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If your cat is missing for more than a few hours, talk to your neighbors and make fliers to put under door handles. Put your name, phone number, and a photo of your cat on the flier. Describe any distinguishing marks (such as, "triangular white spot on shoulder"), and write the coat color if you're distributing black-and-white flyers. Search for online templates for "Lost Cat posters" if you're not sure how to make one from scratch.  Include relevant information about specific dietary or medical conditions if life threatening. Ask neighbors to kindly check their sheds, garages and basements. Closest neighbors that the cat is reasonably familiar with are good places to check with first. Offering a reward can be good motivation and can get people out looking instead of "keeping an eye out." If you receive a report of a cat sighting that doesn't quite match your cat's description, visit the location anyway to make sure. Descriptions from strangers often don't match the description you would give the cat. Keep info on posters large, easy to read and simple. Include the relevant facts only. As well, ensure that the associated contact details are up-to-date, so a vet or animal agency can call you. Implanting a microchip is a very common procedure and only needs to be done once in a pet's life. Microchips are implanted by a veterinary professional under the skin over the shoulder blades of the cat. The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and carries a unique code that can be read by a scanner when the hand held scanning device is waved over the pet's body.  When the chip is implanted in the pet, the owner provides registration information to the microchip company that will be kept on file until the owner changes that information. The code will be linked to the owner's information through the microchip's database. When the scanner reveals the code, the microchip company can then be contacted with the code and the owner's information will be available. Most veterinarians and animal shelters will check for a microchip for no charge when a stray cat is brought in. It's best to post as many fliers as you can within a one mile radius of your home. Beyond that, there are several strategies for using your fliers effectively, and places that may be worth walking a longer distance to cover:  Give fliers to veterinary offices, in case someone takes your cat there to treat injuries or begin an adoption process. Post flyers near schools and playgrounds, at children's eye level. Children are often more observant than adults, especially at noticing animals. Dog runs, dog parks, pet supply stores, and pet grooming salons are all visited by pet-friendly people who are more likely to search actively. Post on community message boards at laundromats, churches, missing pet websites, schools, pet stores, libraries, and grocery stores, or any other businesses that allows it in your neighborhood. Many people who come across missing pets search for owners online. Think about posting a picture of your pet or searching for it on one of numerous pet recovery websites, local community sites, the local Craigslist lost pet section, and anywhere else you can think of. Include up to date contact information on all posts.  Lost pet tracking websites include Missing Pet, Pets911, and TabbyTracker. FindToto for US residents costs money to use, but will broadcast a "Pet Amber Alert" to neighbors in your area. Twitter and Facebook can be used to spread the word among your network of friends. Be sure to include a photo or two. If your neighborhood association has an email news digest or web site, post a Lost Cat notice. Remember to include the cat's name, description and temperament. Pay a local newspaper to place a lost cat ad, including a description and your phone number. The more local to the area the newspaper is, the better. If no local newspaper serves your area, ask about community newsletters at a community center, a police or sheriff's station, or a local government building. Record a new voice mail message to make sure callers leave all relevant information. For example, say "You've reached (name). If you're calling about my lost cat, (name), please leave a message with the date and place you last saw him, along with your name and phone number. Thank you." Usually if someone comes across a lost cat, they'll report it to the SPCA, Animal Control or your local equivalent. Call your local animal shelter and report your cat has gone missing along with all the relevant details (sex of the cat, color, and your contact information). Visit them every day or two until your cat is found, as sometimes shelters have many cats and have a difficult time matching your description to what they have. Some shelters keep a log of lost pet announcements so that they have records of your information should a similar animal come into their facility. It never hurts to make friends with the front staff at the shelter to make them personally aware of your situation and your pet's description. Home baked goods break a lot of ice anywhere you ask for help. Check in person every couple of days. If your cat has been taken to a crowded shelter or local pound, they may only be able to hold cats for a few days before euthanizing the cat. If the staff know you're actively looking, they can be a great ally. Ask them to call you if a cat fitting your cat's description turns up. Sometimes, police get calls about found animals, especially in areas without shelters. Officers who spend their day driving around might notice your cat. Do not call the emergency number for your police department! Call the non-emergency 311 number or just talk to your local patrolman instead. While your lost cat is an emergency to you, police need to prioritize incidents involving people. Check local newspapers and popular online sites daily under the "found" section. Many animal shelters have websites that show pictures of captured, stray animals, so check the website daily or more frequently. Search for "lost pets" + the name of your region to discover additional local websites. ” Pet detectives are available in most states trained in finding lost pets.
Distribute flyers in your neighborhood. Make sure that if your cat is microchipped. Place flyers in effective locations. Post a color picture online. Place a local newspaper notice. Change your voice mail message. Call the local animal welfare agency. Find out where your "Open intake" shelter is. Notify your local police department. Check "found" sections on Craigslist, newspapers and online classifieds. Hire a “Cat Detective or a "Lost Cat Finder" who specializes in lost cats.