So you believe you have a stray cat visiting your property? Here are a few things you can do.
- Try not to instantly feed the cat, the cat may be on medication or special food.
- Check to see if the cat has a collar and identity tag on the collar.
- Knock on your neighboring doors and ask if any of them know or recognise the cat.
- Take the best photo of the cat you can and place the cat with a location and description on our Facebook Group We can also advise you further on the next steps you can take on the group discussion.
- Place a paper collar on the cat with your phone number on the paper collar. (Our paper collar link is HERE . If you do not receive a call within 4-7 days and the collar is still on the cat then please get in touch and we can check the cat for a chip. (Your local vet should also provide this free of charge also).
- If the cat is injured then waste no time in either containing the cat yourself and taking the cat to your nearest vet or get in touch with us and we will try and help you the best we can.
- If you believe the cat is female and lactating then please do not close the cat indoors as she may be feeding babies, they will most likely die without their mum.
- Please bear in mind that just because a cat is outdoors it does not mean that the cat is homeless. The cat may belong to a family so please take caution when taking cats off the street.
- If the cat looks well fed and clean then please don’t close the cat indoors or feed the cat.
- Please always approach any unknown cat with caution, cat bites and scratches can be quite nasty.
Found A Young Kitten?
If you have found a very young kitten that you believe should not be outside on his/her own, then please don’t leave the kitten outside in the cold. Bring the kitten indoors and repeat the above steps. Kittens can struggle with the cold especially if they are used to living in a home environment.
Found A Litter of Kittens?
If you have found a litter of kittens at your property then please do not touch or move them straight away. Instead, stand back out of the way for a few hours and observe to see if a mum cat returns to them. Moving or disturbing the litter of kittens will make mum cat move the babies as she will not feel it is safe for her babies to be there anymore. Approach with caution as lactating queens can be very protective of their babies and can hiss, spit and attack anyone getting too close for comfort (although this is not always the case with all cats). If the cat is approachable then please take the mum and babies indoors and either get in touch so we can check the cat for a chip or contact a nearby rescue (Try CatChat to search for a nearby rescue/shelter in your area).
Found A Deceased Cat?
If you have come across a deceased cat or have accidentally run over a cat and the cat has passed away you can either take the cat to your local vet or move the cat to a safe place away from the road and get in touch with us where we can collect and scan the cat for a chip. We will also keep the cat safe for as long as we can and continue to search for an owner free of charge. You can also report on our Facebook Group