MARN Sign

POSTERS

Both posters and flyers are a very important! If people find a cat and do not see any lost cat posters around, they may assume nobody is looking for the cat, and may not even try to find you.

White paper flyer

Flyers
You can print up a bunch of plain white, letter-sized flyers using regular copier paper (8.5 x 11 or any size you want) with your cat’s photo & your contact information, to hand out to neighbors, and post on bulletin boards, in shop windows, etc.

It’s best to use a laser printer, or make color copies at Staples or Kinko’s, as these are generally rain-resistant, as you will want to post some of your flyers outdoors. If you cannot find a laser printer, or can’t get to a copy store like Kinko’s, you will have to put plastic page protectors over the white paper flyers, or other protective covering, in order to keep them from being ruined in the rain.

You can use these flyers by themselves, for indoor places (pet food stores, library, church, etc.)  or to hand out to people. And you can tape/glue them onto neon-colored poster board or oaktag to make street posters, as shown below. Note: If you are offering a reward, it is not advised to mention the amount of the reward.

It’s fine to put some of these up on roads that get a lot of foot traffic–people walking dogs, joggers, etc. However, small papers flyers are NOT adequate to reach drivers. I can’t tell you how many 9×11 flyers I pass on the road that might be lost pet posters, but also might be advertisements for yard sales, items for sale, etc. They simply cannot be read from the road. So you should also make some street posters as described below.

Making street posters that people will notice: Many homemade signs are ineffective because they don’t catch the eye of motorists passing by, or they are ruined by weather or can’t be easily read for some other reason. For noticeable signs, make them large (use the poster size oak tag/poster board, in bright neon or eye-catching colors).

Notice that important information (Lost Cat, Siamese) is large enough, thick enough, and dark enough for drivers to see easily, even at speeds as high as 55 miles per hour.  The bigger and bolder you can make the lettering, the better. Be sure to use waterproof markers (e.g. Sharpies) or adhesive lettering that is meant to be used outdoors. Drivers can pull over to read the fine details on your white paper flyers. Even better, you can make the photo of your cat full page sized, as shown in the orange lost dog poster above. This is even more effective. If your cat is black, white or black and white, you can make black and white copies of the photos, rather than colored ones, and save some money.

Remember, you are just trying to get their attention at first. If you have too much information on the colored background, people won’t be able to read it all as they drive past anyway, so it will often be ignored. You are trying to get selective motorists (those who have found a cat, or who are missing their cat) to stop so they can read your sign. For this reason, you want to be sure to place your posters in places where drivers can safely pull over to read them.

Save old campaign and political signs! You can use the frames to mount your posters on.

For more info about posters: https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/neon-posters/

Please be considerate of others when placing your posters
(i.e. not on private property, not covering other posters) and please take the signs down again when appropriate. Keep an eye on your posters, and replace them if they are removed or if they are stained or unreadable.

Placement of posters and flyers:
Effective spots for your white paper flyers include veterinarians’ bulletin boards, animal shelters, animal feed stores, pet shops, your local police station and/or animal control office, library, transfer center, church, and other community bulletin boards.

Your neon colored Street posters should first go up on your own road and in your own neighborhood, and then, if you don’t get sightings and phone calls in a day or so, start placing them farther from home. You want to place your  street posters in spots where walkers will see them and motorists can safely stop to read them.

In NH, we are not really supposed to post lost cat flyers on telephone poles, or street sign posts. Some towns look the other way, but in other areas, your signs may be removed. In addition, it is a federal offense to place your flyers into anyone’s mailbox. So what to do?

Use an old election sign frame

Make your own wood frame

Make your own signposts using old election signs (just discard the candidate’s banner and tape your poster to the metal frame) or you can buy or make your own wooden signposts.

You can also attach your sign to a tree (without harming the tree) by using duct tape or other strong tape.

Duct tape your poster to a pole or tree

You can slip your white paper flyers under people’s windshield wipers, roll them and place them between someone’s doorknob and doorjamb, slide them underneath doors in apartment complexes, or place one on a bulletin board where it will be seen.

Of course, the best thing is to actually hand the flyer to a person and talk to them about your cat, because often, when face to face with you, people may suddenly remember a cat they saw recently.

If you are not getting calls with cat sightings, consider placing your signs in some new areas. Some people take the same routes most of the time and so may not have seen your signs yet. Placing a few signs in some new spots may very well generate new sightings of your cat!

For more info about posters: https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/neon-posters/

© Cat Finders