1. Plaster every telephone pole, including any businesses in the are - if they'll let you, and every house in the search area with a simple flyer with a photo of your cat and your contact details. If your pet is microchipped be sure to include a short statement that he or she is microchipped. This will discourage anyone from picking him or her up and keeping your kitty for themself. Also, if your pet is microchipped be sure to update the microchip company with any change in contact details and let them know that he or she is currently lost.
If your kitty is new to you and your home, it would be a good idea to post flyers strategically along the distance between you and your kitty’s original location.
Staples has colour printers for about 7 cents (it's been awhile) a piece you can get them done in colour on regular paper and stick one in everyone's mailbox.
2. Also post a sign on your front lawn - think at least 1/2 Bristol board size - with the same details about your cat. Staples can enlarge a colour copy for you.
3. Talk to every neighbour around the 3 blocks surrounding your home to ask their permission to search on their property - under porches, steps, in garages and sheds, to see if your cat is hiding on their property. This is a good time to give these people a copy of your flyer.
4. File a missing report with the Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines. See if you can go there to file the report and take a flyer with you to leave with your report. They are at 160 Fourth Avenue, St. Catharines, phone 905-682-0767 first to see if they are allowing personal visits. Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/lincolncountyhumanesociety. This humane society covers St. Catharines, Thorold and areas of Louth.
5. File a missing report with the Niagara SPCA & Humane Society at 6025 Chippawa Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario. See if you can go there to file the report and take a flyer with you to leave with your report. Telephone first 905-356-4404. Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/NiagaraFallsHumaneSociety/. This humane society covers both Niagara Falls and Welland.
6. Leave a window open so that, or a shed or garage or porch door open, if he comes back during the middle of the night he has a way in. Leave food and water in a sheltered area but an area open enough that he or she could smell the food. A garage or back yard shed or house porch are good spots for this.
7. Everyday telephone both humane societies to see if they have had any reports of a "found" cat matching your cat's description. Then you will need to physically go to the humane societies to check their cats for yourself. DO NOT ACCEPT the description of any of the employees at the humane societies as everyone has a different opinion of colouring, size, and weight of pets. I volunteered at the LCHS for 1-1/2 years and many times had to correct the pet descriptions, even after they were posted on adoption media posts.
If your kitty is new to you and your home, you may need to borrow a live trap from one of the humane societies or a pet rescue and fit it out with food and water to try to entice him or her to come back to your location.