'Lost and Found' with Sarah
Firstly, let me introduce myself, my name is Sarah and I live in Lee on Solent with my husband Ian and two cats Tim & Willow, who are both gorgeous black felines, one male 16year old short haired and the other a female 5year old Persian cross that was a rescue cat. (Willow is pictured). After having contact with a local CP volunteer who helped catch, foster then re-home a stray cat that had `adopted` us some time ago, I understood more about what an invaluable service Cats Protection provide and consequently I was keen to join the organisation as a volunteer and offer help where I could.
I receive calls and emails from all sorts of people across the area and try to help and advise regarding their lost or found cats. It`s very upsetting for an owner when their cat goes missing and it`s really satisfying be able to suggest options in their search that they may not have yet thought of e.g. posters, leaflet drops, local vets, newspaper adverts, local radio & notice boards. An advert on our website is also available free of charge and many owners email me pictures of their cats so we can upload onto the website with a description of puss. I even had a call from a lady in Spain (I did initially think that would be a `little` out of our area!) who was on holiday and her cat was being looked after at home and had gone missing and I was able to provide the appropriate advice. In addition to offering practical help, it`s often a comfort to the owner just to talk it through with someone and make sure they`ve covered all options as it can be such a worrying and stressful time as anyone knows who has been in that awful situation.
The Lost & Found register I keep is emailed to all the local vets and the Stubbington Ark RSPCA unit on a regular basis as well as advertising in the Big Voice & Gosport Choice free publication so information is shared amongst all animal services and the more visibility the better when it comes to finding the missing pets.
When cats are found, one of our volunteers will go and scan the cat, when possible, to firstly establish, if they have a microchip, if they do, I contact the national register to obtain the owners contact details. Sometimes it is a happy ending with cat safely reunited with owner but sometimes the cats aren`t micro chipped so I would firstly, place a paper collar on the cat with my contact details to establish if the cat is owned. More often than not though, no one contacts me and the cats would then be taken into our foster care and advertised for a 1 week period before re-homing after a full vet check up and relevant neuter or spay procedures.
We advertise these found cats on our website www.gosport.cats.org.uk so do remember to keep an eye on the Lost & Found section as you never know, that unfamiliar cat strolling through your garden, may after all be someone’s beloved missing pet!
Gosport Cats Protection Lost & Found.
Contact: Sarah Tel 07917 194900