10 Steps to Find Your Lost Cat After Moving

Your cat has gone missing!!!

It can be a traumatic experience for both you and your lovely pet if your cat gets lost after moving to a new home.

Your cat may have got scared of the strange surroundings and slipped out an open door, frightened and confused.

Or they may have become too curious to explore the new environment – after all, cats are notoriously inquisitive by nature.

Either way, the result is the same – your cat is gone.

Now the only question is how to get your pet friend back home safely.

How to find a lost cat after moving?

These 10 steps should help you find your lost cat as quickly as possible.  

1. Don’t panic. Don’t give up.

The very first thing you must do when you realize that your beloved pet has gone missing after moving is to take a deep breath and remain calm.

Do NOT panic.

Unfortunately, cats go missing much more often than you think. The good news is that studies show that most missing indoor cats are found less than three houses away from the place where they escaped.

So, the last thing you should do is give up hope. Instead, use the lost cat search strategies below to recover your pet as quickly as possible.

Keep in mind that when your cat goes missing after moving, persistence is the key that will maximize your chances of success.

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2. Search the new place thoroughly

Maybe you only think your cat has gone missing when, in reality, your pet may be trapped or hiding somewhere in the new home for some reason – stressed out, scared, sick, injured, etc.

You shouldn’t assume that your pet friend will meow or come to you. Instead, do a thorough search of the new home – look in closets, drawers, behind appliances, under beds, inside cardboard boxes – EVERYWHERE.

Become a master detective for an hour and do your job better than Sherlock Homes.

3. Search the area around the new place

Once you’re sure your cat is not inside the new home, you should expand the search perimeter.

Your beloved cat may be hiding somewhere around the house – in the garage or shed, in the garden, under the porch. Be sure to check all places where your pet may hide or get trapped.

Be thorough and don’t leave a stone unturned!

Remember that your cat is lost in an unfamiliar area and assuming that they are not used to being outside, the poor pet may be too frightened to respond to your calls.

4. Ask your new neighbors for help

The next thing you should do when your cat gets lost after a move is to ask the new neighbors for permission to look in their yards. Your pet may have wandered into a neighbor’s property and got trapped there, possibly inside a garage or a shed.

The good news is that most lost cats won’t go too far so the chances of you finding your poor animal friend in a neighbor’s place are pretty high.

If some of your neighbors feel reluctant to let you – a complete stranger – into their property, then ask them if they can look for your cat for you. In most cases, the folks next door will show understanding and will be willing to help you find your lost pet.

5. Look for your cat at night

Another good lost cat search strategy is to look for your lost pet at night. Why at night, you may wonder?

A frightened cat may keep hiding during the day but come out at night when the neighborhood is quiet and there isn’t much activity around.

Cats tend to hide in small and dark spots so make sure you bring a powerful flashlight with you.

Keep shining the flashlight up onto rooftops and down into hidden places. Needless to say, be on the lookout for that distinctive reflection from a cat’s eyes.

6. Attempt to attract your pet back home

Sometimes simple things work great for finding lost cats – simply try to lure your pet back home.

Of course, the main issue is that your cat does not still recognize the new place as their home.

But what can you do to attract your lost pet back to the house?

• Keep calling your cat by name;
• Make familiar and attractive noises that they can recognize, like shaking a can of treats;
• Place your cat’s litter box, bed, and favorite blanket outside the front door as they may recognize the scent;
• Spend more time outside your new place, talking on the phone or having a conversation with a neighbor. Hopefully, your kitty will hear your voice and come to you.

7. Create lost cat posters

If there’s still no sign of your lovely cat, then it’s time to let the neighborhood know your cat is missing.

The logic is simple yet solid – the more people in the area know about your lost cat, the greater the chances of someone coming forward with information about their whereabouts.

Create missing cat posters to distribute around the neighborhood on telephone poles, bus stops, and notice boards. Lost cat posters let people know that your cat is not just another outdoor cat.

Here’s what information you should include on your missing cat flyers:

• A clear recent color photo of your pet;
• MISSING CAT in big bold letters;
• Your contact information such as your phone number;
• A brief description of your cat, their name, and their last known location.

To increase your chances of recovering your pet, consider offering a reward to anyone who helps you find them.

8. Notify the microchip company and local animal control agency

If your cat has a microchip, call the microchip company to make sure the contact information on the chip is accurate and up to date.

This way, if someone finds your lost cat and takes it to a facility where the microchip can be scanned – most often a vet clinic, they will contact you right away.

Also, alert the local animal control agency about your missing cat and send them important information about your pet, including a color photo.

9. Visit local animal shelters

This is arguably the hardest thing to do because it requires time and is likely to put a psychological strain on you as well.

There is no mandated holding period for cats as there is for dogs in the majority of U.S. states. Most of the time animal shelters are full and they may be forced to refuse to take in any more stray or lost pets.

Nevertheless, this is a step that you must take if all your efforts to find your lost cat after moving house have failed. Visit those local animal shelters in person to check if your cat has been turned in.

It’s always a good idea to leave a clear, color photo of your cat with your contact information on it – you can just leave one of the missing cat posters you have created.

Instead of waiting to be called, keep visiting those animal shelters on a regular basis.

10. Set a humane trap for your cat

As you already know, most inside cats that escape their homes are likely to be hiding nearby. However, since they are frightened, they won’t reveal themselves.

If you suspect that your cat is hiding somewhere around the area but they won’t meow or come to you, consider setting a humane trap to catch your pet. In fact, this strategy may be the only option you have left to get back your scared pet.

You can rent a humane trap for your cat from an animal control agency, or purchase one from a pet store or a hardware store.

Set up the humane trap with some treats that you know your cat loves and monitor it often. With a bit of luck, you should be able to get your poor pet back!

Follow the above steps to finding a lost cat after moving house and, hopefully, you will have your beloved pet back in no time.

Still, you should do your best to keep your feline friend safe and calm after the move, as well as help them adjust to the new home so that they won’t try to escape in the first place.

Must-read: How to Move a Cat to a New Home: The Purrfect Guide