Tag Archives: pickles

Unfortunately, I’m right now dealing with the hell that can be a lost kitty. Pickles went missing this Sunday. She never came in after one of her regular trips outside. Of course, when you let your kitties go out to play, there are definite risks involved that they may get lost or injured. However, our neighborhood is smaller, a bit more spread out, and a no-outlet place, so there aren’t many drivers speeding through. I haven’t (thankfully) seen any evidence yet in my searching that she got hit by a car or hurt by another animal, so the hope is that someone found and took her in. She likely lost her collar, which is why I haven’t gotten a call yet.

Pickles is also, thankfully, microchipped, which was done as part of the fee when I got her from the pet shelter. If someone turns her into a vet or humane society branch, being microchipped with my information highly increases the likeness that we’ll be reunited.

We’ve also put fliers in all of the mailboxes in our neighborhoods, so if someone finds her, they’ll know to get in touch. Our neighborhood is very cat-friendly, and many of our neighbors do have kitties who also play outside, so if she’s seen or noticed, I’ll hopefully get a call.

But the resource I thought I’d mention is something that someone showed my mom when she was talking about Pickles at work. There is a service called FindToto which will call a set amount of neighbors in the area where your kitty or dog was lost, and leave a message that includes a description and your information. They also enter your pet onto their database, so people can check online to see her. You can also report a pet that you found so someone can collect them.

Unfortunately, this service runs a bit expensive. The smallest package calls 250 homes for $85. We haven’t utilitzed the service yet, and will likely only do so as a last resort if fliers in the mailboxes doesn’t return anything. As Pickles has only been missing since Sunday afternoon, there’s still a chance she could turn up, and has just been playing around with other neighborcats. Still, I’m really impressed with this resource. They call each home early in the morning to try and reach people before work, and will try 4 times to get an answer to play the message. They boast a 72.4% success rate of reuniting pets with their owners within 48 hours of calls going out. Though you never want to imagine your pet going missing, you can even pre-register on the site for a bit cheaper, and can choose to send out an instant alert much quicker than signing up after your pet has gone missing.

However, the most comforting thing I’ve seen so far is in the “success stories.” Many people report that their kitties came home on their own, or that a neighbor found their kitty hiding out in a shed of theirs. Another reports that an elderly woman who feeds strays had been feeding a neighborcat, not knowing it belonged to someone (and as we all know, kitties go where they have easiest food access). The funniest story is that a neighbor discovered a lost cat had been sneaking into a hole in the wall of their basement to steal their kitty’s food!

While losing a pet can be an incredibly trying experience, I’m really thankful that there are resources out there to help get them back, and it definitely eases the strain of hours of searching and calling.

If you have any other suggestions or stories about getting your kitty back, please comment! We’d love to hear more.

Here’s hoping Pickles comes home soon! I miss her very much!