LOST CATS

The sooner you report your cat missing, to the widest possible audience, the more likely it is that he/she will be found.
Contact us on 01483 721700 and leave a message in Mailbox 3. Our Lost and Found Officer will call you back as soon as she gets your message, and can give you lots of advice and suggestions to increase the likelihood of you finding your cat safe and well.  She will also add your cat’s details to our Lost and Found register and our website.
Whilst you are waiting for her call, you should:-
• Thoroughly search your house, garden, outbuildings and the immediate surrounding area
• Ask your neighbours if they have seen your cat
• Start to prepare a list of information about your cat to pass on to us, other rescue organisations, local vets and to go on posters
• Try not to panic!  Many cats go missing for a few hours, a few days or even longer, and then turn up safe and well, wondering what all the fuss is about.  When you have news of your cat, please remember to tell us, and any other organisations you have contacted.

FOUND CATS

If you find a sick or injured cat, please take it to the nearest vet.  You will not be charged for emergency treatment for a stray cat.
If the cat is not injured, here’s what you should do:-
• If the cat is hungry, please feed it and provide some clean, fresh water.  (Do not offer milk, as this can in fact make some cats ill)
• If you are unwilling to allow the cat into your house, please provide a shelter for it outside.  This can be as simple as a box, covered with a bin liner to make it waterproof and lined with an old towel or blanket, weighted down against the wind or tucked under a bush.
• Ask around the neighbours to see if they know whose cat it is.  It may not be a stray at all, but a recent addition to someone’s family, or belong to a family that has recently moved in.  You could also check local shops, etc for “Missing Cat” posters
• If possible, take the cat to a vet to be scanned for a microchip.  Vets do not charge for this service.
• Contact Cats Protection (as above for Lost Cats), other rescue organisations and local vets.

Please, please, please do not just feed a stray cat for months without making any attempt to find the owner, or a place for the cat with a rescue organisation.  The sooner you start searching for the owner, the more likely it is that they and the cat will be re-united.  Unless they are “at risk”, animal rescue organisations are unable to collect stray cats immediately, but will place them on a waiting list.  The sooner we are aware of the need for a place for the cat, the easier it is to prioritise the limited space in the re-homing pens, and the sooner the cat can be taken to a place of safety.

Re-homing a stray cat

If you are willing to offer a home to the stray you have befriended, the cat will need to be on an official Lost and Found Register for 2 weeks, to allow the owner time to come forward.  If the cat is not claimed in that time, Cats Protection may be able to assist with the cost of neutering, microchipping etc for your new feline friend.