First, search the house properly
This sounds insulting and it is the correct first step, because a large share of missing cats were never outside. Cats compress into spaces that look impossible and then stay silent, particularly if something frightened them.
Search with the assumption that the cat does not want to be found: inside the sofa base, not just under it. Behind and underneath drawer units. Inside wardrobes and any cupboard someone opened today. Behind the washing machine and the boiler. In the loft, if anyone has been up. Inside a suitcase. Under a bed, right against the wall.
Indoor and outdoor cats behave completely differently
This is the thing most advice gets wrong by treating all missing cats the same. The two cases call for opposite strategies.
- An indoor cat that got out
- Is terrified and has not gone far. It is almost certainly within a few houses, hiding, silent, and will not come when called even by you. It typically stays put and immobile for the first day or two, then starts moving at night. Search intensively, very close, at night, quietly.
- An outdoor cat that hasn't come home
- Knows the area and is either shut in somewhere, injured, or has been taken in by someone who thinks it is a stray. Search wider, and focus on talking to people and checking enclosed spaces rather than on hiding places.
The first few hours
- 1Search the house as above, twice, including places you are certain are impossible.
- 2Go outside at dusk or after dark, when it is quiet. Take a flashlight and sweep it low — you are looking for eye-shine under cars, in hedges, and beneath sheds and decking.
- 3Call gently and then stay silent and listen for a long moment. A frightened cat may not come, but it may make one small sound. Shouting is counterproductive.
- 4Knock on the immediate neighbors' doors and ask them to check every outbuilding, and to leave garage doors open overnight.
- 5Put the cat's litter tray, unwashed bedding, and something of yours outside the door. The scent trail is genuinely useful for a disoriented cat.
- 6Post in the local neighborhood group with a clear, recent, well-lit photo and your phone number.
Do not drive around. A car covers ground a hiding cat is not on, and it takes you away from the small area that actually matters.
The calls to make
Do these on day one, not day three. All of them are the sort of thing people put off and then regret.
- Your microchip database. Flag the cat as missing. Confirm your phone number on the record is current — this is the moment that matters, and it is the most common point of failure.
- Every vet practice within a few miles. Found cats get taken to vets to be scanned. Ask them to note your details.
- Local shelters and rescues, and check their found listings daily rather than relying on being called.
- The council or animal control, who handle cats found injured or killed on roads. It is a horrible call to make and it is better than not knowing.
- Local social media, including the groups you are not in. Ask a neighbor to cross-post.
Searching that actually works
Night searching beats day searching, decisively. It is quieter, there are fewer people and dogs, and a hiding cat is more likely to move at night. Take a flashlight and sweep it at ground level — the reflection from a cat's eyes is visible from a surprising distance and is often how the cat is found.
Search the same ground repeatedly rather than expanding outwards. A cat that was not there at 10pm may be there at 2am, and the odds are heavily weighted towards a small radius. If you have not found the cat after several nights, then widen.
Posters still work, and the format matters: one very large photograph, the word LOST in large letters, a phone number, and almost nothing else. People read a poster at walking pace from several meters away. Put them on lamp posts at junctions, and in the vet, the corner shop, and the school gate.
If it goes past a few days
Do not give up early. Cats are found after weeks and occasionally after months, frequently within a few streets of home the entire time. The two things that most often produce a result late are a wildlife camera and a humane trap.
A cheap trail camera pointed at a bowl of strong-smelling food will tell you within a night or two whether your cat is visiting. If it is, a humane trap borrowed from a local rescue is the reliable way to recover a cat that has gone feral-shy — and a frightened cat that will not come to you will very often walk into a trap for food.
The things that prevent this
- A registered microchip with a current phone number. Implanting alone achieves nothing; the record is the whole point.
- A recent, clear, well-lit photo on your phone right now. The photos people have are usually of a cat asleep in a ball.
- Secure window screens, particularly in apartments. See indoor or outdoor.
- Extra care on moving day — the single highest-risk day there is. Moving house with a cat covers it.
- Knowing your neighbors well enough to ask them to open a shed at 11pm.