What to do when your cat is missing

1 Search close, slowly and quietly

Cats rarely run in a straight line. A frightened cat tends to find the nearest dark, enclosed space and wait, silently, even when it hears its family calling.

• Start where your cat got out and search outward house by house: under decks and porches, inside bushes, under cars, behind air-conditioning units, in window wells and drains.
• Use a flashlight, even in daylight. A cat's eyes reflect light from deep inside a hiding spot.
• Ask neighbors for permission to search their yards yourself. Neighbors tend to look quickly; you will look properly.
• Search again at dusk and late at night, when it is quiet and your cat is more likely to move.

2 Ask neighbors to check enclosed spaces

• Ask everyone nearby to open and look inside sheds, garages, basements and parked vehicles. Cats get shut in by accident.
• Leave a flyer at each door with a photo and your number.
• Ask people to call you rather than try to catch your cat: a grab often ends with a scared cat bolting further.

3 Make the calls

• Call your microchip registry, confirm your phone number and ask them to mark your cat as missing. If you do not know the company, search the chip number in the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup (petmicrochiplookup.org).
• Call local animal control, every nearby shelter and vet clinics. Give the description, where your cat went missing and the chip number.
• If a local trap-neuter-return group works in your area, tell them too. Their trappers know the neighborhood's cats.

4 Visit shelters in person

Cats look alike in a kennel, and phone descriptions miss them. Holding periods for strays are set locally and can be short.

• Visit every nearby shelter and look at every cat yourself, including any held in medical or isolation areas.
• Go back every day or two, and leave a flyer at the desk.

5 Help your cat come back

• Leave something with a familiar smell, such as your cat's bedding, just outside the door they left by.
• Sit quietly outside in the evening and talk softly. A hiding cat may answer or come out when it is calm.
• If you see your cat but cannot reach them, ask a local shelter or trap-neuter-return group about borrowing a humane trap and how to use it safely.

What to avoid

• Only calling from the doorstep. A hiding cat often stays silent; you have to look.
• Searching once and moving on. Search the same close places again on different days and at different times.
• Paying anyone before you have your cat back.

Common questions

How far do lost indoor cats go?

Usually not far. An indoor cat that gets outside typically hides nearby, often within a few houses, and stays hidden. Search close to home thoroughly before you search far away.

Why doesn't my cat come when I call?

A frightened cat in a strange place often stays silent and still to stay safe, even when it hears a familiar voice. That is why searching with a flashlight matters more than calling.

Should I set a humane trap?

It can help when you know roughly where your cat is but cannot reach them. Ask a local shelter or trap-neuter-return group to lend one and show you how to use it, and check it often.

What if my cat is returned with a clipped ear?

A straight cut across the tip of one ear is the usual sign that a community cat was neutered by a trap-neuter-return program. If your cat comes home with one, the program believed it had no owner; your microchip details are the best protection against that.