What to do if your cat goes missing

It happens to every cat owner at some time or another, your cat goes missing. What do you do? The first important point is not to panic. The obvious place to begin a search is inside your own home. Quite often your cat is not actually missing, it has simply found a warm and secluded hideaway in the home and simply gone to sleep.
The airing cupboard is a favourite place for a cat to sneak into. If your beds have a space underneath then cats will often crawl into this space and curl up. So your first step must be a thorough search inside your home and pay particular attention to any warm spots. When you have done this with no results you should look in any outbuilding such as a shed or garage.
The next most likely place that your cat will have gone is your neighbour’s house. Cats are no respecters of property and will consider an open door or cat flap an invitation to enter. You should also ask your neighbours to check their own out buildings. In the majority of cases by now you should have discovered exactly where you cat is hiding.
If these searches have produced no results then it is time to go out into the streets to look for your pet. The best times to do this are early in the morning or late at night. If your cat is outside and possibly lost it will lay low during the day and come out during the hours of darkness.
If the cat has been missing for more than 24 hours you should consider putting up some “missing cat” posters around your area. Ideally these should include a picture of your cat and a brief description. Should your cat be a valuable pedigree animal it is wisest not to mention this on your poster as it could attract “catnappers”. It can also be useful to tell the local children that your cat is missing and offer a small reward for anyone who finds it. Children are by nature pet lovers and will see looking for a missing pet very much as a game and search very diligently for you.
It can also be worth contacting your local cat rescue service as many of these operate a lost and found service. The important thing is never to give up; there have been many reported cases of cats returning to their home months and even years after they went missing.