First of all, you should know that a cat tends to stay close to his place of residence.
Leave your cat a bowl of water, food, cover and litter outside your home. Thanks to the wind, these smells will spread around the area and may encourage your cat to come home.
If you have the option, leave an open door for your pet to return during your absence.
When you go looking for your cat, several provisions are necessary:
- Privilege searches in the evening or during the night. In addition to avoiding the noise that would complicate your research, you will have more chances to find your pet because it is mainly active at night. Indeed, cats hunt at night and darkness gives them a sense of security.
- Call it calmly and at regular intervals. It's useless to add extra stress on it. Repeat this each evening preferably.
- Always have a flashlight with you. The light from your torch can reflect in your cat's eyes and make it easier to spot.
- Cats enjoy familiar and repetitive noises. Try to reproduce reassuring noises for him: shake a bag of croquettes, use the sound of his toys (eg bells), etc. It may encourage him to come back to you. You can also reproduce the sound of his bowl, for example.
If you have recently moved, try to find your cat around your old home.
Make the list of probable hiding places and check them:
- Nature: piles of woods, bushes, piles of hay, undergrowth, etc.
- Heights: walls, roofs, trees, etc.
- Human constructions: abandoned farms, barns, etc.
- Heat zones: car engine, electrical appliance, ducts, etc.
- In the forest, pay particular attention to the water points
Organize a search! To do this, ask for help from your friends and family. Divide the area of your protégé's disappearance and divide it between yourselves. You will be able to quickly search a very large part of the search area.
Inform the police, surrounding veterinarians, shelters and the local SPA to find out if it has been dropped off.