WHAT TO DO IF YOU LOSE OR FIND A PET (☆EXTRA NOTES FOR ISRAEL)
AVOID THE SITUATION COMPLETELY by properly identifying your pets with updated microchips and collars with tags that you never take off for any reason, ever. No one expects to lose a pet, but guess what? They lose them.
Call all regional shelters to report the missing pet, ask how best to send them a flyer, put the lost pet's info in a database if it exists, and GO VISIT regularly. You have to actually look in all the cages--phone calls are not enough. For dogs especially, checking even the most remote and unlikely shelters and found ads is important. Dogs can travel far, fast, and cats regularly get transported when they hide in cars/trucks and their engines. Cross-country cat hitch hikers are not unheard of. Also, lots of people will pick up animals and drive them a million miles to drop them at a local, favorite, or best shelter. Never, ever assume any animal is too far away to be yours.
My newest, most brilliant idea is to have the owners of the pet record themselves calling the cat and saying all the stuff they normal say to get them to come eat, etc. Then share the audio file on WhatsApp or by another method, and each person in the search party can use it on repeat to lure the target pet. I just found a lost cat using this method!!! It brought him out of hiding immediately!
☆Call 106 each day to ask if the city has picked her up.
Find out about any neighborhood Whatsapp groups (ask neighbors about them and ask to be added. Especially in Israel, many neighborhoods have them!) Post the lost/found details and ask everyone to help you find your lost pet or the owners of the one you've found. Photos and good descriptions are essential!
This is a dedicated lost dog WhatsApp group:
Put up tons of lost signs with her color photos and very explicit info on identifiers and contact info. People relate better and react more quickly to images than to words, so use the best, most descriptive color photos you have and then actually put arrows and text on them, indicating identifying features like special spots, collars, tags, etc.
Advertise in all locally relevant languages. ☆For Israel, that means Hebrew, English, French, Russian and Arabic. Get help translating!
Follow up immediately on every reported sighting, no matter how dubious. I always laugh about finding my cat Ruby. Someone called about a grey cat wearing a pink collar...when she was grey and white with a red collar. But, sure enough, there she was. My best friend's golden tabby with a rainbow collar was described by the finder as being grey with a white stripe on his back and a blue collar. And in both instances, THE PEOPLE WERE STANDING THERE HOLDING THEM
Contact local vets, pet shops and ☆amutot (nonprofit and rescue groups, shelters). Send full-color files of the lost ad you've made by email, whatsapp, facebook--lots of clinics will only check one of those, so send to them all. Ask them to not only take note, but to print and post in the clinic itself. I, myself, hand deliver color flyers to all vets and petshops within a 1 mile radius of where the pet was lost. This is the list of shelters in Israel:
Walk around calling and listening for her. She might be trapped in a garage or something. Do the walk/calling as much as possible. Look under cars with a flashlight. Lost cats tend to hide quietly and ignore us because they're afraid. Shake your cat's favorite treat container as you walk around, too. I've always trained my cats to come to the sound of shaking treats. Thanks for the idea, Pavlov!
When cat searching, always bring a bag to carry the cat home in, should you find him. They are often shocked and will try to escape from you. Keep control to get them home safely. I carry one of those big, lightweight, nylon shopping bags that squishes into a little ball. For dog searching, bring a strong leash. For both cats and dogs, carry favorite treats, a can of rad, stinky, wet food, a fully charged phone, and a strong flashlight.
As you walk, ask everyone around if they've seen her. Show them photos on your phone. I have also printed tiny card-sized color flyers to hand out and stick on front doors, to engage the eyes of neighbors. It works!!
☆Find out who feeds the cats locally and tell them about your lost buddy. Send them photos and contact info. They always know all the neighborhood cats. I also search out all the local feeding stations and hang flyers at them. It's pretty safe to assume that even in the most remote corner of Israel, someone loves and is looking out for the strays. Find those people. Some even have organized themselves into communities and share info by private whatsapp groups. See if that exists in your area.
Post in all local and lost/found groups and keep the posts live by commenting or reposting until she comes home. Fb posts can get buried quickly. Also LOOK THROUGH all the ads looking for you lost pet! Don't post and run. ☆The largest and most-used Israeli lost-found pet group is linked below. There are also many others, so search for and post in them all. Also post in community and second-hand groups. The idea with advertising is to reach as many eyes as possibile...you never know who will spot your post or where. Get the word out!
☆in Israel, post and check in this group first:
Offer a reward. Most people won't take it, but others will only care to help/call if there's a financial incentive. It also encourages local kids to look, because it becomes a treasure hunt!
Rainy weather confuses cats and can make them wander off and hide because their scent trails are lost. One way to recreate the trail and lead cats back home is by putting their nasty, poo-filled old litter in little piles around the yard.
Dont give up or despair...cats get lost, and get found when we work hard to find them! I've lots and lots of cats in my lifetime, and NEVER not found them. It can take a long time and require tons of effort, time, stress, and investment, but I ALWAYS get them home safely. They also just come home a day later like nothing is wrong. Totally normal.
If you've found a cat or dog, the first step is to get it to a confined, safe place. That might be a closed bedroom (windows too), garage, garden (dogs ONLY!). Don't underestimate the determination of a cat to escape when it's afraid. Close and lock doors, windows, drainholes...everything. If you find an injured or sick pet, go straight to the nearest vet! Most will either have after-hours emergency hours or refer you directly to a nearby clinic that does. Never medicate or treat an animal yourself!! Get professional help. Always do offer water and food.
The second step after finding a lost pet is to get its microchip checked. In most of the world, cats and dogs are routinely chipped. In Israel, unfortunately, only dogs do. Every vet and shelter will have a chip reader. This is the fastest and surest way to locate an owner.
☆In Israel, there is also a volunteer group of people all over the country who have bought their own microchip scanners and will come check dogs' chips when there is no vet open nearby. Chip checking group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hasorkim/
Post found pet flyers and ads, but leave out a few key identifiers like gender, collar's color, identifying marks. There are lots of nasty people out there collecting animals for purposes such a dogfighting and resale. I think that every single time I've posted a found ad, I've had at least one of these jerks call trying to claim it. Leaving out key identifiers and making callers not only accurately describe the animal but ALSO show you photos of it is essential!!
Never send an animal to a known kill shelter. Find an alternate, safe, kind solution. A death sentence is not one! Once handing an animal off to any organization of any sort, be sure to leave full contact information and ask to be updated, and also call to check up. Please don't simply abandon an animal to a horrid fate, which can include life in a cage at a no-kill.
If you cannot locate owners and want to find a new home, read my post on how to interview potential owners so that you know they are going to a safe, committed home:
If you find a lost pet, no matter its condition and your assumptions about its history/care, you MUST do your best to find its owners. They could be heartbroken and desperate. A pet who is old, adopted when it was already in bad condition, or lost for a while can appear neglected and abused, but don't assume it is and "save" it by keeping it for yourself without making a very honest effort to find its people. All of my pets are recycled and some could be misinterpreted as being unloved, but in fact I live for them. If I lost one, I don't know if I'd survive the pain.
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