These are 10 basic things you can do when your cats goes missing. However depending on how and when your cat went missing there would be different steps to take depending on your cats character.
If your cat is not neutered it may travel up to five miles to find a mate, so make sure your cat is neutered and is microchipped before allowing your cat to venture outside.
Firstly, think about what kind of cat you have, is he an outdoor cat that is quite happy to roam the area, maybe a little streetwise so will be able to cope with being lost for a while.
However if you have lost your housecat, this could be a different matter, these sort of cats go into hiding and they maybe just next door but will be terrified and will not come to your call.
Does your cat visit neighbours in your area? some cats do have a second home where they visit, so try to be aware of what your cat does when he goes out.
You will need to check around your home as cats are great at finding new places to sleep and are often found indoors somewhere, sleeping in the bottom of someone wardrobe! So check all around your home and garden, check summer houses, sheds and garages.
Ask neighbours to check their gardens for any signs of your cat, ask them to check sheds and garages ( even better if they let you check) sometimes they look but do not see. Maybe the cat will hide away from the person that is searching . Speak to all the neighbours in your area and make sure they are aware that your cat is missing.
Social media like crazy, post your missing cats photo on all the local sites and keep this up as long as your cat is missing. People are great at helping out, the more you post the more they will remember your cat is missing.
Leaflet your local area, put leaflets in your neighbours doors with your telephone number and contact details on. Put up posters in your street and the streets surrounding yours. You can also put posters in your local shops and local businesses.
Speak to the post person, they often know all the cats in the area, so they are a good source of information. Speak to local delivery people who may see your cat in a different area.
Check with neighbours if they had deliveries on the day your cat went missing, is it possible your cat got in a van. Always best to act on the quickly, then you can contact the company and find out when areas they dropped to that day, you can then put up posters in those areas
.
Check with all local vets to see if your cat has been handed in to them, another reason its so important to get your cat microchipped, also check with your microchipping company and make they aware that your cat is missing.
Search a wider area, start working out from your home into the next streets and continue working out, put up more posters in these areas. Most cats are found within a mile of there home, often they are just blown off of their own territory.
Continue to speak to everyone about your missing cat, when searching speak to everyone you meet, people are usually so good at helping you and will remember you if you approach them, you can also hand them a leaflet.
Call rescue centres to see if your cat has been handed in by a member of the public. Ask people to help you search for your cat or get professional searchers to help you Cat Searcher UK
. Never give up, sometimes it months before your cat turns up, so never stop looking!