have taken with your cat. The fact that you and your cat are in unfamiliar territory will be a hindrance.
- Look and listen for your cat in all nooks and corners in your home, garden, open spaces. Cats climb up trees to explore and often get stuck.
- Create a lost cat poster to put up in your neighbourhood and social media. You must include multiple forms of communication i.e telephone number, email, any form of communication you can access and is easy for people to respond.
- Connect with cat groups and cat owners locally (online and offline) they are an incredible resource and adept at spotting a cat behaving out of character.
Why should you offer a reward? This strategy ensures people stop and read a poster or appeal, online or offline. Be a good marketer when you search for a lost pet. Make them stop and pay attention, your aim is to maximise eyeballs for your cause.
The key to finding a lost animal is speed, the quicker you act the better your chances of finding them. A Microchip and pet GPS tracker are an investment in technology for your pets. This technology enables you remain in charge and updated of their whereabouts and safety. Think of how many times you have checked the Live Covid 19 tracker, its in real time and keeps you updated. Technology for pets has helped numerous pet owners find missing pets and take advantage of the fact that you can view your pets, cat or dog remotely.
The Covid-19 isolation exacerbates our sense of loss.We have lost control over our freedom of movement. Locked down even in your own home does not change the fact that you have no control. Currently our cats and dogs are the emotional support anchors we need.
Huang L, Coradini M, Rand J, et al. Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found. Animals (Basel). 2018;8(1):5. Published 2018 Jan 2. doi:10.3390/ani8010005
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