Lucy Lautner-Davis

Cat sitting

Dental

Banfield in Mountain View on Charleston in PetSmart. https://www.banfield.com/en/locations/veterinarians/ca/mountain-view/mvu

Kitty furniture

http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/01/09/amazing-german-designed-cat-climbing-furniture/

Rescue and Help

Rescue cat site: http://www.ibokrescue.org

https://www.fatcatrescue.org/gethelp.php

Finding your lost cat: https://www.fatcatrescue.org/index.php

Here's part of the helpful information about finding a lost cat from Mountain View's Fat Cat Rescue https://www.fatcatrescue.org/index.php You can see all of their helpful info by going Fat Cat Rescue's website and then clicking GET HELP.

Hopefully your cat will get home before you need to use all this info!

If your cat is permitted outdoors, please have him microchipped. Microchipping is an inexpensive way to ensure that he'll be reunited if he's found. In general, cats that are wearing a form of identification, such as a collar or a collar and tag, are held a bit longer for owners to come forward.

Here are some steps you should take as soon as possible:

Remember that people will not be able to tell if a cat they see is allowed to wander or if it is your lost cat.

So, ASAP put up flyers with your cat's picture and a use font large enough to be read from a passing car. Go here https://www.fatcatrescue.org/docs/forms/lostandfound.php?lost=yes to use Fat Cat Rescue's free form to make the flyer, or just create your own.

Adding a reward to your flyer will help get results!

Print the flyers on bright colored, eye-catching paper. Hand-deliver flyers to your neighbors, and enlist their help. Put flyers in mailboxes or at front doors.

Be sure to attach the flyer at all 4 corners of the page, if you only attach it in the middle of the top & bottom the flyer will curl towards the middle and people driving past will not be able to read it.

If it is likely to rain, put the flyers inside sheet protectors that you can get at any office supply store. Be sure that the opening in the sheet protector is at the bottom so water doesn't get to the flyer.

Post flyers at local vet clinics. Someone could have picked up your cat and taken to a vet.

Starting close to home, then distribute the flyers in an ever-widening radius. Post the flyers where people will see them from their cars when stopped, or while out walking.

If your neighbors have indoor cats, your cat may be drawn to their house. It is possible someone nearby has been feeding your cat and is unaware that he is lost.

Talk to your neighbors, and especially children! Children are often outdoors and ride their bikes around, and thus know what's going on in the neighborhood. They are often the first ones to notice a stray.

Don't panic. Cats are territorial, and generally do not wander far from their home. If they are outdoors for the first time or outside their territory, they'll be scared by their new surroundings and will hunker down until they feel it's safe to move about. Cats generally will NOT move around during the day, but will search for food and move about at night, when it is cool, and they won't wander far if food and water are close by.

Go out at their dinner time and rattle their dry food or bang on the can with a fork, calling their name. If this doesn't work try it again late at night, when the neighborhood is quiet and if you cat might be less afraid.

WALK your neighborhood late at night when it is quiet and call for him. While walking, tap the edge of a can of cat food with a fork or rattle a bag of dry food. Lost pets often hide during the day.

Anchor your cat to your home by putting canned food and fresh water and your cat's USED kitty litter box outside your back door (away from the street!). Put your unwashed clothes outside the door for the cat to sense the smell. If possible, leave food in your adjoining neighbors' yards also. If ants are a problem, put the bowl of food in a larger bowl filled with water. Also put out a towel or blanket with your cat's scent on it and leave a light on at night.

Check hiding spots in your house. Cats occasionally get shut into places that are open temporarily, so check your garage, shed, storage area, and crawl space. Ask your neighbors to do the same.

Slowly DRIVE around your neighborhood late at night — cats often recognize the sound of a car. Important: When calling for your cat, wait for a lull in any traffic so that your cat is not tempted to run to you and into the path of traffic!

If someone contacts you and says they've seen your cat, ask if you can put canned and dry food in THEIR backyard to anchor him to that location. Then hang out and call his name — he won't wander if he has food and feels safe.

Mail “Lost Cat” postcards –http://lostpetcards.com/ will mail a postcard to your neighbors with information about your lost pet, getting the word out to as many people as soon as possible.

Post your missing pet on PawBoost.com.

File a missing cat report with your local, public animal shelter. It's best to go there in person (take a flyer with you and ask them to post it). Shelters also maintain lists of cats that have been found, and those that have been picked up injured or dead. To locate your local public animal shelter:
If you live in Santa Clara County, begin at www.wecareproject.org, which provides the contact information for the six county shelters. Otherwise use the following:
Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills: Palo Alto Animal Services
Sunnyvale only: Humane Society Silicon Valley
Santa Clara, Campbell, Monte Sereno and Mountain View: Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority

Post ads in:

  • Craig's List (under Pets in the Community section and Discussion Forum)
  • Local newspapers, such as the San Jose Mercury News, Palo Alto Daily News(free!), Palo Alto Weekly

BE PERSISTENT!
Someone recently emailed us about their lost cat. They followed the above steps and found their cat 4 WEEKS later — a neighbor down the street had been feeding their cat, and didn't know he was lost.
Another family had lost their cat, and found it by walking the neighborhood at night while calling their kitty's name.
So please continue leaving food out, posting flyers, and canvassing your neighborhood. Persistence is key—hang in there!

Marley is right, here is what a woman on Nextdoor who found her missing cat said worked:

What worked was going out every evening at dusk and calling for her. Three days ago I thought I saw her but she ran, she can be skittish. I kept going out and calling and this time she recognized me and cautiously approached.

She had been hanging out next to a house that appears to be abandoned and overgrown. She definitely lost weight.
3 days agoLike
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3
Somy Ahmad
Somy Ahmad • Midtown

When our indoor cat got out, we rattled the snack container for her and placed cat food near our garage door. She was next door in neighbor’s patio and came once she knew there was food. We were also told indoor cats are never far away from their own home.
3 days ago

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