As cat lovers and cat owners, we understand that one of the biggest fears we may face is the disheartening experience of having our beloved indoor cat, escape outdoors.
The outside world can pose countless dangers for our feline friends, especially for those who are not accustomed to it.
It’s crucial that we, as responsible pet parents, equip ourselves with the appropriate knowledge and actions needed to react to such a situation.
Our goal is to help you stay proactive, calm, and focused on reuniting with your furry friend.
Immediate Steps – First Things First
First and foremost, don’t panic.
First, we should check our yard since cats that are usually indoors cats will sneak out and exhibit lost cat behavior, which is usually staying nearby, or hiding under decks, shrubbery, or other sheltered areas.
Calling For Your Cat
We can call out for our cat in a calm manner and familiar tone, as this may help them feel safer and more likely to come out.
When calling your cat’s name, listen for any sounds they may make in response. If possible, ask family members or neighbors to assist in the search efforts.
Helpful Strangers or Neighbors
Make sure they are familiar with your cat, so as not to scare them away.
A cautious cat may not respond to strangers.
Familiar Items To The Cat
While searching, bring along items with familiar scents such as their favorite, treat bag, bedding, or toy.
These items may help lure your cat back by providing a sense of comfort and familiarity.
Food And Water As Enticements
Another helpful tactic is to place food or water near the entry points of your home.
This may entice your cat to return, especially if they have wandered far and are hungry or thirsty.
Shaking a container of their favorite treat or their dry food bag, may also help lure them back inside.
You may have rituals in your home that the cat would respond to. At our place, using a teaspoon to bang on the side of a stainless steel food bowl would bring the cat running from wherever he was in the house.
Note Potential Hiding Places
As you search, pay particular attention to potential hiding places or spots, such as bushes, cars, and sheds where your cat may have sought shelter.
Cats do not always travel far when they go missing.
Remember, even a well trained cat may be frightened or disoriented when outside unexpectedly, so checking these areas is essential.
Contact Authorities
Don’t hesitate to contact local animal shelters, veterinarians, and pet rescue organizations to report your missing cat.
Provide a detailed description of your cat, including any distinctive physical features or markings they may have.
This way, if your cat is found by someone else, these organizations can assist in the reunion process.
Social Media
You can also post flyers and utilize social media to spread the word about your missing feline companion.
We have a FB group for local residents. It is not uncommon to see missing cats and dogs posted. The community really does care and people go out of their way to help. It’s almost like the old lost and found section of the newspaper except that it is more efficient because it is in real time.
It just means there are more eyes keeping an eye out, for your pet.
We were able to assist in finding a lost kitten and my son actually climbed into the roof space of a property to rescue the kitten. Great cheers of course and a very scared kitten. I have never forgotten that. Don’t just assume the worst, good things do happen.
Plus, quite often cats that go missing, even an inside cat does eventually return home.
Baby Monitor System
Next, let’s consider setting up a baby monitor or a home monitoring system on our porch or near an open window.
Leaving a bowl of our cat’s favorite food nearby can attract them back to the monitored area, allowing us to quickly identify if they’ve returned.
Creating a Solid Plan
Creating a solid plan for finding our lost indoor cat includes the following:
- Searching at night, dusk, or early morning when your cat (because they are crepuscular creatures) is more likely to be active
- Expanding your search radius beyond our immediate property
- Creating lost cat flyers with your cat’s picture and offering a reward. Distribute these door-to-door in the surrounding area
- Alerting local shelters, veterinarians, and rescue groups
- Using social media to spread the word about your missing cat
By following these steps and remaining persistent, we increase our chances of successfully finding your lost indoor cat and bringing them home safely.
What Are The Common Ways Indoor Cats Get Out
Here are some common ways indoor cats get out and how we can prevent these situations.
One of the most common ways cats escape is through open windows or open doors. To prevent this from happening, install window screens and close windows and doors when not in use.
Make sure there are no gaps or damaged screens that a cat might squeeze through.
An indoor only cat might slip out undetected during a guest’s visit.
Informing our guests about the indoor cat’s behavior and asking them to be vigilant when entering or leaving our home will help minimize this risk.
When moving house or having renovations done, indoor cats can become disoriented and unable to find a safe space to hide.
They may then attempt to escape their uncertain surroundings or loud noises of renovations.
In this case, confine your indoor cat to a separate room away from the moving or renovation activities.
This provides a secure and familiar environment for the cat’s personality, reducing the likelihood of escapes.
Preventing Future Escapes
Once you have experienced the stress of having an indoor cat escape, you will want to take the necessary steps to avoid this happening again in the future.
In this section, we will discuss ways to secure your home for indoor only cats by introducing training and deterrents to keep our feline friends safe and content indoors.
Securing Your Home
Checking all windows and doors for any gaps or cracks that a cat might sneak through.
Be sure to repair or replace damaged screens and reinforce any weak spots.
Consider installing window locks or safety latches, to prevent our cats from being able to push the windows open.
Training and Deterrents
Another effective approach to prevent future escapes is by using training and deterrents.
By investing time in training our cats, we can teach them to associate the indoors with positive experiences and help them feel less inclined to venture outside.
Clicker training, uses positive reinforcement to encourage desired feline behavior. It is possible to train your cat to respond to a recall command.
This makes it easier to keep them away from doors or windows when they get curious.
This isn’t for everyone however results are positive if you are prepared to follow through with all of the instructions.
We can also reinforce the cats desire to stay indoors by providing plenty of enrichment activities, such as interactive toys, cat trees, and window perches with bird feeders nearby for their watching pleasure. There’s detailed information here about providing a environment that keeps your indoor cat stimulated.
When it comes to deterrents, using motion-activated devices like SSSCat can be effective in keeping your cat away from off limits areas, such as doors or windows.
The device emits a harmless spray of air when it detects motion, startling the cat and teaching them to avoid the area.
Other repellents, like citrus scented sprays, can also keep cats from getting too curious near restricted zones.
Another method to prevent them from escaping is by placing unpleasant materials, like aluminum foil or double sided tape, in crawl spaces near doors and windows.
Most cats don’t like the feeling of walking on these surfaces, so they will tend to stay away from those areas.
Preparing for Cat Emergencies
To give us all peace of mind, being prepared for a cat going AWOL will increase the chances of a successful and safe return.
In this section, we will discuss microchips and ID tags. We will also create a lost cat kit.
Microchips and ID Tag
Microchipping involves implanting a small chip beneath the skin. The chip contains a unique identification number.
This number can be scanned by a vet or animal shelter, helping them reunite us with our cat quickly if they are found.
ID tags are attached to our cat’s collar and contain our contact information, such as our name, address, and phone number.
This makes it easier for someone who finds our cat to return them to us. Keep the information on the tag updated and accurate.
We have two tags for a doggy relative. One for when he is at his own home and one when he is staying with us. It just takes a few seconds to change from one to the other.
Creating a Lost Cat Kit
Having a kit ready in case of emergency can save precious time when searching for our feline friend. A simple kit should include the following:
A recent photo of your cat to help with identification
Contact information for local animal shelters, veterinarians, and pet rescue organizations
A list of friends, family members, and neighbors who can help with the search
Flashlights for searching in low light conditions
Treats or our cat’s favorite food to help lure them in
Also do the extra things, such as setting out food, water, and a litter box near your home. Try placing a box lined with soft blankets and clothes, that smell like family members. This creates a familiar and comforting scent that may attract your cat if he is nearby.
