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How to Increase
the Chance that Your Cat Will Make it Safely Home
It is very sad to hear about cats that leave their homes and are never
found. Cats that stray from home are at risk for injury and death. We
always hope that the missing have wandered down the street and
stumbled into a wonderful home. We know this must happen fairly often,
because our cat-loving clients frequently arrive at our office with
stray cats that need homes. Recently several research projects were
done at Ohio State University to identify the methods used by owners
to locate lost pets.1 Some of the highlights of this
research are listed below.
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53% of cats who
were reported lost by their owners were found
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66% of the cats who
were found returned home on their own
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The highest success
rate for finding a lost cat was posting signs in neighborhoods
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The mean time until
recovery was 5 days
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41% of the cats who
were lost were housed strictly indoors
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Only 19% of missing
cats had any form of identification
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Finders searching
for owners resulted in only 3% of the cats reunited with owners
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The finders
provided a home for 68% of the lost cats.
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How Can We Help
Reunite Cats With Their Families?
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If You Find a
Cat
1. Place an ad in the local newspaper (these are often
free) and on lost pet websites
2. Place signs, with pictures of the cat, around the neighborhood
where the cat was found
3. Call the humane society, animal control, and local veterinary
clinics
4. Contact the person or veterinary hospital listed on the tag
5. Take the cat to a veterinary hospital or the animal shelter to be
scanned for a microchip
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Owners of Lost
Cats
1. Walk through the neighborhood where the kitty was lost
2. Place “lost cat” signs (with a picture of your cat if possible) in
the neighborhood
3. Visit and call the Humane Society and Animal Control as
soon as your cat is lost and return often.
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All Owners
1. Make sure your cat always has a safety collar and at least one form
of identification:
a. ID Tag
b. Rabies tag
c. Microchip
2. Keep your cat inside.
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Following the
above advice will improve the chances of a cat being reunited with
his family. |
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1
JAVMA,
Vol 230, No. 2 January 15, 2007, JAVMA, Vol 230, No. 12 June 15, 2007
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