My indoor cat got out of the house yesterday morning and now he’s nowhere to be found. I’ve (thankfully) never had to search for a lost cat before and don’t know how far he’s likely to wander. I’m sticking lost cat flyers in the neighbors’ mailboxes but how far from my house is it reasonable to do this?
What say you cat people? What kind of a radius should I use for this search and rescue mission?
Sorry. I had a cat go missing two weeks ago.
A mile-ish, and also
–check your local animal rescue shelter(s) periodically (and post a notice there)
–post a notice at the closest vet’s office
-put a lost and found notice with photo on craigslist.
How long was she your inside cat? Was she ever an outside cat?
These things make a difference. Our cats were born and raised indoor cats so when one gets out they sit on the green grass and kind of look up at me as if to say…so what do I do now. But if a cat was not initially an indoor cat, they may really love being outside, and stick to their guns on being outside.
Male or female? Fixed or not?
I’d go at least 3-4 blocks.
In addition to the places Shoshana listed, you’ll want to post flyers in the neighborhood grocery store, community center, etc. Basically, places with high traffic that community members frequent.
I’ve never lost a cat, but I have found lost housecats, which means I’ve posted quite a few “found cat” posters. My best friend and fellow cat-saver have found that the best places to put up posters or to notify are:
– the four local cat shelters
– the police station
– the grocery store, Wal-Mart
– local small animal vets
If all those fail, then we run an ad in the paper. If that doesn’t work, then we take the cat to the shelter and hope it gets adopted.
I have a friend whose cat was gone for 4 years before he decided to once again grace them with his presence. They can go a very long way, but I’d say a 1-mile radius is probably a good distance.
Neutered male. He was originally a feral kitten who wandered onto my aunt’s property while I was visiting. He was only about 8 weeks old when I found him and has been an apartment cat for the almost 2 years since then. In the past he has enjoyed slipping out the door to breifly sniff and then crouch down with a “here I am, come chase me” expression. Unfortunately we are visiting my parents in rural/suburban area and there’s a high probability that the cyotes got him last night.
pendgwen - I think many cats usually find a good hiding spot relatively close to where they got out. make sure you look at all possible hidey holes in the homes directly around yours. You might knock on doors and verify that it 's okay to be poking around and calling. And buy smelly food or tuna to put down outside.
Good luck finding your baby.
StG
Mine got loose last summer.
She stayed close - right outside the door, in fact.
With any luck, yours is still close by.
He’s back! The dog barked at the front door and this time when I checked what he was barking at instead of it being the wind or a leaf it was my cat. He has now been fed and scritched and he’s going no where near a door for the rest of this visit.
Whew, congrats on getting him back. 
Even though I had no advice to offer, I was certainly hoping the coyotes hadn’t attacked him.
Get your cats chipped.
Great news that he’s back! I was going to add that escaped cats often are really quite close and are afraid to come out.
I agree.
Shoshana, did your cat come back?
Mmmm…chipped cat on toast.
(what?)
He is chipped. That only helps if someone knows he’s a lost pet and knows to check for a chip - thus the posting of lost cat flyers.
For future reference, this excellent article recommends as many flyers as possible in a one-mile radius.
My own cat, who recently had to go from living indoors to living outdoors, was fine for a week, then suddenly vanished without a trace. I was despondent until she suddenly showed up a week later at 2AM, and ate two bowls of food.
We assume she got trapped in a neighbor’s garage when they went on vacation. She doesn’t stray from the (walled-in) backyard now.
My cat got out of the house in October of ‘95. He was 18 years old and had never been outside. I figured he couldn’t have gotten far and was probably in one of the neighbors’ yards, so I put up notices just around our block. The next day I heard from someone 2 blocks away, who had seen him, so I put up more notices in that direction. Then I heard from three people, further in that same direction, so I put up more notices in that direction. I also walked up and down the streets, calling him, looking in people’s back yards, under bushes, etc.
Then I heard nothing. After 18 days (including some very cold nights; it was now November), I gave up hope, and was planning a trip to the shelter to get another cat. Then the phone rang. It was a person who lived over a mile away, in the same direction. He said, “You’d better get over right away; your cat is sitting in my driveway.” I raced over there, and sure enough, my cat was sitting in the driveway. When I picked him up, he weighed practically nothing, extremely malnourished and dehydrated, but otherwise had no ill effects. And he’s still going strong today, at 19 now.
So . . . never underestimate how far a cat can roam, no matter how old he is. And be prepared to be pleasantly surprised, even after you’ve given up hope.
panache, my morning coffee hasn’t kicked in yet and you’re confusing me.
Some sort of math issue with your cat’s age currently vs when he escaped in '95.
I’m going to go with the idea that he was 8 when he escaped. It’s easier than any other alternative.
Glad he’s still going strong today at 19 - or is it 30?