Leigh’s Lost and Found: The advice you need to ignore when looking for a lost cat

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - In today’s Leigh’s Lost and Found, what you should, and should not do if your cat goes missing.

There are a lot of tips and tricks people say you should try to get your cat home, but there’s one common myth that actually doesn’t help at all.

“Most cats around found within 24 and 48 hours to a week.”

As the founder of cat rescue Watching Over Whiskers, Marci Bowling knows what to do if any of her kitties go missing.

What she won’t do is follow the advice to put your cat’s litter box outside to lure them home. That will actually lure other cats and animals to your property and keep your cat away.

Marci tells us, “that can totally redirect a cat if you’ve created a perimeter where you have other animals peeing and marking and spraying. They don’t have to see that the two neighbor Toms are out there, they smell them, long before they ever get to their property so we create that barrier then for them to want to come home. They don’t feel like they can.”

Instead, Marci says to start the search inside your own home.

She says, “Im going to tear up my house. I’m going to look under mattresses and sofas, I’m going to turn chairs over. I’m going to make sure that there’s no way that the cat isn’t hiding.”

Then, move your search outside and remember cats usually don’t stray far.

“Statistics say 128 to 164 feet. So not even the length of a football field.”

Cats love to hide so look up, look down and look under things. Still no luck? Start posting on my Leigh’s Lost and Found page and other lost pet sites.

Marci says, “I’m going to send those links to my vet. I’m going to call my microchip company if the cat is chipped and immediately let them know and make sure my contact information is up to date.”

Marci says doing the legwork every day your cat is missing is key to getting them back. And she says to never give up hope.

“We’ve reunited cats missing a year.”

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