I'm a writer on Quora, and I'm always looking at information that other Quorans write on cats. I came across this today, and want to share it. In all the years I've read about tips for finding lost cats, I'd never seen this! But this tip only works if you still have your cat's soiled (with pee/poop) litter box. (or can find some in your yard if they're outdoor cat) So, rather than post the link from Quora, I'm going to post the entire instructions with the Quoran's name:
Kimberly Hitchens, Owner, Booknook.biz (2009-present)Answered Oct 26
"I have one tip that sounds whacky as hell, but it works. I know this personally, as I had to deploy it in the case of a cat that was lost, some 15 years ago, a cat that went outdoors, but only in our (walled) yard. Something happened that scared him, he went “over the wall” and a manhunt for the cat ensued, taking nearly 10 days.He was lost in November—a month that here, where I live, is cold and dry. Of all conditions, this is the hardest weather and temperature for a cat to find his way home, because the ground does not retain his own scent, from where his scent-marking pads, on his paws, deposited that scent. So, you have to help her.Hopefully, you have not dumped the last scoops from her box.Get a stocking—pantyhose or a single stocking, doesn’t matter. Use a slightly heavier one, a cheaper one, because you need it to hold together. Fill it with dirty clumps and poo from the catbox. (I swear, this is not me spoofing or pranking you.) Tie the top, take it outside, and then DRAG IT around your neighborhood in trails that always lead back to your door. Try not to cross the trails, so that you don’t accidentally lead the cat away from your door.Pay attention to things like, where you cross the roads—THINK about it, as if you were standing there and saw your own cat crossing the street. Try to make it in the safest possible place. Try to put trails where she can most-easily follow them, if she’s a scaredy-cat. Close to shrubs, where she can hide, or walls, etc. Drag that sucker around until you think your arms are going to fall off. (I did this after dark for 3 days running, for a few hours each night.)
The cat will recognize her own smell, her own pee/poo. If she comes across the trail, she will follow it.I did this for 3 nights after my cat had been missing a week, and I was nearly insane. It worked. The morning of the 4th day (or 11th, depending on how you count it), he was home.I got that trick from a woman in a Pet Rescue organization. And it worked. Of course, don’t fail to do all the other things you should—put up flyers, call shelters and all that, but if you have the remnants of her box, grab a stocking. She’ll be MORE likely to follow it if she’s a scaredy-cat than an explorer or escape artist.
I hope you find your cat. I know it sounds whacky, but I swear, it works."