CatRescue 901
Lost my pet
12 things to do when your pet has gone missing:
1. Cats can smell familiar scents up to one kilometre away so:
(a) Put your cat’s used (dirty) kitty litter outside after removing solids.
(b) Put cat’s used bedding and your own last worn clothes and bed sheets on the clothes line
(c) Keep putting food out for your pet morning and night. If close, he/she may eat it when noone is watching and it is another familiar smell to encourage him home or to stay close by.
2. Create a poster very urgently, put it in upside down plastic sleeves on telegraph poles. Click to download a lost pet poster template.
3. Ring vets in your suburb and areas close by to inform them and ask if they would put a poster up for you.
4. Ring your local council straight away and ensure your microchip information is up to date and ask them to list the pet as missing. Remember to also let them know as soon as your pet is found. Or you can do this online yourself at the Companion Animals Register.
5. Contact lost animal pages on Facebook. Many pets are reunited with owners as a result of Facebook lost and found pages.
6. List your lost pet with an agency. Agencies can be expensive but may improve your chances of finding your pet.
- Pet Search (phone: 1300 309 004)
- Where Pets are Found
- Lost Pet Finders (phone: 1300 725 640)
- Arthur & Co. Pet Detectives
7. Drop flyers in letterboxes. Each day extend letter box dropping and poster coverage to a wider area.
8. Visit all your neighbours, give them a poster and ask them to check garages and outbuildings
9. Take a poster to your local school and see if you can put an advertisement in their newsletter. Friendly cats and dogs could seek out people and may well hang around a school.
10. Contact your local pound and those in adjacent catchment areas. Give them a description of your pet to let staff personally know you are looking. Visit the pounds at least once a week, don’t rely on them contacting you or recognising your cat. Pounds miss reading microchips often enough.
11. Leave a bowl of fresh food and clean water outside for your pet when you would normally feed them. Cats especially don’t initially travel far when they get lost, and this food will help to attract them home. There is a good chance that the food will not be eaten on the first night or two but still put new food and water out every day.
12. Don’t give up. One of our coordinators found their missing cat one month after following all the above steps.
Tips to avoid having your pet lost and never found:
– Keep your cat Indoors or in an animal enclosure
– If your cat has a collar, make sure it has your current phone number.
– Ensure your pet is microchipped and registered with your local council.
– Should you ever move house or change phone number, ensure that you contact your local council to update your contact details on the Companion Animals Register database against their microchip.
How can you help us help the cats?
Our Vets
CatRescue 901 would like to acknowledge our dedicated vets. We could not operate without these vets and their dedication to, and respect for, our rescued felines. Please support the vets who support rescue. See all vets click here.
Our Sponsors
CatRescue 901 would like the thank the generosity of our corporate sponsors for making our life saving work possible. We are indebted to them for their support. Please consider using their services. See all sponsors click here.
CatRescue 901 is a registered charity CFN 23215 with Tax Deductible Gift Recipient status.
ABN 47 167 228 980