1. Conduct a thorough search of your property and neighborhood
- Check under beds, in cupboards, drawers, behind appliances, up chimneys, in walls and ceilings in the house.
- Look outside under the house, under bushes and in sheds etc.
- Ask neighbors if they have seen the cat (door knock or letterbox drop leaving a contact number).
- Search sheds, garages, buildings, reserves, parks, schoolyards, beaches, rivers, creeks, building works and trees in the vicinity.
- Place notices in prominent positions around the local area - in milk bars and shops, and on posts and trees.
- Do not be too precise in describing the cat’s markings. For example “tabby and white” is preferable to “tabby male cat with white blaze on nose and three white feet”. This will allow you to differentiate between a genuine caller and a nuisance caller, by requesting they give a more detailed description of the animal they claim to have found.
- Take long walks through the neighborhood and call the cat, particularly at night.
2. Contact a range of organisations to enquire whether the cat has been found.
Cover as large an area as possible, in case the cat has been picked up by car and taken to an organisation or animal shelter in another suburb or town.
If the places you call do not currently have your cat, leave them a description of it, details of when and where it was lost, and your name and contact number.
If making personal visits to animal shelters (recommended wherever possible) bring a cat carrier, registration papers, vaccination certificates, photos etc.
- Council Pounds - both your Municipality and neighboring ones.
- Local Veterinary clinics and animal hospitals (see Yellow Pages).
- Cat Protection Society, Greensborough, 9434 7155.
- Lost Dogs’ Home and Cat Shelter, North Melbourne; 9329 2755.
- RSPCA, East Burwood; 9224 2222.
- Lort Smith Animal Hospital, North Melbourne; 9328 3021.
- Australian Animal Protection Society, Keysborough;
9798 8044 or 9798 8415. - Blue Cross Animal Society, Wonga Park; 9722 1265.
- Victorian Animal Aid Trust, Coldstream, ph 9739 0300, or 9739 1042.
- RSPCA Peninsula, Pearcedale 5978 6706 or 5978 6811.
- Geelong Animal Welfare Society, Moolap; 5248 2091.
- Missing Animals Bureau, Ashburton; 9885 3603.
- Local Police.
- VicRoads Road Patrol Depots;
phone 13 1171 to obtain number for local depots.
3. Place notices in the “Lost and Found” sections of newspapers
- Local, State, daily and weekly newspapers.
4. Use free radio announcements to report lost pets.
- Try ringing 3AW (phone 9243 2000), FOX (phone 9252 1019). 3CR (24 hours phone 9419 8377), or others listed under “Radio Stations” in the Yellow Pages.
