4 ms·

The reason none of these measures are very effective has little to do with the method. Most of the time if a pet goes missing, it's dead by the time such measu

The reason none of these measures are very effective has little to do with the method. Most of the time if a pet goes missing, it's dead by the time such measures are taken or very soon after. Taking measures to avoid the disappearance in the first place can be more effective. If you have a cat that goes outside, making sure it's neutered massively decreases the areas they cover and risk of run-ins with other cats or predators. Having a cat flap is a huge help because the cat won't get stuck outside and go looking for shelter. Avoid collars because they get stuck on branches(even the ones that are designed to come undone easily can) And for fuck sake, the number of people who don't realise their short haired cats can't handle winter conditions... I see a lot of missing notices for shorthairs in the winter. Often with days or even weeks since they disappeared. All dead, almost guaranteed. And this goes for longhairs too, if less so. I have a Norwegian forest cat, who is better suited for cold weather even than most longhairs, and he barely goes outside at temps below -10C, and only very briefly. Longhairs still easily get frostbite on their ears, nose, and paws at those temps. If you're letting your cat outside at all in these conditions, you better have a flap or otherwise let them in immediately when they ask for it. Yes, even when you just let them out 5 minutes ago.

jmull 3y ago
> Most of the time if a pet goes missing, it's dead by the time such measures are taken or very soon after. > Avoid collars… This is bad information. Please don’t spread it. Lost dogs are recovered at about a 90% rate, and lost cats at about 75%. Collars are very helpful. Use a safety collar. If your pet is lost, get help from people who know how to find them. If possible call a local group. This directory is a great place to start in the US https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/mar-directory/ https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/mar-directory/
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
  "Safety" collars still get stuck. Sometimes the mechanism can get wet and freeze stuck. And I call bullshit on your 75% number for cats. That has to include false alarms where cats are just out for a really long time which is rare, but it happens. In those cases, the cat will just show up at some point completely unharmed all on its own. Usually it's owners freaking out because it hasn't happened before. Another common thing is some asshole in the neighbourhood takes it upon themselves to feed your cat, and it starts hanging out there for days at a time.
  - hackernewds 3y ago
    most people don't live in -20C conditions. this comment seems painfully obtuse
    - mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
      Does that make my advice wrong? Lots of people do. I could talk all day about summer conditions too, if you want me to. But I guess winter is on mind right now.
      - verve_rat 3y ago
        It makes it wrong for places where a wet collar won't freeze. Generalising from your experience to the entire globe can be unhelpful sometimes.
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
        Fair enough, I should have been clearer about that and specified that water only freezes in cold temperatures, lest someone misunderstood that subtle point.
        verve_rat 3y ago
        Your original advice was: >Avoid collars because they get stuck on branches(even the ones that are designed to come undone easily can) That doesn't mention the problem of freezing. Again, I'm just pointing out that your personal experience might not be a solid basis to provide advice to pet owners all over the world, and in fact, could be detrimental. What if a pet owner lives in a place where a wet collar won't freeze because they don't get "real" winters. What if a collar would help return a lost pet to its family? Your experience is not universal and people are just pointing that out to you.
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
        Fine. Still, it's an extremely minor nitpick, and that's what annoys me about it. With all of my tips combined, + living in a location well suited for cats(real nature like a forest nearby, low speed limit, picking a cat built for the local environment), your free-roaming cat simply won't get lost without something so bad happening to it it's very likely dead. Or it left for greener pastures because you treated it like shit. Some people don't understand how loyal cats can be, and how well they navigate and map out their environment(did you know cats have a detailed 3D mental map of their surroundings at all times? It's all in the hearing). That's how you get a lot of false alarms where normal cat behaviour is misconstrued as a disappearance. Other people think their cats are invincible and will do cruel things like forcing them to stay outside all night with no way to get inside. And yeah, if you do that, your cat will go hide in a garage and end up stuck there. But that's the owner's fault and they could have easily avoided it. So yeah, maybe a collar helped you find your cat. But the only reason it got lost is likely because you fucked up somehow. And you may have been lucky the collar didn't kill your cat. Having a cat is easy and a joy if you just know the first thing about what the fuck you're doing. And the extent to which people don't pisses me off so much I can sometimes go off the rails about it. Sorry about that.
hackernewds 3y ago
you are speaking out of your behind, about cats and wintery conditions which is a minority. dogs regularly are found, captured and returned at very high rates through these techniques
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
  Yes, I'm talking about cats. Because that's what I know about. I never claimed to be talking about dogs, did I? And I'm not talking out of my ass, but a wealth of experience owning cats, studying their behaviour and learning about their biology. The fact that some people don't get real winters doesn't invalidate my advice. Nor does it invalidate the fact that I see basic knowledge like this absent from cat owners on a regular basis.
southernplaces7 3y ago
Not always a fan of tech solutions for every problem, but I don't see why there isn't more widespread adoption of an implanted GPS tracking chips, and maybe coupled with them and app that lets you know if your pet has gone outside of a certain area. This could solve a vast majority of missing pet cases for those who use such a solution.

jmull 3y ago

> Most of the time if a pet goes missing, it's dead by the time such measures are taken or very soon after. > Avoid collars… This is bad information. Please don’t spread it. Lost dogs are recovered at about a 90% rate, and lost cats at about 75%. Collars are very helpful. Use a safety collar. If your pet is lost, get help from people who know how to find them. If possible call a local group. This directory is a great place to start in the US https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/mar-directory/ https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/mar-directory/

mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
"Safety" collars still get stuck. Sometimes the mechanism can get wet and freeze stuck. And I call bullshit on your 75% number for cats. That has to include false alarms where cats are just out for a really long time which is rare, but it happens. In those cases, the cat will just show up at some point completely unharmed all on its own. Usually it's owners freaking out because it hasn't happened before. Another common thing is some asshole in the neighbourhood takes it upon themselves to feed your cat, and it starts hanging out there for days at a time.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  most people don't live in -20C conditions. this comment seems painfully obtuse
  - mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
    Does that make my advice wrong? Lots of people do. I could talk all day about summer conditions too, if you want me to. But I guess winter is on mind right now.
    - verve_rat 3y ago
      It makes it wrong for places where a wet collar won't freeze. Generalising from your experience to the entire globe can be unhelpful sometimes.
      - mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
        Fair enough, I should have been clearer about that and specified that water only freezes in cold temperatures, lest someone misunderstood that subtle point.
        verve_rat 3y ago
        Your original advice was: >Avoid collars because they get stuck on branches(even the ones that are designed to come undone easily can) That doesn't mention the problem of freezing. Again, I'm just pointing out that your personal experience might not be a solid basis to provide advice to pet owners all over the world, and in fact, could be detrimental. What if a pet owner lives in a place where a wet collar won't freeze because they don't get "real" winters. What if a collar would help return a lost pet to its family? Your experience is not universal and people are just pointing that out to you.
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
        Fine. Still, it's an extremely minor nitpick, and that's what annoys me about it. With all of my tips combined, + living in a location well suited for cats(real nature like a forest nearby, low speed limit, picking a cat built for the local environment), your free-roaming cat simply won't get lost without something so bad happening to it it's very likely dead. Or it left for greener pastures because you treated it like shit. Some people don't understand how loyal cats can be, and how well they navigate and map out their environment(did you know cats have a detailed 3D mental map of their surroundings at all times? It's all in the hearing). That's how you get a lot of false alarms where normal cat behaviour is misconstrued as a disappearance. Other people think their cats are invincible and will do cruel things like forcing them to stay outside all night with no way to get inside. And yeah, if you do that, your cat will go hide in a garage and end up stuck there. But that's the owner's fault and they could have easily avoided it. So yeah, maybe a collar helped you find your cat. But the only reason it got lost is likely because you fucked up somehow. And you may have been lucky the collar didn't kill your cat. Having a cat is easy and a joy if you just know the first thing about what the fuck you're doing. And the extent to which people don't pisses me off so much I can sometimes go off the rails about it. Sorry about that.

hackernewds 3y ago

you are speaking out of your behind, about cats and wintery conditions which is a minority. dogs regularly are found, captured and returned at very high rates through these techniques

mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
Yes, I'm talking about cats. Because that's what I know about. I never claimed to be talking about dogs, did I? And I'm not talking out of my ass, but a wealth of experience owning cats, studying their behaviour and learning about their biology. The fact that some people don't get real winters doesn't invalidate my advice. Nor does it invalidate the fact that I see basic knowledge like this absent from cat owners on a regular basis.

southernplaces7 3y ago

Not always a fan of tech solutions for every problem, but I don't see why there isn't more widespread adoption of an implanted GPS tracking chips, and maybe coupled with them and app that lets you know if your pet has gone outside of a certain area. This could solve a vast majority of missing pet cases for those who use such a solution.