We lost a cat going into the vet one time. We didn't use a carrier (I know, bad parents) and he jumped down. We put fliers all over the place. Two weeks went by, most of the fliers had been removed by then. We got a call from someone who lives on the out skirts of town, about 1/2 mile from where we lost him. She said she thought she'd found him. We rushed over to check and it was him!! He was significantly thinner than 2 weeks earlier, but he was safe and healthy. He was discovered 1/2 mile from where we lost him, 2 whole weeks later. Who knows where he'd been all that time.