Losing a furry member of your family is devastating and stressful, which is why we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to find a missing dog or cat.
The feeling when you realise your fur baby is missing is a type of stress we can’t even describe. Even when someone you know has a pet that’s missing, you still feel the anxiety they must be feeling. In all the panic when your pet is gone, you may feel like you just have no idea what to do.
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We’ve identified some simple and clever ways to find your missing fur baby.
How to Find a Missing Dog or Cat
Act quickly
Many times when we don’t see our pet for a little while, particularly cats, we think “Ah, I’m sure they’ll be home soon.” The thing is, the longer you wait to take action, the further your pet can get or if they’re hurt, the worse it can get.
Dogs and cats generally are close to home when they begin to wonder so the quicker you react, the higher your chances are of finding your pet with less hassle and stress.
Search your neighbourhood
Head on out and search your neighbourhood. You can call your pet’s name and bring them some treats so they know you’re searching for them.
Make sure you check in the places they could hide in too, and don’t only search once or twice. Search the area multiple times a day and even knock on your neighbours’ doors and ask them if they’ve seen your pet.
Related: Why Do Cats Hide from Their Owners? Plus 6 Common Hiding Places
Use social media
Social media has become the fastest way to share news of a missing pet. Post pictures of your fur kid and a description of their personality and where you’re situated.
Ask your friends to share this post to get more reach. Make sure to share the post of your local neighbourhood Facebook groups too in case people in your area see your pet.
You can also contact animal shelters with a social media presence and see if they can share your post too.
Contact and visit local pet shelters
Make sure you phone your local pet shelters and give them a detailed description of your pet to see if anyone has brought your fur baby in. You can also visit these shelters so you can see for yourself whether or not your pet is there.
Contact local vets
Just like the local pet shelters, make sure you call the vets in your area. Most of the time when people find a pet roaming the streets, they’ll take them to the vet to see if they’re chipped.
If they aren’t microchipped the vet will often keep the pet for a certain period of time before contacting an animal shelter.
Leave some food and something familiar outside
Leave a bowl of their favourite food and something with yours or their scent outside your house. This is a way to lure them home if they’ve just wandered out and can’t remember how to get back.
Preventative measures
There are a couple of things you can do to ensure that, if your fur baby gets out and they’re found by a fellow human, they have some way of identifying you:
Microchip
Microchips are the size of a grain of rice and can be implanted under your pet’s skin, usually between their shoulder blades. They transmit an identification code and your phone number via radio frequency waves.
If someone picks up your pet, they can take them to the vet to get the chip scanned and you’ll be quickly notified of where your pet is.
Read this: 5 Tips for Bringing a New Cat Home
Collar with a tag
If you aren’t too keen on the microchip idea (it’s our favourite identification option, to be honest), you can use old-school identification tags on your pet’s collar.
Make sure your pet’s name and your number are on the identification tag so someone who has found your pet can contact you easily. You’ll have to make sure your pet wears its collar all the time and is comfortable in it.
If you’re looking for a good place to buy a collar for your pet, the Onepet Store has a great selection of high-quality collars (and if you’re a member of Oneplan Pet Insurance, you’ll get up to 25% discount storewide!)
We hope this helps give you some ideas on how to find a missing dog or cat, should they ever go missing. More often than not, your pet will be found somewhere in your neighbourhood but there are rare occasions when your pet wonders a little further than that and that’s when the power of social media will come in handy.
We hope you’ll never have to use these tips and that your pets are always safe and cosy in your home!
