What to do when your pet goes missing

Last updated on 5th January, 2024 at 10:55 am

It’s natural to worry when your furry friend goes missing. Despite feeling distressed, acting quickly can significantly change the outcome.

Reading time: 3 minutes

In this article you’ll learn:

• How to maximise your chances of finding your pet.
• What to do when your cat goes missing.

The first steps you should take

Search within your immediate neighbourhood, as animals don’t always stray far from home. While you’re out, ask pedestrians and neighbours if they’ve seen your missing pet. Make sure you take a recent photo with you.

Use social media to spread the word quickly about your missing fur pal. Share recent photos, your pet’s name, any unique markings, your contact details and last sighting on your social platforms, neighbourhood chat groups, and local community Facebook pages.

“It’s important to contact your local SPCA and vets as soon as possible,” says Wrolien Rabie, NSPCA society liaison unit officer and national inspector. “Give them a detailed description or put up a poster of your missing pet in their clinic.” Sometimes people take animals to a distant clinic, so phone veterinary hospitals outside your area, too.

In addition, Rabie says you should contact neighbouring SPCAs, animal welfare organisations, local police, kennels, dog training clubs and grooming shops, as well as your municipality to ask if it has collected bodies matching the description of your missing pet.

Don’t overlook traditional avenues either, such as newspaper ads or community boards at shopping centres.

What to do if your cat is missing

Cat owners can benefit from searching during the evening when it’s quieter. Ask neighbours to check under hedges and enclosed spaces, too, as felines have a knack for getting themselves locked in garages, sheds or vehicles.

In 2022, Kooks, a cat from Rondebosch, Cape Town, accidentally travelled 700km in a neighbour’s car. Her owner, Celeste Perry, used Kook’s tracker collar to follow her journey. After notifying the St Francis Bay community via Facebook, she flew to the Eastern Cape.

Perry said in an interview on Cape Talk, “My phone was telling me she was close… and as I walked down the road, I suddenly saw these two little bright eyes running up the road towards me, and it was her.”

Don’t give up hope

Continue sharing on social media, contact local vets, and shelters, and search sites like Gumtree to see if anyone is selling a pet that matches the description of your lost animal. Try not to give up hope – there have been cases where animals have been lost for months and have been reunited with their owners.

Keep your pet safe

Microchipping your pet and keeping your contact details updated significantly boosts the odds of reunion. Additionally, make sure your fur baby is sterilised as this stops them from wandering too far from home. “Sterilisation can help calm your animal, which reduces the chance of it trying to escape to find a mate. Dogs can smell a female on heat over a range of 10km,” says Rabie.

Also, ensure that your property is adequately fenced or secured. “For animals that can jump over your wall, placing roller tubing or angling the top of the fence will help keep them safely inside,” says Rabie.