Mystery of the missing cats

WALK down any street these days and sooner or later you’ll probably come across a poster tied to a sign with a sad face peering out and the words ‘missing cat’.
They are of course the posters of cats who have vanished without trace, but have you ever wondered what happens to those missing moggies?
About 170,000 cats disappear each year and it’s a sad fact that the majority never return.
If you’ve ever experienced that feeling you know only too well the heartbreak involved. Mandy Evans lost her cat Ginger, but hers is just one tale among thousands…
 “We were devastated when she left, says Mandy, it’s been 11 months and I wonder where she is and how she’s changed. We put up posters but never heard a thing, sadly she wasn’t microchipped. Sometimes I still hear my children cry themselves to sleep.”
So what happened to Ginger go?
Many cats like Ginger are lured away by tastier tidbits served up elsewhere while others are welcomed in by people unaware they’re lost.
Some are simply never found, they naturally take themselves off to die, or are among the 30,000 a year killed in road accidents.
Pets Bureau founder Sue Hipperson, reveals an altogether sadder fate for others, “We find people move home and leave their pet behind, as awful as this seems, it happens quite frequently.”
But don’t despair as amongst the gloom there’s always a glimmer of hope.
Take the story of Lucy.
Lucy's human family planned to move from southern England to Scotland. With everything packed, they spent their last night in a nearby hotel and left Lucy at the house.
The next morning, they returned to pick her up, but she’d disappeared. They had to catch a flight to Scotland and with a lot of anguish and floods of tears left Lucy behind.
Seven weeks went by with the new owners settling in nicely - then they heard a faint meow. Lucy was found trapped under the floorboards. She’d been there the entire time surviving by licking condensation off a pipe. Frail and terribly ill she was nonetheless alive and soon heading home to Scotland and into the arms of her ecstatic owners.
Then there’s the tale of Mrs. Delaney and her beloved cat Dixie who was apparently mown down by a car in 1999. Skip nine years later and a knock at the door by RSPCA officers with Dixie in tow who they’d found less than a mile away through her microchip.
These heartwarming tales of hope give even the most desperate optimism.
The best form of protecting our cats however is prevention and cyberspace is now playing a massive part in that role with a myriad of services.  
UK Missing Pet Register, for example, offer engraved tracking collars and an opportunity to post a message on their website should you find a stray.
Meanwhile Animal Search UK deploy police-style detectives to pound the streets in a bid to find missing pets along with a new string to their bow - Britain’s first ever pets Crimewatch style reconstruction videos!
Other services, including Cat Chat, specialise in finding homes for lost and abandoned cats.
Essentially these sites act as a modern equivalent to plastering streets with signs, particularly when you consider the fate of Mike Harding who was threatened with a £1,000 fine by Bedford Council for displaying posters of his missing cat on lampposts.
It’s not all just abouth the web though as the greatest innovation in prevention is the microchip.
Tucked into your cat’s neck – and no bigger than a large grain of rice – the microchip has an identification number which is linked to a database with your contact details. And once scanned, a simple phone call can ascertain the owner’s whereabouts, as long as you keep your details updated
Interestingly only a quarter of the feline population is microchipped, however there are calls for the technology to be compulsory.
Peter Hepburn, Chief Executive of Cats Protection, said: “I cannot stress enough how important it is for cats to be microchipped, It’s a heartbreaking experience when an owner loses their beloved pet. Making sure a cat is easily identifiable is vital to increase the chances of a happy reunion. If compulsory microchipping was brought in, many of these problems would be solved.”
All it takes is a trip to the vet who’ll do the job in minutes. You can then register with an online database, perhaps PETtrac or Petlog.
Other preventative measures include neutering as cats in search of a mate can head further afield and become lost.
Also, play with your cat! Toys and scratching posts help, but you really should be getting involved with some social interaction - ten minutes of play per day can help to prevent them getting bored – it’s also great for us too.
Ensure they eat well and if you move house, keep them indoors for several weeks, so they don't go in search of familiar territory.
It’s also advised that cats are kept in after dark, dusk and dawn are active times for cats and instincts can lead to trouble.
Should the unthinkable happen check your house for cosy places.
Then ask your neighbours to search their sheds, garages, conservatories, greenhouses or anywhere else which may be warm.
You may also want to inform local RSPCA, Cats Protection and veterinary practices, so always have a good clear picture of your cat.
After all that use the websites, because if you heed the above tips your chances of finding your cat is ten times greater than leaving it to chance.
If the unthinkable does happen give yourself as much chance as possible to find that tiny family member who never grows up and can never tell you what they’re thinking or where they’re going.
After all, you can’t give a cat a mobile phone and tell them to call if they’re running late or can’t find their way home, as much as we’d love to be able to.
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