ARE YOU FEEDING A STRAY OR LOST CAT?

If you have a cat living with you which you think is either lost or abandoned, if you are feeding what you think may be a stray cat, or you know of anyone else with such a cat please report it to us.  Do not assume it has no owner, whatever state it may be in. It may simply be lost, and could have been lost months previously. It is not unknown for cats to get into cars, removal vans, and so on, and be transported miles from their homes.

We have many lost cats on our Lost and Found Register (not all on this website) and the number increases on a daily basis.  Most of the cats who go missing must be out there somewhere and, although we do manage to reunite quite a few with their owners, most of them are taken in by well meaning people, but are never actually reported.

Some of you will already know how distressing it is to lose a cat, and others can imagine. There is nothing worse than not knowing what has happened to your pet - the imagination works over-time. How would you feel if someone in the next village, or on the next estate, found your cat, and kept it without every reporting it?

Please help us to reunite more cats with their owners in the future by phoning us and reporting them. We have a plan of action when dealing with potential stray cats and ask for your assistance in gathering as much information as possible. Once we have substantiated that puss is indeed a stray he or she will go on our list for cats to come in. Priority is always given to poorly, pregnant or long term strays over cats already in a home that for whatever reason need to be rehomed.

Obviously prevention is better than cure. Ensure that your own cat has a collar and tag on at all times, and consider having him microchipped as well.

If you are thinking of adopting a long term stray that you have befriended please make sure you at least talk to your vet and make sure the cat has not already been checked for a microchip. Vets may recommend any stray with unknown background be blood tested for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukaemia (FELV (especially unneutered tom cats) due to the risk involved in transmitting nasty viruses to your own or other resident cats. If you are not sure what FIV or FELV means then please check out the CP Cat Care link at the bottom of the page or go to the fab.co.uk website. FIV is not a death sentence to cats (see our News article about it) but it would mean that FIV positive cats would need to be rehomed on their own or with other FIV cats.  Please read up about FIV and FELV as there is much ignorance and some cats sadly get put to sleep because concise and up to date information is not there for everyone to make a informed decision. Canterbury CP have successfully rehomed many friendly FIV cats. FELV however is a much more serious disease and you should speak to your vet regarding the future of a cat diagnosed with FELV.

Please ring us if you do have what you think may be a stray cat – 01227 266838 (local rate) or email us (contact details on our Contact Us page) .

We request that you leave us the following information:

    * Your name, contact details and maybe email.
    * Your address or where the cat is/has been found
    * How long the cat has been around the area, or when you first noticed pussycat.
    * The condition of the cat (if the cat is in distress or requires urgent veterinary care then please do ring us, but please note we are not an emergency service)
    * Is cat friendly, hand able or not (if not then we will lend you one of our traps)
    * What (if any) search you have undertaking to find out if the cat belongs to someone,
    * If you have taken the cat to the vets and if so did they check for microchip?
    * If you have taken the cat to the vets did they give you an idea of age, or tell you if it was a male or female)
    * Description of cat (male of female, colour, longhaired, shorthaired, unusual markings, pedigree). A photo would be very helpful!  See Lost and Found
    * Could it be pregnant? Not always obvious!
    * If its a male has the cat been neutered! Full toms are aggressive, spray their territory and are smelly, sometimes a big giveaway!
    * Does it have any form of ID such as collar etc, or looks as though it had a collar on its neck in the past.

Thank you

Photo of Lennie and Frenchie two young cats rehomed in 2008