Cat run away - advice?

oceanclub

While holidaying we left our cat with a friend, but he managed to slip out of the house (near Lansdowne Road in D4) on the 20th while oil was being delivered. Our friends has put up posters locally and contacted the DSPCA. He has a collar with his name and my phone number on it. Does anyone have any other advice about what do to in this situation?

Cheers,

P.

Feargal as Luimneach

Get some humane cat traps and put them around the area. Hopefully with the cold he will be very hungry and you can catch him.

dvet

Try putting the word out to a few local vets maybe, it's possible someone might have already even handed him into a vet. Even if you've rang before, might be no harm giving a call back in case he got handed in afterwards?

Theres also some websites, www.lostandfoundpets.ie and lostandfound.ie that could be worth a try.

The Sweeper

I wouldn't put out a cat trap unless you're checking it every hour on the hour, or you may return to a cat who's frozen to death in the trap.

First, where do you live in relation to your friend? Is your cat normally allowed outdoors?

If you live within a 2-3km radius of your friend's house, the cat may be trying to find its way home. Acat who's allowed outdoors can have a territory that ranges up to 5km around its home.

If not then chances are it's actually relatively close to the house it escaped from, holed up and hiding somewhere.

You need to do a letterbox leaflet drop of everyone on the same street, everyone across the road, houses you back onto, and generally anywhere that's line of sight from where the cat went missing - posters are all well and good but there will be people who aren't leaving their houses in this weather so you have to go to them.

Put a picture of the cat on the leaflet, your phone number, the time and day it escaped, and beg people to check their sheds and garden cubbies for your cat too, and include a request that people call you if they saw the cat even if they havne't seen it since.

Call all of the local vets, and call the council and report the cat missing.

Find out from the council who the local pounds and shelters are, and call all of them with a description and details.

Walk around yourself with a torch and food and try and find the cat. The torch will show up reflected eyes if the cat has tucked itself way in under something for shelter. (Bring a cat box if you're doing this - if you catch it and it panics and it's just you holding it and it takes off, you won't be happy - straight into the cat box if you catch it.)

You should look in small spaces, sheds, coal bunkers, under hedgerows, under cars, dark, quiet corners, so on, so forth.

Since it's D4 that's also prime territory for you to hire a pet detective to help find your cat, so there's always that option.

oceanclub

Thanks, all. Unfortunately we're not in Dublin else could be doing more. I've done up a poster - if anyone is in that area of D4, would really appreciate if you can print a copy for the local shop:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1785587/puddy.docx

I tried to get emails for Charlemont Vet Clinic and Sandymount Pet Hospital but unfrtounately neither have one, had hoped they could print and display this too. The pet detective idea sounds worth a shot, if indeed there is any such person in D4, let me know.

P.

Cherry Blossom

It may be an idea to save that as an earlier version Microsoft Word as lot of people wont be able to access it as it is

The Sweeper

oceanclub wrote: »

Thanks, all. Unfortunately we're not in Dublin else could be doing more. I've done up a poster - if anyone is in that area of D4, would really appreciate if you can print a copy for the local shop:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1785587/puddy.docx

I tried to get emails for Charlemont Vet Clinic and Sandymount Pet Hospital but unfrtounately neither have one, had hoped they could print and display this too. The pet detective idea sounds worth a shot, if indeed there is any such person in D4, let me know.

P.

Would the friend who lost the cat not leaflet the letterboxes for you?

www.happytailsdetective.com

amdublin

My friends cat was gone for two months over summer.
Strolled back in one day fatter than ever.

Don't worry, it'll be back. And in the meantime it is getting fed somewhere else.

Someone will ring your number soon.

theghost

Get your friends to ask people in the area to check their garden sheds or garages. The cat could be accidentally shut into one.

amdublin

To give you hope:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055987583&highlight=Missing

oceanclub

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

It may be an idea to save that as an earlier version Microsoft Word as lot of people wont be able to access it as it is

Good point, here's another one:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1785587/puddy.doc

Regards,

P.