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How to find a lost cat: Unique method from Japan proves to be surprisingly effective

Oona McGee May 11, 2019
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Pet owners swear this unconventional technique works for lost dogs too.

We all know that cats love to look down on their human owners with disdain, but we never think they’re actually going to turn their tails up on us and leave, especially when we hold all the bargaining chips as their ever-loving carers who lavish them with pats, warmth, and never-ending bowls of food and water.

Still, despite all our love and affection, there are felines who are desperate to get out there and explore, and with little regard for the feelings of humans, they can be gone for hours, days, or weeks, without even stopping to consider the worry and concern they’re creating back home.

That’s what happened to Japanese Twitter user @charlie0816 recently, when their beloved cat escaped and didn’t return home for two days. However, this story has a happy ending, thanks to the use of an unusual method found on Twitter, which @charlie0816 now wants to share with pet owners around the world.

“My cat escaped two days ago and didn’t return, but somebody on Twitter said, ‘Talking to cats in the neighbourhood and saying to them, ‘If you see my cat, please tell it to come home’ is an effective technique.’ So last night, I went to the local convenience store and gave it a try by speaking to the stray cats there, and then this morning our cat returned to the front of our house. Um…is it seriously this effective?”

ネコが2日前に脱走して帰ってこなかったのだけど「近所の猫に、ウチの猫見つけたら帰るよう言ってくれって言うの効く」ってツイッターで誰かが言ってたので昨日の晩、近くのコンビニに住み着いてる野良ネコにダメ元で言ったら今日の朝家の前まで帰ってきてたんだけど・・
え、マジで効くのこれ？

— チャーリー(CV 石川佳典) (@charlie0816) May 6, 2019

Sceptics might be quick to jump to conclusions, pointing out that there could be any number of reasons explaining why the cat returned home, and that the timing was just sheer coincidence.

However, what surprised everyone was the number of responses from other people who said they had similar results with their own lost pets after speaking to stray animals in the area, leaving us wondering if this method might really just work.

“My mother did the same thing for a child who lost their cat after just two days of having it. She told the strays the story and the cat returned the next day!”

“I went looking for my cat with a tin of cat food and when a stray crossed my path, I fed and spoke to it and my cat returned within the hour.”

“When I lost my cat, one of the strays passed our house so I asked it if it knew where my cat was. It meowed and then walked slowly towards the storehouse and meowed in front of it. Then I heard my cat meowing back from inside!”

“Our cat disappeared on the day we moved into our new place and was missing for a week. I asked a stray for its help and the next day the stray came back with my cat. I was dumbfounded!”

”Our dog disappeared so I asked a pet cat to help find it, and then a few minutes later it came back with our dog. I was freaked out and impressed at the same time!”

These were just a small sample of dozens of testimonies attesting to the effectiveness of talking to cats when searching for lost animals. Could it really be just a coincidence in all these cases? Or do pets only seek to return when they fear they might be losing their human servants to feline competition in the neighbourhood?

We may never get the answers to these mysteries, but if you do find yourself looking for a lost animal in future, this might just be a method worth trying out. After all, cats do seem to know – and see – a lot more than we do, and sometimes when we talk to them they even talk back, proving that they really can understand our verbal cues!

Source: Twitter/@charlie0816 via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: Pakutaso
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