Has your treasured feline joined the ranks of missing and lost pets in Phoenix, Arizona? Acting quickly is imperative and you are ready with your search plan – whom to contact, flyers ready to post, registering on lost pet notification websites, like PetAmberAlert.com can all help in the safe recovery of your missing cat. It might be helpful to also follow your cat’s escape route, review lost cat behavior, and learn the Probabilities Categories of recovering your lost cat.
Missing and lost cats in Phoenix need their people to start searching for them – right away! Enlist the services of PetAmberAlert and send out an Alert to get your entire neighborhood looking. Then the best place to start is by reviewing the habits and environment of your missing cat. An experienced pet finding specialist recommended taking these important steps when searching for your indoor (or indoor/outdoor) cat:
Ask, “Where is the cat hiding?” when you are searching for your escaped indoor cat:
- First, ask neighbors for permission to enter their yards to search for your cat.
- Assess the escape point: did your cat escape through a door or a hole in a window or door screen? This will be the starting point of your search.
- Think Cat: your indoor cat is probably frightened to find itself at large outside. Unless something happens to startle it into flight, it will follow a path along the side of the house.
- Search for potential hiding places close to the house: look up, down, left, and right of the escape point for the first structure that might be a hiding place. It could be a deck, storage area, an open garage, access to open area under the house.
- Place a humane trap in the area near the point of escape. You can also set out a plate of food and position a wildlife camera to film any potential sightings if your cat is making covert searches for food in the vicinity.
- Cats frequently come out of hiding after dark when the area is more quiet. Search during both day and night hours.
“What happened to the cat?” is the primary question if yours is an indoor/outdoor cat. According to the specialist, there are eight probabilities (Probability Categories) of what happens to missing and lost cats in Phoenix (or any area):
- It is trapped
- Rescued
- Stolen
- Injured, sick, deceased
- Death by predator
- Displaced in an unfamiliar area (by panic or danger)
- Intentional transport out of area
- Unintentional transport
If there is good news for missing and lost cats in Phoenix, it is this: 1) a well, sick, or injured cat may likely be within a 5-house radius of home – cats tend to remain within their territory; 2) the chased or startled cat generally remains within a few houses to a few blocks of home.
Among the more valuable steps you can take in facilitating your cat’s safe return is to have it microchipped and register the chip with the issuing organization. Registering with a service like PetAmberAlert.com is another way of circulating lost pet news in a timely fashion. PetAmberAlert..com acts like a telephone tree that broadcasts a lost pet alert to area residents that your cat is missing.
If your cat has returned home after being out in hot weather, be sure to check it for signs of dehydration. Offer it small amounts of water at a time, gently cool it (apply a small amount of rubbing alcohol to the fur between its shoulders) to help your cat’s core temperature return to normal, and monitor it for 24 hours to be sure there are no additional side effects of prolonged exposure to heat. If you have any concerns about its post-rambling condition or behavior, contact your veterinarian at once.
To recap: Think like your cat and follow its probable post-escape route. Look up, down, left, and right – from the point of escape to identify possible hiding zones. Remember the Eight Probabilities. May you find your treasured feline companion safe and sound – and soon!