Found Cat: What to Do?
Have you found a lost cat? Follow these tips to help a lost or stray cat find its home.
By
Jeff McAllister |
Posted: Tue Jun 28 00:00:00 PDT 2005
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2. If you have food use it. Food is a great tool for winning a cat's trust.
3. Exercise patience, talk softly, and don't make any sudden moves that may startle him.
Decision Time
Once you can get close enough to pick him up, it's decision time. Do you bring him home, to a shelter, or call animal control? Stop! First, you have to determine if he belongs to someone. Check for tags or tattoos and take the cat to a vet or shelter to be scanned for a microchip identification implant.
Be aware that if you call animal control, they will likely take the cat to a local shelter, which may euthanize the animal after a short period, if unclaimed. If the animal is injured and suffering, this may be the humane thing to do. If the cat appears healthy, check the phone directory for no-kill shelters in your area. If you can care for the cat for a while, try to find the owner, if there is one.
1. Check the lost and found section of the local papers in the area where you found the cat.
2. Place a found cat ad in your local newspaper.
3. Put up fliers in the area you found the cat.
4. Check local shelters to see if someone is missing a cat fitting the description of the cat you found. While there, fill out a found cat report.
5. Check websites such as Pets 911. Place a found ad and check the lost ads on the site for the surrounding area in which you found the cat.
After a reasonable time has passed and no one has claimed the kitty, it's decision time again. Perhaps after having spent time with your new friend, you can't bear to take him to a shelter, so you decide to keep him. If on the other hand, you are unable to keep Kitty, and want him to go to a good home, take him to a no-kill shelter for adoption. There he will receive proper care, medical attention if necessary, be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and placed for adoption.
Finally, we must remember that homeless cats need our help. Rather than allowing their existence be a battle to the end give their life a happy ending!
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Found Cat: What to Do?