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Lost Animals

 

We are sorry to hear that your pet is missing! Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and Lost Cats of Wisconsin provide FREE services to pet owners of lost animals to increase their chances of locating their pet. The program also benefits local animal control and shelters by decreasing the number of “owned strays” entering the animal control/shelter system and increasing the chances of finding an owner once the dog is in their care.

If you have lost a dog. 

  1. Go to Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and fill out a Lost Dog Report Form

  2. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin volunteer flyermakers will make your lost dog flyers for posting. Please email us a copy of your flyer to post on our web site and facebook page. 

  3. Immediately put out food, water and your dog's bed or an article of your clothing at the location your dog was last seen. There is a good chance your dog may return

  4. Get the word out using flyers and signs with a picture of your dog and phone number

  5. Contact your local animal shelters and animal control facilities, vet clinics and police departments to report your dog missing. Fax or email them your contact info.

  6. Instruct everyone that is helping you to NOT call or chase your dog. This will prolong your search. If they see your dog, sit or lay down (no eye contact) and gently toss out tasty treats to lure your dog in. 

  7. If your pet is found, please contact us so that we can celebrate your pet's homecoming and remove the flyer from our postings. 

 

If you have lost a cat

  1. Go to Lost Cats of Wisconsin and fill out a Lost Cat Report Form

  2. Lost Cats of Wisconsin volunteer flyermakers will make your lost cat flyers for posting. Please email us a copy of your flyer to post on our web site and facebook page. 

  3. Get the word out using flyers and signs with a picture of your cat and phone number

  4. Contact your local animal shelters and animal control facilities, vet clinics and police departments to report your cat missing. Fax or email them your contact info.

When Indoor Cats get lost:

  1. ​Determine the escape point: When an indoor-only cat escapes outside, the best technique to use is to determine the escape point, like perhaps a door found cracked open.

  2. Follow the edge of the house or building: A panicked cat will typically follow along the side of the house, rather than risk slinking or bolting out into the open. However, this depends on what happens the moment that cat escapes — if the mail man is walking up the sidewalk the cat could bolt and run directly across the street. But most times, indoor cats will either slink left or slink right following the edge of the house.

  3. The case of a lost cat is an investigation. The investigative question with displaced indoor-only cats that escape outside — or even outdoor-access cats that bolt in panic — is, “where is the cat hiding?”

  4. Look for the closest hiding spots: Following the edge of the house to the right, look for the first hiding place — deck, access under a house, shed with opening, open garage, etc. — and focus on that area. Then do the same to the left.

  5. Place humane traps, cameras or food in those spots: If you don’t see or find the cat, you can put humane traps there, wildlife cameras, or even a plate of food at first to see if it vanishes.


When Indoor-Outdoor Cats get lost:

When an outdoor-access cat vanishes, it is very different. The investigative question for outdoor-access cats that are missing is “What happened to the cat?” It means something has happened to the cat to interrupt her customary behavior of coming home. The cat could be:

  1. Trapped

  2. Sick/injured

  3. Transported out of the area

  4. Taken by predators

  5. Intentionally removed by a cat-hating neighbor.

 

For more great recovery tips check out Missingpetpartnership.org

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