SPCA Monterey County — © 2024 All rights reserved.

Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 94-1167409

Tips for Finding a Lost Pet

WHAT TO DO IF YOU LOST YOUR PET

CONTACT US

We are so sorry to hear your beloved pet is lost. Please fill out our online lost pet forms, call (831) 373-2631 or 422-4721, or email us.

Contact SPCA Monterey County with a description of your pet and the time and area from which he or she disappeared. If you have a current photo, please send it in the online report form (above). We strongly recommend visiting us and your local shelter in person to search for your lost pet. You can also click here to see a list of animal control and non-emergency police contact numbers, find the contact information for your town’s pet shelter, and virtually search our shelter for your lost pet.

SOCIAL MEDIA

There are numerous places where people post lost and found pets on social media. Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t realize they should also report those pets to our local shelters. We recommend searching as many of these places as you can, and more as new resources can pop up daily. Recruit your friends and family to help search online, too! Some of these places include:

Click here to prepare a flyer with relevant information about your pet, including a picture, name and physical description. Add details such as whether he or she is willing to approach strangers. Post and distribute flyers wherever your cat was last seen.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE MISSING ANY OTHER LOST PET

CONTACT US

Fill out our online Lost Pet Form and virtually search our shelter for your lost pet.

Call (831) 373-2631 or 422-4721, Fax 831-264-5492, or email us

Contact The SPCA for Monterey County with a description of your pet and the time and area from which he or she disappeared. If you have a current photo, please send it in the online report form (above). We strongly recommend visiting us and your local shelter in person to search for your lost pet. You can also click here to see a list of animal control and non-emergency police contact numbers, find the contact information for your town’s pet shelter, and virtually search our shelter for your lost pet.

SOCIAL MEDIA

There are numerous places where people post lost and found pets on social media. Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t realize they should also report those pets to our local shelters. We recommend searching as many of these places as you can, and more as new resources can pop up daily. Recruit your friends and family to help search online, too! Some of these places include:

POLLY WANT A CRACKER?

If you have lost your pet bird, listen, listen and listen some more – if the bird is up in a tree or out of sight, chances are that you won’t be able to see it. But, if the bird vocalizes, you will be able to find its location by listening. It will almost always make noises that can be heard, giving direction in which to look. Taking another bird out to the area may also help, especially if the other bird is a noisy friend of the lost bird or a mate or cage partner.

Try moving the bird’s cage outside to a patio or other area easily accessible to the escaped bird. Fill the seed cups, scatter a few seeds around the cage to entice the bird, and leave the cage door open. Birds will often return to the safety of their cage if they are near by and are able to do so.

Just like lost cats and dogs, consider making a lost pets flyer and posting an ad in your local paper. Call area pet stores and ask them to keep their ears open for strange telephone calls like people asking “what does a parrot eat” or “what kind of bird looks like this”. Don’t limit your notification activity to the immediate vicinity where the parrot was lost. Frightened birds often fly a long way.

CHECK WITH THE VET

If your pet was somehow injured, a kindly neighbor may have taken it to the nearest veterinary clinic for help.

PREVENT

Reduce the likelihood of your pet becoming lost by microchipping your pet. Many types of animals can be microchipped, not just cats and dogs. Call us for helpful advice.

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