I called the newspaper today and they are going to start running the ad tomorrow for my kitty leon, they told me that I could offer a reward but it would be $12 a week to run the ad, or not offer a reward and they would run it for free.. I have never done this b4 so I didnt know if I should offer a reward or not? and if so how much?

I am largely guessing here, but I would say that a reward slightly
increases your chances of getting your cat back, but there's no
shame if you can't afford it. Cat lovers will likely keep an eye
peeled for a lost cat whether there's a reward or not.

I seem to remember reading that you shouldn't advertise the
amount of the reward in the ad itself. I would guess that
somewhere between $40 and $100 is appropriate, but I've
never done it before personally. You might specify a small
reward, so nobody comes to you with unrealistic expectations
or assumes that you're wealthy.

Beware of people calling in false information or the wrong
cats to get the reward, if you do offer one. They also say
you should leave out one or two identifying things about your
cat so people are less likely to fool you. I guess that means
that if someone calls you and tells you they have your cat,
you can ask about the identifying mark and see if they
get it right--the color of the tip of its tail or something like that.

Good luck.

-Sarah