How long would you keep searching for an owner?

Mayflower10cat

On Monday, husband and I found a cat in a local park, seemingly lost & confused. Distressed, but relieved that we'd stopped to stroke him, he literally followed us home. Ravenously hungry (5 pouches in one sitting) he stuffed himself and fell asleep! We set off to knock on doors around the village thinking in such a small community we'd find his home quickly and reunite him with his owners. No luck that night, but we did discover he'd also been seen early that morning in the same spot by a dog walker. He'd also been sighted the previous night in a back garden hiding by a shed close to where we found him. We printed up some posters with photos and displayed them, one is prominent in the local shop/post office. Next day I went round knocking on doors again with more pictures - I got excited when I got two leads - but both proved unsuccessful. I tried local farms, and kept on knocking on doors. I emailed pretty much all the locals who prepare the parish magazine and all my friends in the village including the local school mums, asking them to forward the email. I also logged his details on two national lost pet websites. Oh and I rang all the local vets and several cat charities with his description.

Now Friday, I'm running out of ideas of places to leaflet. I'm also feeling very depressed and upset that I haven't been able to find his owners who must surely be tearing their hair out by now. I keep telling myself that no-one could bear to dump such a lovely cat but I know there are some thoughtless people who in this economic climate surely would.

It's hard not to get too attached to him as we wait and see what will happen.

Has anyone had anything similar happen and what was the outcome????

brightonman123

not lost a pet, though may try posting somethingh on twitter (use #lost #found #cat. #pet hashtags etc), gumtree and the like.

failing that, contact local rspca / cat protection league?

picklepick

Have you taken him to the vets to check if he's microchipped?

spookylukey

Have you taken him to the vets to check for a chip? He may have wandered too far and got lost or jumped in a van miles away.

Like you say, there's also the sad possibility he's been dumped too

There's lots of hints & tips for cat finders here: http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,31636.0.html

Edit: Crossposted with picklepick!

brightonman123

picklepick wrote: »

Have you taken him to the vets to check if he's microchipped?

or local shop- 'price check on aisle one'..!:T

Mayflower10cat

brightonman123 wrote: »

or local shop- 'price check on aisle one'..!:T

actually, all the staff are cat lovers so they're trying really hard to spread the word.

And yes, we've had him scanned and he's not chipped.
I did ring & log his details with as many charities as possible. Sigh... Our vets share info on lost/found pets with other practices in the neighbouring towns so that was useful to know.

tanith

how about putting up a laminated poster near where you found him or at a prominent place in the village just with a pic and scant details with contact details.. its seems you have done as much as anyone could... what will happen to him? Will you consider keeping him yourselves?

picklepick

Sounds to me like you have yourselves a new kitty cat!

Mayflower10cat

-> Tanith & Picklepick, erm, you could be right!!!!!
We already have two 7yr old cats who've been together from quite a young age (one was dumped at the bottom of our land at our previous house.) We were both worried how they'd react to an adult cat appearing from nowhere. After three days of being able to 'see but not touch', I allowed them to eat together at a safe distance...... Went better than expected, some hard stares and a bit of hissing from Lou-Lou and a more considered appraisal from Ev, our boy cat. Last evening 'himself' was asleep on the table in the conservatory, Ev appeared and climbed onto a small butchers block nearby and amazingly went to sleep as well! Today, Ev & 'the lodger' actually had a bit of a sniffing session, with 'new lad' behaving impeccably. Ev, backed away slightly, gave what I can only describe as an experimental hiss, to which 'Newby' backed two steps away and sat down again. Ev, seemingly delighted by this acknowledgment of his status, came over to me tail up and all pleased with himself.
I hadn't dared give him a name, but I must admit if/when his real owner turns up I'll shed more than a few tears...