Lost Pet Finders

11/03/2023

"Thanks for the all advice and guidance about how to find Nelson. After almost 2 weeks someone saw our poster and recognised him as the cat who had been hanging out on their street.'"

*********** REUNITED ***********

Thank you all so much for sharing and commenting! :D

Register your pet now: https://lostpetfinders.com.au/join

19/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY:

Message from the lovely finder: “Found 2 dogs running free in the bush whilst walking our 3 greyhounds. They were having a great adventure and followed us off and on for about an hour. We couldn’t catch them as we had our 3 dogs.

I registered them with LPF as soon as I got home. I was excited to see the owner had left their name and number with LPF an hour or so later. I contacted him and told him where and when we had last seen his dogs.

He went looking for them but somehow they ended up separated and one about 10 kilometres away at a vet hospital. Both safe and well and home a few hours later.

I was amazed at the quick results and certainly would recommend using LPF as soon as you find or lose a pet. No photos or videos sorry! We had our hands full!!” - Tonia

17/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Aani

“Aani was lost 1st december. i live near a golf course and a reserve lots of nature about,

He escaped my cage through water door need to lock now, he went missing last month also was local for 5 days start november relocated but as stated escaped again, lady that found aani lives 1 road away she feeds alot of local birds in backyard and aani joined them she had had eccy before so knew that he had owner,

Stay positive, birds tent to stay local, mine has now had wings clipped by person who found him, which i appreciated a lot,

I will get foot tag and maybe chip just in case for future as wings grow back.“ - Decio

16/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Fluffy

“She has a microchip so lucky the animal control guy got the details /ph number from that and let me pick her up from were he was at no cost.

admittedly she was barking at the other dog quite badly so maybe he just didint won't to deal with her didn't know she's just a drama queen.

I asked were he found her she was sleeping at the shops so I grabbed her and put her in my car and then she's all happy with her head out the window like nothing happened” - Raymond

15/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Cookie

“We rescued Cookie as a young adult cat 14 years ago; she’d been at the pound for five months and was depressed, but we knew we could handle a weirdo cat and the lady at the pound was convinced she just needed a good home to blossom. After 24 hours, she was bouncing about happily being playful and we had to adopt a ‘teenaged’ kitten to amuse her!

She has always been an almost-indoor cat, with limited garden privileges. At our original house she had a cat run with cat-friendly plants and in the two homes since she has daily wandered out into the garden, eaten some cat grass, had a little sunbathe in a pot, then back inside for 23 3/4 hours.

On Sunday, we thought she was inside and went out for lunch. After, my partner sat on the porch reading while I went for a walk, then ran home to beat the storm. Only once it had started to rain did he say, ‘Where’s Cookie?’

He searched the house while I searched the garden and granny flat. Knowing she is a homebody, I scoured the flats next door and behind us and our neighbour’s yard. The storm was in full swing by then and I knew she couldn’t hear me and would have gone to ground.

The next morning I started the search again, listed her on Lost Pet Finder, notified all the local vets and shelters as well as the local council, got her details up on social media and designed a flyer that we printed multiple copies of. My friends came round and helped me leaflet the neighbourhood that afternoon. One of them doorknocked the neighbours beyond those I’d spoken to and a nearby couple said they thought they had seen her calling out in their garden.

I spent a lot of time calling for her outside their house and nearby homes, as well as walking around the neighbourhood shouting for her at dinnertime, breakfast and lunch time (I work from home). I left her bedding, some of my dirty clothes and food for her out the front of our house on the porch. At 3am, I walked around the front of the home where she had been seen, rattling the keys she likes to play with rather than shouting.

She completely ignored all this all day Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I asked the neighbour if I could sit in their garden where they had now seen her twice. They very kindly got me a chair and left me alone (she is shy). After 45 minutes of calling and many mosquitoes, I was about to give up when I heard a cranky wee cat shouting at me. She was not under their shed, she was over the wall! She was too recalcitrant to jump over and just sat there yelling. Happily, those neighbours were also kind and let me in to catch her.

We’re very relieved and happy and what I would recommend is to get out as early as possible, tell as many people as possible and hand out copies of your phone number to the nearest houses where your cat is likely to be hiding. Our friends and neighbours were all wonderfully helpful: strangers on the back street took flyers to put up in their blocks and we had a lot of reports (several of other delightful cats who were where they were meant to be).

While we didn’t need the social media support in this case, it was reassuring to know it was out there in case she had run to a strange area in the storm. It could have made a great difference if she had and it got the message out far beyond what we could have managed alone.“ - Donyale

14/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Astro

“We have had Astro for 8 months since he was 2 months old. He is a wonderful member of the family.

We went out to dinner and left Astro and Jazz in the front yard with the gate shut. When we got home he was not there.

We searched around the property and down our lane. We live in farming area and it was dark. The next day I posted on Facebook and with Lost Pet Finders. I received lots of tips from other members of the local fb group which was great. LPF was so easy to create lost pet alert and a flyer. The emailed tips from LPF were really good too. And reassuring.

By early afternoon, I got a message via Facebook from our neighbour that they had seen him, that he had got spooked by their motorbike and they couldn’t grab him. However, he started heading back home because he turned up while I was on the phone to the neighbour!

So it was a brief adventure for Astro but quite stressful for us. I think he just realized where he was. Not sure. Very odd that he didn’t hear my husband calling out. We will never really know.

I now know about LPF and using Facebook is great too. Knowing your neighbours, join your local area Facebook group, pre-registering on LPF and what to do if it happens again. Have one person stay at home and do the internet stuff while others search is also important.

Knowing your pet’s habits, favourite places… Basically, have a good plan in place. And we are also securing the front gate better.

Thank you LPF!“ - Andrea

13/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Phoenix

“Phoenix normally goes outside during the day to play with his brother and explore around our property and never wanders far.

When he came in for dinner at 5pm howling we knew something was wrong as that isn't his normal behaviour.

Then we noticed he was limbing and not waking on his back right foot. When we went to check he ran out the door before we could catch him. But we saw him run under a neighbours deck but wasn't sure what the street or street number was.

We looked under our house backyard down driveway and our street no sign of him. We waited until midnight still no sign of him. After broken sleep next morning I checked same places still no sign of him.

That's when I started posting to the community. I walked and drived to many streets but no sign of him. Door knocked and checked under neighbours decks calling for him.

Then somehow he ended up back under our house. Went to catch up and bring food he wasn't interested and ran away. At 9pm left all doors open turned lights off kept the house quiet and he finally walked in hungry and thirsty.” - Renee

12/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Bill

Message from the lovely finder: “The dog was found by a builder working on a property a few houses away and he brought it to me knowing I had a small dog. I offered to take it - a building site is no place for a dog - and see if I could locate the owner.

I checked the collar but there was no rego tag or name tag so I took him to my vet to be scanned. He has a microchip but the details were not registered. I brought him back home after leaving my details with the vet, I also gave my details to the Council in case someone rang Animal Control looking for him. I declined to leave him at the pound because he is small and elderly.

I then networked my neighbours, put a post on Facebook and your lostpetfinders site and a notice on my fence. I fed the wee guy, gave him a cuddle and he settled in for a snooze. He is very sweet. Early evening I got a visit from a neighbour a few houses in the other direction - he was caring for the dog for the owner, along with his own two dogs, and had been at work. Somehow Bill, as he is called, had found his way off the property and wandered through three other properties before he was spotted and brought to me.

The advice I would give to dog owners is to make sure your dog has a rego tag, name and phone number tag and microchip which is registered on the database - what sense in a microchip if your details are not registered? A name and phone number disc on a collar is the most expedient way for a dog to be reunited with its owner.

Your site is a valuable resource - in this case it wasn't the avenue that brought the dog and its carer back together but I'm sure it has many success stories.

Thanks for your interest.” - Trudy

05/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Rio

“Rio and his sister Roxy have been in our family for over 10 years. They are inside cats as they have absolutely no street smarts and assume every person in this earth has a duty to look after them!

My son arrived home at 2am and did not shut the front door properly and it popped open. When I got up at about 7am I found the front door open, and Rio was gone.

Massive search ensued of neighbourhood, garden etc. while the search continued I know speed to get info out was critical. Rio had previously escaped out a window about 5 yrs ago when we were renovating and was eventually found , 2 days later 2 blocks away, and the finder knew it was him thanks to lost pet finder.

So, followed instructions on lost pet finder, and I went out to the shed to get the travel crate just in case he was found . I was calling and calling rio when I was outside, he would usually come to me when called by me.

I heard a faint meow , couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and called again and again. He just appeared at my feet, no idea where exactly he was hiding! Tears of relief were copious.

He’s pretty special to the family, but extra special to me… he spent a lot of time snuggled and looking after me when I went through pretty disgusting cancer treatment… just can’t lose him.“ - Carol

03/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Tygro

“Basically – always take your little one with you if your traveling to do something in a new address, they depend on us to see us and trust us, others whom they don’t know are not as confident and trustworthy with your loved one, so I lost him again and this time lost my voice calling out day and nite with flyers in 200 plus surrounding letter boxes with my phone no and new address so they can knock at the door.

I had a sms when someone heard my call out in the late of the nite and said ‘cat seen on in the bushes’ which is odd as that is not a pet friendly area – so I went there called out gently knowing he was scared, new place, where is mom, and others making noise made it difficult to get him, so I left and said il be back in the morning when no one is around

He followed my scent, and the surrounding area around the house for him to know this is it! Home. He arrived one hour before I was about to leave to call him again, in the bushes, so we would of missed each other.

I believe they understand us more than we know, trust yourself and trust them. Know their behaviours and don’t expect all types of animals are similar ie all cats all dogs. Take care and hunt for your little ones, they need you and depend on you. Lots of luck and light of St Francis to guide them home safe n sound unharmed” - Tez

02/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Ginger

“In January we adopted a grey rescue cat Sterling. We had ongoing discussions about a second rescue cat, but in the end our grey cat sorted that problem by bringing home a ginger cat three months ago, which was starving and ate all the food that our grey cat wouldn't eat. We named him Ginger as we kept on describing him as "the Ginger Cat".

To start with Ginger appeared in the evening had some food and went again, after a while he stayed, slept on the spare bed with our cat. However every so often he wandered for a day or two but always returned.

As Ginger appeared to be somewhat domesticated, loving tummy stokes, and occasionally using the litter tray, we began to wonder if he belonged to someone else. So a month ago we took Ginger to the vet. He had no chip and hadn't been neutered. Knowing that the local rescue centre had too many unwanted cats we had him chipped and neutered. When he returned from the vet he seemed quite happy.

Three weeks ago we had some major work done on our spare bedroom, and the cats took to under the house. One of the workers brought his dogs, they have been here before and our grey cat soon showed the dogs who was boss, but one of the dogs got under the house and chased poor Ginger away. I had the worker board up the gap under the house that the dog used, leaving a small gap for cat access.

After three days we discussed what to do about our missing ginger cat, as our grey cat was missing him. The grey cat and I did a full circuit of our local area looking for ginger and calling him. I registered Ginger as missing on a couple of sites. We asked our grey cat to find Ginger, because when Ginger was home the grey cat would go off and get Ginger when we said "Find Ginger".

We left the window open where it is easy for the cats to come in and get food, and left plenty of food each night. After a week of missing Ginger, the grey cat spend all night out, for several nights, I just about to print the missing cat flyer and distribute them to the neighbours. But before that we started to notice that the bowls of food were empty in the morning. One night I went to the toilet at 3am, and heard a Ginger meow outside the open window, and after a bit of encouragement Ginger came in. I woke my partner, and we gave Ginger lots of strokes and attention and more food. Ginger was very skinny and starving, where ever he went he was not able to find enough food.

I think the following covers what happened to Ginger:
http://www.scaredycats com au › lost-cat-behaviour
"Well, when they're lost from their territory – your home – fear is likely to be their greatest feeling, rather than hunger. In fact, the Missing Animal Response Network has found that cats will often hide for one or two weeks after becoming displaced from their territory." Ginger was missing for 10 days.” - Jean

01/12/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Freckles & Rosie

“Freckles and Rosie both escaped our property due to a fence that was blown over by a strong wind. Luckily we noticed quite quickly that they had gotten out of the property. The two dogs are very rarely apart.

Freckles came back home, she is older and wiser. She had definitely been through some water as she was wet and dirty. What bothered me is that Rosie wasn’t with her. They obviously got split up.

We started making posters for Rosie and knocked on the neighbours doors. As we were putting up a poster, hubby saw Rosie lying in someone’s property, happy but tired. She was completely dry.

I would have loved to know the way they walked and how and when they got split up.

Thank you once again for alerting everyone and keeping in contact.” - Caroline

30/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Tyrion

“Tyrion returned after 9 days away from home. We work unusual hours and he is a cat that needs a lot of attention and mental stimulation so he goes off on daily adventures making new friends but he always returns for meals and the night in.

I started to imagine all sorts of awful things that could have happened and the not knowing was awful. I believe somebody kept him inside and lavished him with affection believing him to be homeless.

Through LPF and our community page it was likely realized he has a home and many people who enjoy his visits. It may also have been his loud meow (he is deaf) to get outside that finally prompted them to give in to his wishes and let him out.

I tried the tip of leaving worn clothing outside and I believe that this gave him the assurance he was at the right house when he returned.

We are just so relieved to know he is healthy and well and that he has had a wonderful week away in good company.“ - Carmen

26/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY:

Message from the lovely finder: “The little dog was cowering in our driveway when I got home from work. She was very scared so I just sat near her and spoke to her gently. My husband stayed with her while I checked with neighbours.

I put her picture on your sight and called animal welfare. I would've looked after her for awhile but she was obviously not relaxed. She had a collar but no number.

Owner saw her on your website and emailed me to ask for a number to contact. Hope this is helpful. Thankyou for your site so these lovely animals can be reunited.” - Julie

25/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Pepper

“We adopted Pepper as a teeny tiny kitten who had been found wild on the streets with her siblings. The first time I visited her foster home, where I had initially come to visit her brother they were all still so young and still pretty wild hissing at me. Despite this, our tiny little girl came to snuggle in my neck and found her safe space with me. It's so true you dont choose the cat, they choose you.

Pepper is now coming up to 4 years old, still finds her place to snuggle into my neck as close as she can get. She is still a tiny little thing, timid around others but so loving and affectionate to us and those she let's in.

So 1 week ago I made a huge mistake while moving house. I didn't want to keep her in her cat cage for the day and feared if we took her to new house before the big move that she would escape in all the chaos. So I waited, not realizing she must have been going through so much panic watching the contents of her home be packed into a truck. When she finally came back she wouldn't come near me and took off before I could have any chance of getting her into the cat cage.

We returned to the house, searching the street 3 to 4 times a day for a whole week, luckily our old home was still vacant so we could search the property and neighbour's on the street were all on look out.

By Day 7 our family drove back we searched and searched, cried and I was loosing hope. Neighbour's hadn't seen her for 4 days and I didn't think we would see her again either.

That same morning only half an hour later I got a phonecall from the realtors having an open home at the house who had seen her run under the deck. We raced straight back to hear a very quiet meowing and after some encouragement she came out and straight into my arms. An extremely hungry cat but now a very happy one with an even happier family. Into her new home a week late, but better late than never.

My advice and regrets for moving house with a cat is to have her in a cage or shut into a room at new property before the move. If for some reason you can't and they become lost, they aren't far away. Have the neighbour's in the street looking, even if they can't catch your pet it's hope knowing they are still around. It was poating on the local community pages that connected us with the neighbours who were all looking.

We left food in her bowls each day just outside the property, likelihood is the birds or other cats will eat it but at least it is there. And keep going back, for as long as it takes. She was sighted in driveways only 3 or 4 house up and eventually found at the property.” - Stephanie

24/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Charlie

“We adopted Charlie and his twin sister Lola as rescue kittens in January 2019. Our beloved old cat Dweezil had passed away aged 20 years a few months previously. Charlie and Lola were desexed and microchipped from the start. They are the most beautiful, affectionate and funny cats, best friends and an integral part of our family.

We raised them as inside cats for safety reasons and for the sake of the wildlife. We built them a big outdoor enclosure accessible from indoors day and night with grass, fresh water changed daily, climbing areas etc. They have 2 cat towers, tunnels, heaps of toys, beds, boxes to play in and the run of the house. We tried to get them used to leads/harnesses for walks but they just weren’t interested. We also tried to get them to wear collars/name tags which they always managed to remove.

On Sunday 16 October 2022 we could not find Charlie at dinner time but did not panic initially as he sometimes falls asleep in one of his indoor hiding areas (he has always been a hider) but we were very worried the next morning when he did not show up for breakfast (his favourite meal). We are still not sure exactly how he got out but assume the front door hadn’t totally clicked shut (possibly because it had been windy) and he pushed his way out. We have always been careful with doors but needless to say, we will be extremely vigilant in the future!

Thus started our frantic search, day and night, roaming the neighbourhood with torches, calling him, doorknocking, putting up posters and dropping hundreds of flyers into letterboxes and places of business. We posted on every local lost and found Facebook and online site we could find, notified the rescue, vets, family and friends, etc. We left our garage door up slightly with food, water inside so he would hopefully return. We even found another cat which we caught and took to the vet…we found out via social media that this cat was reunited with her owners after being missing for 2 years! This was a piece of good news during a very dark time.

As the days passed with no news about Charlie, our whole family was very upset but it definitely hit me the hardest. I constantly felt sick to my stomach, cried a lot, had to take time off work, kept imagining the worst and felt so helpless…basically I was a wreck. My family, friends, neighbours and members of the community who saw our posts were wonderful…supportive, encouraging, helpful and I honestly don’t what I would have done without everyone’s love and good wishes.

A week went by with no news…the search went on, I “bumped” my Facebook posts every day, kept searching day and night, leaving food out, which then started to get eaten. We ended up setting up CCTV cameras in the garage, even adding special pet cameras which are more sensitive to spotting animals. That night, an alert went off and we saw a cat eating the food. We raced out with our torches, saw the cat run off and followed it around ours and neighbouring streets before we lost it. Upon closer inspection of the footage of our phones we saw that it was not Charlie which was devastating. The next night, we moved the food further back from the garage door and once again the cat returned. This time we were able to shut the door and trap the cat in our garage. It took some doing but we were able to catch it in our cat cage and my husband took it to the 24 hour emergency vet. We have not heard if it was reunited with owners but the vet said we did the right thing bringing it in as it was terrified and not in great condition.

The next night (Saturday 29 October) we did the same and at about 3.30am we got an alert. We looked at the footage and this time it was definitely Charlie! Our other cat Lola then started meowing loudly and he got spooked and we saw him leaving the garage so we hurried out the front door with our torches and started calling him and looking at all the nearby houses…after about 5-10 minutes I heard a tiny meow from a house across the road and I saw him! I called his name and he walked towards me still a little hesitantly so I scooped him up before he could get away again, we went home, went inside, shut the door extremely firmly then put him on the floor. He went straight to the cat food that Lola had left and gobbled it up and we woke the kids and we were all hugging and crying basically in a state ofboth disbelief and incredible relief! Then we all sat in the lounge and he curled up on my husband’s lap and I started messaging everyone the good news!

We took Charlie to the vet that morning and they said mainly he was fine…had lost about 0.6kg, had some scabs on his front paws and his temperature was up a bit. He was prescribed antibiotics for a possible mild infection and pain killers for his paws plus we got some Feliway spray as his sister Lola was hissing at him a bit, which the vet said was probably because he smelt different. Luckily the two of them are back to their usual chummy selves, he is eating well and his paws are healing nicely (the vet said he may have been locked in somewhere at some stage and tried to dig himself out…his claws were filed down a lot too).

My advice to others in the same predicament…never give up! Keep doing all the things we did, let as many people know as possible, keep searching day and night and checking social media every day. The biggest factor in his coming home were definitely the CCTV cameras and making sure other cats were not around as they definitely spook your cat when they are already stressed and confused. I hope this helps as many people as possible to find their beloved pets…they are family” - Karen

23/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Dash

“We are very relieved to have found Dash, our kitten. Dash left our home early Thursday morning the 10th and never returned once during the day to sleep/drink or eat. This is very unlike him as he usually comes home during the day on and off.

We searched the local neighbourhood calling for him and shaking his treats but no sign and throughout the night we kept checking outside and calling his name. We also had neighbours checking their garages and looking out for him as well. I had put several posts up on our local page for our area and also lost pet finders too.

Just after 6.30am this morning we were calling his name out on the deck in the storm and he was meowing and walking along our front lawn very wet, cold and hungry. We have no idea where he has been the last 24 hours but he is home safe again and catching up on sleep.

Thank you Lost Pet Finders for your help and support.” - Viv

22/11/2022

REUNION OF THE DAY: Lola

“Happy to help, it’s such a relief to have Lola home. We understand all too well what other lost pet owners are going through.

We got Lola when she was four months old. We only had her for four months before she disappeared. We had only just started to let her out of the house under supervision. The first time she was let out unsupervised she did not come home. By evening we were really worried.

We printed off missing pet flyers and posted them around the neighbourhood. My husband canvassed 350 houses in one day. We also registered her missing on the local community page and missing pet social media channels. We had a huge amount of support from the community. Many people commented on the social media posts which were really helpful. We had a few sightings which helped us pinpoint areas to physically search. After a week, it became more difficult as sightings are less frequent. We drew up more flyers with a reward offered, in case anyone was tempted to keep her.

This morning we got a message from someone: they had a cat that looked like ours safe in their garage. It was Lola! She was just one street away from our house.

Our advice to other missing pet owners is to keep trying and do absolutely everything you can as you don’t know which strategy will be the one that works.

Thanks for all your support.” - Miriam