Advice & help: what to do if your dog or cat is missing

Has your dog or cat gone missing? We’re here to help. Here’s a summary of the first steps to take if your pet goes missing:

  • Register your pet as missing with your pet’s microchip database. This is really important as any dog or cat that is found will be scanned for a microchip so make sure your details are up to date.
  • Post on social media for your local area and check for any posts of pets which have been found. Use a good quality photo of your pet and include details such as whether it’s microchipped, whether it’s wearing a collar and any other features that might help people identify it. We don’t recommend including a phone number or the name of your pet as this can make you a target for scammers.
  • For lost dogs, contact the local dog warden (for Perth this is 01738 476476) or the Police as the dog may have been handed in. Within Perth itself, Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society (PADS) may have had the dog handed into them.
  • For lost cats, contact Cats Protection as the cat may have been found and reported to them (for Perth this is 01738 700 070).

Once you’ve taken these steps, there are practical things that you can do to help your pet return home which we explain below.

What to do if your dog goes missing

When a dog runs away from its owner, it’s usually because it’s been spooked or has caught a wonderful scent and was simply far too interested in that than coming back to its owner. If you’re out with your dog and it runs off:

STAY WHERE YOU ARE

  • Most dogs will fairly quickly go back to the last place they saw their owner.  If you leave the area, they will become confused and may then go into ‘flight mode’.  See below for an explanation of ‘flight mode’.  
  • Your dog has an amazing sense of smell and should be able to find their way back by sniffing you out.

NOTE YOUR LOCATION

  • If you have a mobile phone signal, and have access to What 3 Words or a maps application, take a screenshot of where you last saw your dog.
  • Note which direction your dog was heading in.

DON’T SHOUT FOR YOUR DOG

  • When your dog first wanders off, calling and whistling is fine.  But, if your dog doesn’t come back within the normal amount of time for your dog, stop calling.
  • It might seem wrong to stop calling but there are a few reasons why it’s vital you don’t shout:
    • Your dog will sense the stress in your voice and may think something is wrong so won’t come back to you.
    • Your dog might be in ‘flight mode’ (see below) and loud shouting or calling will just frighten it even more.
  • What you can do is walk around the area slowly and quietly talk to yourself.  Your dog also has amazing hearing, and hearing a gentle quiet voice may give them the confidence to approach.  Only the owner should do this. 
  • Whilst it’s tempting to get lots of people in to help search, it could spook the dog even more. If anyone is helping you search they should be as quiet as possible!

ASK AROUND

  • Ask passers-by if they’ve seen your dog.  Early sightings are important to understand which direction the dog may have taken and can help in searching.
  • These days, lots of people have CCTV and doorbell cameras – try asking people at those properties if anything was spotted on their cameras.

ASK FOR HELP

  • If you’re by yourself when your dog goes missing, call in help from people who know your dog.  You might need to leave the area to go home to get supplies, phone chargers etc and it helps if someone can remain in the area to spot your dog.

LEAVE YOUR DOG SOMETHING TO COME BACK TO

  • If you have some bedding with you or something with your scent on it, leave it out and retreat a short distance way away to see if the dog approaches.  
  • Leave out your dog’s favourite treats, ideally something smelly.
  • Have a BBQ!  The smell of cooking meat can tempt a hungry dog into approaching but PLEASE DO NOT light a BBQ when the fire risk is high!  You could cause a wildfire which is even more dangerous for you and your dog.

IF YOUR DOG’S MISSING FOR THAN A NORMAL AMOUNT OF TIME FOR YOUR DOG

  • This is the time to call in more expert help.  Contact us as we can assist with initial advice and on the ground searches. Depending on the circumstances (such as any dangers in the location or if the dog still has a lead attached), we might suggest leaving it 24 hours to see if your dog makes its way home.
  • Be aware:
    • some organisations charge a fee for searching for a missing dog (we do not).
    • there are a lot of scammers who will take advantage of you at a time when they know you’re vulnerable so be careful who you ask for help.  
  • Here are some more steps you can take:
    • Put up posters.  We have a template you can use.
    • Preserve some of your dog’s scent.  It may be possible to use trained search dogs to look for your dog and they will need uncontaminated items with your dog’s scent.  We suggest taking a few items and putting them into a zip-lock freezer bag and freezing it.  Only provide these items to trained and qualified dog search teams as they will know how to handle the items to prevent cross-contamination.  They may cut the items into smaller pieces for use over several searches.
    • Put down a scent trail for your dog.  Using very small bits of bedding (chop up a blanket or bedding into very small pieces) and make a trail for your dog from the last place seen to where you are.

IF YOU OR A SEARCHER SEES YOUR DOG WHEN IT’S BEEN MISSING FOR LONGER THAN NORMAL FOR YOUR DOG:

  • If a searcher spots the dog they must withdraw and this is where you need to take over. Assess the situation. Is the dog in any danger? Does the dog look skittish or scared? Is the dog injured? Depending on what you find, this will influence the next steps.
  • Don’t shout at the dog!  Resist the urge to shout, it may spook the dog even more. If the dog looks fairly calm, you can try calling gently.  
  • If the dog looks skittish or scared, lower yourself slowly to the ground – that way you’re less of a threat to the dog. Try not to look directly at your dog – it can see this as a threat. Instead, sit quietly on the ground and wait for your dog to approach.  This could take minutes or hours so you will need to be patient.
  • Have some treats with you and place them on the ground away from you, to give your dog something to approach you for.  If your dog moves towards them, just let your dog take them and then retreat.  Don’t spook your dog.
  • Keep working on the dog approaching you, until they are close enough to carefully slip a lead on or they feel confident to sit with you.

WHAT’S FLIGHT MODE AND WHY IT MATTERS WHEN LOOKING FOR A MISSING DOG?

‘Flight mode’ is the ‘fight or flight’ response when a dog senses extreme danger and they focus only on fleeing.  It’s not known at what stage a lost dog goes into ‘flight mode’, for some it can be immediate and for others it can be hours or even days. Some might not go into flight mode at all – it all depends on the dog. It’s always safer to assume that your dog went into flight mode immediately, that way you won’t risk frightening it even more.  It can take a few days for a dog to settle down into a less stressed state.

If you, or other people, call for your dog, it can frighten them.  Even the most friendly of dogs won’t approach anyone, even its owner, because the stress hormones flooding its brain will have taken over and it will become a ‘wild’ animal (in that it ceases to act in a normal domesticated way). We’ve seen instances where a dog has smelled its owner, knows they are there, but will stay hidden until they don’t sense any danger.  This can sometimes take hours and needs a lot of patience to convince the dog they are safe.  

What to do if your cat goes missing

Cats can disappear for many reasons – they are wanderers but usually return home for food and company!  Sometimes they may take a few days or even longer before they decide to come home. If your cat goes missing, here are some things you can do:

LOOK AROUND YOUR HOME AND GARDEN

  • Cats like hiding!  They like small, warm places so have a check of outbuildings such as sheds and garages (by the boiler or on a warm car bonnet!).
  • Also look in your airing cupboard and other cupboards, even behind your curtains and under blankets and duvets. Some cats have been found in a warm washing machine or tumble dryer! 
  • Your home might also have other hiding places such as under floorboards or in attics – even onto the roof.

USE TREATS

  • Try leaving out a bowl of your cat’s favourite food or treats.  Because cats have a strong sense of smell, use very smelly ones (sardines in oil are great!) and try using a trail of sardine oil to tempt them to food.
  • If your cat is normally a house cat, try leaving some sardines in oil or other smelly food by an open window to tempt it to return.

CALL FOR YOUR CAT

  • Cats tend to be more active late at night or early morning so if you go out and call for your cat, they may hear you.
  • Try shaking a packet of their favourite treats if that’s what they are used to.

LEAVE OUT SOME FAMILIAR ITEMS 

  • A favourite toy, their litter tray, some of your clothing, or bedding all smell familiar to your cat and will help them approach.

ASK AROUND

  • Put a post up on your local facebook page and ask people to check their homes, sheds, garages and vehicles. We don’t recommend including a phone number as we have experience of this attracting scammers.
  • Ask your neighbours if they have seen your cat – if they have CCTV or doorbell cameras as them if they could check to see if your cat appears.

UPDATE YOUR CAT’S MICROCHIP DETAILS

  • Make sure your cat’s microchip details are up to date and that the status is set to ‘missing’. If a cat is found, many organisations (including ourselves) have microchip scanners and these are used to trace owners.

CONTACT CATS PROTECTION

  • For the Perth area the contact number is 01738 700 070.  Alternatively, pop your postcode into https://www.cats.org.uk/find-us/ for your local contact.  Your cat may have already been handed in and they scan every cat for a microchip.

USE POSTERS

  • We have a template you can use.