3. Lost Cat - Searching your neighbourhood
You know the nature of your own cat & how much time you should realistically give them to come home. Creating posters & leaflets should have given them at least some hours to return by themselves. If your cat has not come home & you feel you have given them enough time to do so...
Please note...
The search maps shown are only an example but the same principles apply, wether you live in a high human population density or a low rural one.
7. If your cat is chipped Inform your microchip company, usually Petlog - phone 24hrs - 08706 066 751
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8. Inform local police, vets, animals hospitals & rescue centers such as any local R.S.P.C.A. branch - provide them with the details you collected for the leaflet.
(Council refuse collection departments keep records of companion animals found as a result of road traffic accidents. Some will scan for microchips. It is worth checking, if only for peace of mind.)
Assume Nothing & do not be afraid of publicising, or asking your neighbourhood for help.
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9. Print/copy several maps & look for areas, such as garden blocks, that your cat could potentially have reached. Encircle a realistic but wide search area, in red pen on a map.
Call to your cat as you go out in search, in a routine relaxed way. Wait patiently & listen carefully, give your cat a chance to reply & plenty of time to reach you. Pay attention to places your cat could be concealed or trapped - garages, vacant houses etc.
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10. Go door to door in your immediate area & appeal to people in person, hand them a leaflet.
(A human face adds personality to your appeal that people are more likely to take notice of. Record addresses of people who weren't in, & try them again later.)
Leafleting is usually a lost cats best chance of recovery
Leaflets provide households with a photograph & phone number at hand. After a sighting in a garden, people are less inclined to leave their homes in search of a poster, especially if they are un-sure. Also give leaflets to traffic wardens, postmen, window cleaners & anyone who spends time on the roads or in gardens.
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11. Raise posters as you go to remind people that your cat is still at large - especially dog walkers
Raise posters as you progress through your search area, bearing in mind many people will only emerge from their houses to get into cars & go to work. Bus stops, post boxes, school collection points & anywhere people gather or stop - are all good spots. Local establishments such as shops & pubs will put posters up in windows & on walls
Outline all leafleted blocks, streets & mark the locations of posters on a map as you go.
(This will prevent you from wasting time doubling your efforts & will allow you to re-locate posters for updates. It is surprisingly easy to forget what has been done as time passes & your search will continue for an unknown period of time. It is better to make the effort & take these precautions - rather than to risk being sorry that you didn't at a later date)
Print several maps of your area
Draw a search area & mark the locations of posters raised
Mark the areas leafleted so you do not double your efforts
Investigate every sighting & plot maps for them until they have been identified
Plotting every sighting may throw up surprising patterns to investigate
