Missing cat: make a poster and search

Use the form to build a "Missing cat" poster with your cat's photo. It is drawn in your browser and nothing is uploaded. The search plan follows.

The first 24 hours

The ASPCA's advice for finding a lost pet, in order:

1. Search your home first: under beds, in closets, behind furniture. Shake a treat jar or food bowl.
2. Search the neighborhood on foot or by car with a recent photo. Ask neighbors to check porches, sheds, garages and shrubs.
3. Call animal control, vet hospitals, shelters and rescue groups, and visit the shelters in person every day with photos.
4. Post on social media and local lost pet groups.
5. Make a flyer with a bold headline, a clear photo, breed, sex, color, age, weight, markings, where and when your cat was last seen, and two phone numbers. Use the same design everywhere.
6. Put flyers up near where your cat was lost and at vet offices, pet stores, groomers and parks.
7. Keep going. Many lost pets do come home.

Check the microchip

If your cat is microchipped, make sure the registry has your current phone number. If you do not know which registry holds the chip, enter the chip number in the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup. It checks participating registries and tells you which companies to contact. It does not show owner details. Read more in cat microchip cost.

Found someone else's cat?

AAHA suggests checking for an ID tag, having a vet or shelter scan for a microchip, telling local shelters and animal control, and asking anyone who claims the pet for photos or specific markings, to avoid scams.

Sources

• ASPCA, Finding a Lost Pet. Checked October 25, 2026.
• AAHA, Universal Pet Microchip Lookup. Checked October 25, 2026.
• AAHA, What to Do if You Find a Lost Pet. Checked October 25, 2026.