The first thing to do is make sure the cat isn’t somewhere in your house or garden. Cats are very good at hiding, getting into small spaces, and finding warm spots. Check under beds, duvets, throws, in/behind/on top of cupboards, in drawers, washing baskets, the washing machine, and the tumble dryer. Check cellars, attics, rooms rarely used, and any new construction work. 

If your cat is neutered, the chances are they haven’t gone far and may be very close by, possibly in nearby back gardens, a shed, or garage.

It can be very scary when a cat goes missing or escapes from an indoor-only home. We are thankful for Babs Poulden, who recently gave us some advice that was so good we wanted to share.

A study of 1200 missing cats that were lost and then found showed that: 

• The majority of cats (75%) were found within 500 metres (1/3 of a mile) of their home (or escape point). Indoor-only cats were closest to home, often up to 10 houses distance. 

• The majority (83%) were found outside in a GARDEN near home (or to their escape point) under shrubs or decking. 

• The majority of cats that were found were found within 8 weeks. Half of those found were within 7 days. 

• Some bolder cats work their way home when their adrenaline has subsided (sometimes after a few days). Many cats will stay in hiding for very many days – often 10-12 days. They need our help to be reunited, especially if they have bolted beyond their personal territory; they will be disorientated and unable to find their way back.

Use Google Maps to identify all of the potential hiding places and green areas/gardens.

Cats don’t wander far normally, when they need to go searching for food, so put strong smelling food (pilchards, sardines, roast chicken without any bones) and water out for your cat at the same time morning and evening close to where they went missing or where there have been any recent sightings. Keep doing this even if you think other cats or foxes might be eating the food. Your cat will be hungry and will learn to get there first.

The video advice from Sonya is very good, as she says that some drops of your urine from a bottle will also 'scent' your area. Look at the satellite view on Google Maps of where your cat could walk. See where there is a gap between buildings. Start a trail of urine in a water bottle from where gardens or courtyards border onto alleyways from the side of buildings, and then sprinkle along the inside edge of the pavement where a cat would spray all the way home. You won’t need to use a lot. But your cat WILL FOLLOW IT HOME. Choose different directions, each time walking home with an empty bottle, calling louder when you start your return journey and quieter as you near home to make scent and sound the leading influence on your hiding cat. As you are walking back home, try not to sound anxious as you call, and wait for a reply, as s/he won’t just run out to meet you if s/he feels afraid. Take a toy on some string to lure him/her out from the hedges. Never call as you walk AWAY from home.

Join ALL of these websites, if not the cat is not back soon: 

AnimalSearchUK.co.uk, PetsLocated.com, www.petsreunited.com, NationalPetRegister.org, CatLost.com, and go on NEXTDOOR.co.uk. Local Facebook groups should be joined, too.

Contact local vets, animal rescues/shelters, and contact the chip company to alert them, and maybe update contact details. Notify the council cleansing department, JUST in case.

Blitz your local area with posters, including vet practices, pet shops, and animal charity shops, as well as outside schools, post offices, libraries, community centres, churches, on supermarket notice boards, outside cinemas, in windows of public houses, anywhere that people are likely to gather. Put posters up at bus stops and outside tube and train stations. Make a poster with their photo, location lost, your contact details, put the poster at eye level around your area, and give it to neighbours. When putting posters up, keep track of how many posters you display, and WHERE, and so as soon as you are reunited, then everyone is removed. Don’t stick posters up with JUST one or two inch pieces of sellotape top and bottom, as they will be fluttering in the breeze - and so so easy to remove by the council or kids. Go round a few times, and use a plastic sleeve with an open end downwards to keep the paper dry. After finding your cat, remove all posters, tape, and staples, as this can cause local hostility to such advertising. Please note it is not a good idea to advertise a reward as this can attract hoax and distressing phone calls from people pretending to have found your cat.

Check with neighbours and the Postie. Ask them to search in their gardens, sheds, and under the decking. Put leaflets (including a photo or a clear description of your cat and a contact number) through the doors of all the houses and flats around your block or estate. Start locally and keep extending further out to adjoining and parallel streets, keeping a record of the area covered on a map (especially if you are working with a team of helpers).

Cats don’t wander far normally, when they need to go searching for food, so leave biscuits and water nearby your home. If you can, food should be left in a trap. You can also put familiar smells outside, bedding, used litter tray, contents of the hoover, etc. Cats sometimes pal up with other cats to find food and maybe even for feline companionship, so it’s always an idea to have a good look at where cats congregate together or where stray or feral cats are being fed.

If there are any empty houses in the vicinity, check to see if they have a cat flap or an open window.

Always be walking BACK TOWARDS HOME, talking HAPPILY AND CALMLY, rather than repeating the name, as cats get nervous if you just do this, and wait for a meow in response to your happy voice. Call softly late at night or early morning when quiet. It is IMPORTANT to wait for a response; they may be close by, hiding under a hedge or somewhere that is sheltered. Choose different directions, each time walking home, calling louder when you start your return journey, and quieter as you near home to make scent and sound the leading influence on your hiding cat. Never call as you walk AWAY from home.

SOUND TRAVELS MUCH LONGER DISTANCES at night, and your cat is much more likely to hear you calling it. CATS FEEL SAFER IN THE DARK from predators and are more likely to leave their hiding place when called. Call in your garden frequently overnight. Shaking a treat bag GENTLY is a signal to cats (if it’s something they have heard at home), and the sound will travel much further late at night.

Keep an eye out for FOUND posters, as people who find cats often advertise this way.

BE PATIENT; WAIT; REPEAT: Hiding away and not responding has nothing to do with whether your cat loves you, whether it recognises your voice – it has everything to do with the fact that a frightened cat will hide in silence! It is following its instinct and is in survival mode. Even if you are nearby, the cat won’t just come out. Search hiding places.

General advice in catching a fearful cat - NOT to approach when bending forwards with arms and hands outstretched. NOT staring directly at a fearful cat, showing teeth when smiling, and constantly repeating the name. Not walking directly towards a cat.

Best way - sit/lie down, with scattered worn clothes in front/all around. Food left nearby - preferably in a trap. Talking quietly, no noise nearby, keeping dogs or children, or spectators at a real distance to avoid distractions.

Cats go into feral mode if they are frightened by noise or something. So even if you are standing next to your cat, s/he will not make a sound or move, so you need to look underneath stationary cars or anything where s/he will hide for days. Sit down. Or even lie down. Let him/her come to you. Take time to relax. Close your eyes slowly. Don’t talk when s/he is with you. Meditate. Don’t move towards him/her. Don’t smile, showing teeth. Don’t look/stare for any time, instead turn your face to one side, head tilted to one side. Then, when his/her trust and CONFIDENCE have returned, s/he will follow you if you have food, toy, catnip, and think like a cat, not a human mother. Whatever you do, do not bend forwards with arms outstretched in front of you. Reaching out is the body language of a predator, and it will be seen as a sign of aggression because your cat is thinking like a wild animal due to fear. When your cat’s trust comes back, s/he will automatically be your normal cat again. But until s/he feels safe, you must not go after him/her. Your cat needs your unwashed clothes around you, to lie on your clothes, to relax with your familiar scent.

When cats first go missing, they often hide for a couple of weeks before they start appearing. The important thing is not to give up hope. Keep putting up posters and extend the area you leaflet, and make sure to keep putting out food and water. Cats are resilient animals and have been found months, even years, after they first went missing.