Lost Cat | Tips Resources Prevention | The Flyer
Have You Lost Your Cat?
Things to Know & Things to DO NOW!!
Losing a pet is a harrowing experience. Losing your pet cat comes with a host of extra challenges, and must be met with a host of extra strategies and resources. Of the complete exhaustive account of the Lost Cat Response (which i plan to write later😉), today we are just going over:
The Flyer (on the streets and on social media).
What to do at home right away.
And a great list of resources to help ground you and get you started on your mission to find your baby
BEST WISHES FOR YOUR FELINE FAMILY ❤❤❤
LOST CAT—SHOUT IT OUT!!
Today we are looking at Pet Flyers, Social Media Posts, and Actions to Take When Your Cat Has First Gone Missing
EXAMPLE OF A GREAT FLYER. ONLINE OR ON THE STREETS. THIS TEMPLATE CAN BE FOUND ON CANVA.COM
The Flyer
The Terrestrial Flyer
The IRL Flyer. The flyer you make is hugely important. It does not have to be fancy with color photo (though that would be best) a marker on a piece of printer paper will do. It is a federal crime to open another person’s mailbox. Fold the flyer and wedge it into their mailbox flag, or place it on their front door.
Other Places to Put a Flyer:
stop sign poles. telephone poles. (GET GOOD STRONG TAPE)
try to strategically place them at traffic points in your neighborhood/area—entrances, exits, 4-way stops.
areas that are difficult to avoid & areas that are popular (telephone pole or road sign right by the entrance to the strip mall)
i do not live in a metro area, but i can only imagine the possibilities there
neighborhood & community boards
any nearby gas-station, grocery store, general store, pet store, and vet clinic that will allow a sign.
dont back down on the first no. most places WILL say no first. (times have changed). of course i dont mean get confrontational, just ask again, “beseech” them, plead.
take a flyer to your local shelter(s)
this is key. they will see the initiative, the effort, the care for your cat. you have made their job much easier.
and now they know to keep their eyes out for a cat like yours!
The Flyer Online. We will be getting further into that. But when it comes to local internet posts and community outreach, the most suggested sites are Nextdoor.com & Facebook.com. Also suggested is Craiglist and Local Newspaper Classifieds.
Look for, and Join, all different Facebook Groups for Lost and Found Pets in Your Area!!
If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or elsewhere; dont forget to fill that post with relevant hashtags!! (i.e. #lostcat #[your area])
Things to Put On Your Paper Flyer and/or Your Social Media Posts
1) Key Basics
Photo if Possible
Name (plus nicknames the cat responds to)
Male/Female
are they spayed or neutered?
Average Weight/Size (pounds. or S/M/L)
Age
Fur Color, Coat Pattern & Length, Claw/Declaw
Are they Microchipped? (add chip number if possible)
Were they wearing a collar?
Date/Time/Location they were last seen
2) Medication—Do they need any medication? or are they soon due for their vaccine shots?
3) Unique Traits—Are there any attributes that are unique to your cat? Anything noticeable so that a stranger could identify them?
raspy meow. a black cat with white toes. etc.
4) Personality—Describe your cat’s personality. What can people expect if they approach your cat? Also, think about what you would want someone to do if they did find your cat.
will she run away?
that will make reuniting her much harder. if so, insist that people not approach her, and contact you upon sight.
would someone be able to coax her with a can of wet cat food, or treats, & calling her name?
if so, is that something you’d like to ask people to do?
do you want to ask people to try to catch her if they see her? or to leave her be & call/text/message you immediately?
this relies a lot on the individual knowing how to read the situation and read cats.
5) A personal message of the cat’s family back home!
how much she is loved and missed
by the kids, by the dog, extra cute stuff!
how grateful you will be to have her back
THIS IS A MUST-DO. TRUST ME. FLYERS THAT SAY “LOST CAT PLEASE CALL” GET PROBABLY 10% THE ACTION OF WHAT PERSONABLE FLYERS DO
6) Personal Info—this is just that, personal. Give out the amount of personal info you’re comfortable with, but…
never give out your address
maybe start with less on the personal info. add more details if they seem needed (i.e. last initial on your flyer instead of last name. but this is totally up to you)
i eventually kept increasing what info i put out as time went on. i didn’t care, i needed random people to be able to find me. that said, i do not have kids.
remember, the street flyers have some info, Facebook has a different chunk of info (like your full name) and the lost pet sites (you’ll see these below) have another chunk. so keep tabs on what you’ve shared
7) Reward Offer—I have read legitimate source articles that say to never offer a reward. I have read legitimate source articles that say offering a reward will increase your chances of a re-union. The “anti-reward” folks say it will encourage theft and ransom—maybe with a purebred registered canine, less likely with a housecat. AND HEY—ITS NOT LIKE YOU SPECIFY WHAT THE REWARD EVEN IS! (is it $200.00? is it a giant bag of candy? a half used iTunes gift card? 🤣 you know it!)
my posters, which i’ll show them all later, say “REWARD + MY INFINITE GRATITUDE”
DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO WITH THE REWARD. WHEN IT COMES TO CATS, ITS A DIFFERENT STORY.
if you can think of any other helpful things to add to a flyer; please share in the comments at the bottom of the page! ❤
COURTESY THE AMAZING COMMUNITY CAT COALITION
Sites to Make Flyers for Home & Spread the Word Online
❗ they also actively reunite pets and have tons of reading material, resources, & advice ❗
Canva (the only one on the list that doesn’t have a network of any kind, but is great for making flyers to print out, and social media posts)
Pawboost (considered one of the best. their services are tiered. with premium features at a premium price. but they do come through with those services & results)
Lost My Kitty (i have to let the readers know. though it is still widely used, this site is known for some weird spamming. look out for weird text messages shortly after signing up. multiple random numbers saying they had my cat is the one i received. its BS.)
Some of Danny’s Flyers
Things To Do On The Ground At Home
!! Buildings, Structures, and Vehicles around the neighborhood/area !!
NEIGHBORLY LOVE—ask people to keep an eye out for your cat & to look in their sheds, their garages, underneath their boats, their cars, even underneath their homes. Cats can hide for days and days.
In The Earliest Days After Your Cat Has Gone Missing, You The Pet Owner, Are Strongly Advised To:
Put your cat’s litterbox outside, on the front porch, or the front of the house.
Leave a window cracked or open as much as you can, for her to find you.
Put dirty clothes and/or or her bed outside.
Leave a bowl of the cat’s food & water outside.
Call for kitty in the dead night hours (sorry neighbors)
truly, 12-4am is best cat-callin’ time.
Walk the neighborhood at night. Bring a can of wet cat food and/or a bag of their favorite treat, a flashlight, and a box or a pet carrier.
walk around with a flashlight to catch a cat’s retina (eyes) glowing at you!
you might spot her in a tree or in a bush, not coming when called because she is injured or scared
if your cat is great friends with your dog, try bringing the dog along for some of those walk-abouts, he very well may be the one that finds her!
DONT GIVE UP HOPE!!
the inspiring success story i got to witness
WE JUST RE-UNITED A WOMAN AND HER CAT AFTER FIVE YEARS APART! SHE HAD MOVED TO NYC BUT HAD NEVER GIVEN UP HOPE (PROOF IN HER FACEBOOK)! Five YEARS LATER, HER ORANGE TABBY IN SOUTH CAROLINA WAS BEING SENT TO HER! IT WAS A NEWS STORY YOU CAN LOOK IT UP! THE CAT’S NAME WAS CHARLIE.
A Link To Our Post — another reason to consider starting your own Cats Only lost & found Facebook Group for your area. you can be part of a miracle! an angel to pets and people!
⬇ In Case You Cant See The Link (i think you might have to join) ⬇
I Found a Couple of the News Articles!
Cat missing for 6 years reunites with owner who is battling COVID-19
“A cat that was missing for six years has found his way back home and is helping his owner battle COVID-19. Ashley O, a nurse, said Charlie, who is about 10 years old, disappeared in 2015 while she was living near Charleston, SC.”
A Great Illustration of why Cats Need Special Attention — and me begging one more time 😊 for people to consider starting a cats only lost and found pets facebook group for their local area
Extremely Helpful Resources
No Kill Network | Lost and Found Pets
PawBoost | Lost and Found Pets Network
Community Cat Coalition | Lost Cats
Pet FBI | Lost Cat Action Plan
Best Friends Save Them All | Resources | Lost Cat
Petco Love Lost (acquired & replaced “Finding Rover,” a short lived amazing site with revolutionary technology dedicated to reuniting pets. This new site by Petco has the magic of Finder Rover “somewhere” within it, but the whole site and interface is confusing and hard to use. for us in the community of reuniting pets, this was a hard blow. its a fresh wound for me, heh, sorry. BUT! its still a great resource, considering the facial recognition and massive library and matching functions thanks to Finding Rover. RIP.)
CLICK ABOVE TO JOIN IF YOU LIVE IN SC! CREATE YOUR OWN CATS GROUP IN YOUR AREA! THE LOST AND FOUND PET PAGES RECEIVE AN AVALANCHE OF NEW POSTS EVERY DAY. IT IS HORRIFYING. AND THE CATS DO GET LOST IN THE MIX. THEY REALLY DO NEED THEIR OWN SEPARATE PAGE! PLEASE CONSIDER 🙏 AND JUST LIKE THE OTHER GROUP ADMINS HELPED ME FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HECK I WAS DOING—I WILL TOTALLY HELP YOU IF YOU’D LIKE! EMAIL RURALURBANITE05@GMAIL.COM THE SUBJECT LINE SHOULD BE AUTO-FILLED, BUT IF NOT, ADD “MAKING A NEW FB CATS GROUP”