HELPFUL HINTS IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR CAT

If your Cat or Kitten has gone missing, don't despair. Most return of their own accord, sometimes several days later. In a recent case, William was missing for over a week when he cooly returned to his owners none the worse for wear. However, there are some things you can do to try and help:-

Firstly, enquire with neighbours who live to the front, sides and rear of your property asking them to look in their garages, sheds and other outbuildings. Better still, create some leaflets to drop in letterboxes and make sure the leaflet contains your telephone number, a description (and photo if possible) of the cat, and when & where it was lost.

Secondly, try to create some "missing cat" posters to stick on local trees or telegraph poles describing your cat or, better still, reproducing a photo if you have one. It is quite easy to do this these days if you have access to a home computer and a good printer. Try and place posters in your local Post Office, Newsagent and convenience store.

Click this poster (left) to view & print a ready-made "missing cat" poster which you can adapt. Note: Adobe Reader required to view & print this image. Click on the icon below to download a free copy of Adobe Reader.



After the page opens, you can print it as many times as you need and affix a photo etc. We recommend you laminate the posters if at all possible.

Consider offering a reward and state this on your poster. If you do this, say it is a "large reward" - the word is relevant and what is small to you may be large to another person or a child. Remember not to state the amount you are offering on the poster.

Then contact local vets (see Yellow Pages) to see if anyone has taken your Cat in, perhaps following a traffic accident. Don't forget that a caring person may take a Cat to THEIR vet so enquire in a wider circle than just your own neighbourhood. Also, ask the vets if they will display one of your leaflets or posters in their waiting room.

Contact your local Council to see if they have picked up a Cat from the roadside - it really is better to know than to know nothing! Councils are obliged to keep records of Cats collected and to retain identity information.

Now report your Cat missing to Cats Protection. If you live in our Branch area, CLICK HERE to see our phone and email details. Your details will be added to our lost Cats Database so we can match it up with the right owner should someone else report its location.

You should also consider reporting it missing to some, or all, of the following organisations:-

Thames Valley Animal Welfare: 0118 961 3914

Wokingham Animal Rescue (Mrs Brimblecombe): 0118 934 1122

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (Old Windsor): 01784 432929

R.S.P.C.A.: Contact your regional office of the RSPCA on 08705 555 999 to provide details for their lost and found register. If someone finds your cat and contacts the regional office it will have the relevant information needed to try and reunite you.

Missing Pets Bureau: 08701 999 000
The Missing Pets Bureau operates a national Missing Pets Register and works closely with 10,000 pet care organisations. This includes major Charities, Rescue Centres, Dog Wardens, the Police and Vets.

The P.D.S.A.: 0800 917 2509

The Reading Evening Post Friday Petfinder Section: 0118 918 3000

Thames Valley Police: 08458 505 505

Your milkman and postman may also be able to look out for your pet on their rounds.

You could even contact local radio stations to make an announcement about your search.

Good luck with your search and please let everyone know (including us) if your cat turns up again! If you are re-united with your pet, please consider having him/her microchipped.

HELPFUL HINTS IF YOU HAVE FOUND A CAT

If you have found a Cat, you should consider carrying out some, or all, of the following:-

If the cat is hungry, please feed it.

If possible, take the cat to a vet who will check it for a microchip. The surgery should not charge for this service as usually the nurse performs the task.

If no microchip is found and you found the cat in your area, produce some small "cat found" leaflets and put them through letterboxes in your neighbourhood.

Contact your local vet or vets to see if anyone has reported a cat missing. You could also ask them to place one of your leaflets in their waiting room.

Contact the Reading Evening Post Pet Finder section (see above) to advertise the find.

Contact your local Branch of Cats Protection who can check their lost cats register.

Contact the RSPCA, PDSA etc. (see above for contact numbers).

It is important that the procedures above be carried out BEFORE Cats Protection takes the cat in for re-homing as these are usually very successful in re-uniting the cat with its owner. Once Cats Protection takes in the cat, we must keep it for 10 days - 2 weeks before we can re-home it.