Where To Take Stray Cats
If you have captured a stray cat, you should then either bring it to a rescue center or take it to a shelter. Both places are capable of checking that the cat is in good health, spayed or neutered and up to date on its vaccinations. From there, you can decide whether to keep the cat, if you are legally able to do so, or if you would like for it to be kept at a shelter to be adopted by someone else. There are many no-kill shelters that are willing to take in stray cats and help them get healthy, well-fed and happy so they can find forever homes.
The most important thing to remember when trying to rescue strays is safety. If you are unsure how to proceed, or dont feel comfortable trying to capture a stray, call a local shelter or rescue program.
How Can I Help
- Contact a feral cat group. The most widely accepted system of assisting feral cats and controlling the population of feral cat colonies is called TNR which involves humane trapping, treatment, spay/neuter, and release of feral cats back into their colonies. Contact one of these Western Washington organizations for resources and ideas.
- Get your cat fixed. The only way to prevent accidental and unexpected litters is having your cat spayed or neutered.Provide current identification. Make sure you cat always wears a collar and ID tags with your most up-to-date contact information.
- Keep your cat safe at home. Do not let your cat roam freely unsupervised around your neighborhood and get lost. Learn how to keep your cat safe and happy at home.
Am I Able To Take A Stray Cat To A Veterinarian Without Paying A Charge
Veterinarians usually require payment of an office visit when taking a cat in for a check-up or treatment. However, if you find an injured stray animal that needs urgent attention, you should phone up some of your local veterinarians. Local cat charities will sometimes pay for the treatment of such animals on your behalf if you find them and bring them to the vet. Therefore, it is always worth checking around. If there are no such charities, it is up to you whether you want to take them in and pay the bill. If you accept a stray into your home as a new pet, it is always good to have them checked over by a veterinarian first. This ensures that they are clean and healthy enough to live within a human household, although there are costs involved.
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What Do I Do With A Stray Cat
If you find out that the animal is a stray, there are three main options open to you. You can take the pet in as your own if you are able, willing, and comfortable that the animal is not violent. You could also take the cat to a local shelter, where they will likely be looked after and a charity will attempt to rehome them. Finally, it is not against the law to let the pet go about its business without interfering. Some people are simply not comfortable risking a violent feline.
Why Do Some People Consider Outdoor Cats A Nuisance
Problems can arise when outdoor cats venture into a yard where they are not welcome. Some people consider behaviors such as digging, urinating and defecating in their yard or garden, jumping on their car, sleeping on porch furniture or upsetting an owned cat to be nuisances. Others are concerned about wildlife the cats may prey on or about the health and welfare of cats they see outdoors. These concerns often lead to calls to animal control agencies and other officials whose job it is to serve the public making outdoor cats a problem for them as well as the resident who lodged the complaint.
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Do People Take Care Of Feral Cats What Do They Do
Many people see a homeless cat and start feeding the cat even though many communities have feeding bans meant to discourage feeding. Ideally, the person quickly does more to help the homeless cat:
- If the cat is tame, the person should take steps to find a permanent home for the cat.
- If the cat is feral, unapproachable and wary after several days of feeding, the person should find out if there are any groups in their community that are currently performing Trap, Neuter, Return .
What To Do If There Is A Mother Cat
Mom should be trapped and spayed but not until her kittens are able to eat on their own. If she is feral, she should be re-released into the wild after her spay recovery. An adult feral cat cannot be placed for adoption and made a pet. It is highly unlikely that she could ever be tamed. Visit this page for more resources about feral cats and groups that can help with lending traps.
If surrendered to a municipal shelter , she would be euthanized because she cannot be handled by people and wouldnt be a safe pet to have in a home. If someone attempted to handle her, she might injure them.
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If You’ve Found A Stray Cat With Kittens
If a stray cat has just had kittens, it may be best to leave them for a few days. If anyone tries to move them, the mother may reject or even kill the kittens. After a few days, she’ll move them anyway once she realises you know where they are.
If mum and kittens appear to be healthy and are in a safe area, it’s best to leave them alone – don’t move them unless they’re at risk. You can follow our advice above to try to find the cat’s owner. If you can’t find them and you think mum is a stray, call your local animal rescue for advice. They may talk to you about giving a helping hand by providing food, water and outside shelter to help protect mum and kittens from extreme weather.
If mum and/or the kittens seem to be sick or injured, phoning a local vet for advice is the best and quickest way to help. It’s important that mum and kittens stay together. If you need to transport them and aren’t able to do so safely, or if the stray cat rejects a kitten, please call your local rescue charity or our advice line on 0300 1234 999. Never put yourself in danger.
How To Return A Found Cat To Their Rightful Owner Or Guardian
If you choose to find the owner yourself, make sure to keep yourself and the found cat safe. Dont just hand the cat over to the first person that claims to be the owner.
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Pawr And Stray/feral Cats
PAWR provides free intake for stray cats brought to the Chatham-Kent animal shelter. PAWRs contract with the municipality does not include picking up stray cats, but in order to assist, we offer trap rentals with a deposit. The deposit is returned in full once the trap is returned.
When issues arise regarding roaming cats, we encourage you to speak with your neighbours who may be feeding the cats out of concern for their wellbeing. If they understand that it is an issue and taking the cats to the shelter is the most humane solution, you may be able to trap as a neighbourhood, making it much easier, and faster. If that is not possible, homeowners may trap the cat on their own property and take them to the shelter. There is no fee to drop off a feral/stray cat at the Chatham-Kent Animal Shelter located at 405 Park Ave E, Chatham.
If trapping them seems too difficult, a pest removal company can be contracted.
Feral/stray cats brought into the shelter are held for three days not counting the day they are brought to the shelter. If no one claims the cat once the redemption period is up, the cats become property of the shelter. We, at PAWR, have been very successful with adopting out cats, transferring cats to other shelters across the province in need, and feral cats are given a second chance after being spayed/neutered to be rehomed to farms.
What If The Kittens Are Not Tame And Will Not Let Me Handle Them To Bottle Feed
You should be able to handle the kittens even if not tame if they are under 4 weeks of age. Wrapping them in a small towel while feeding will help. If you cannot handle them mix some KMR with canned food and make it available to the kittens every 3 hours or so. The kittens will let you know when they are hungry by meowing. When they are full they will stop eating and then the food dish should be removed.
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How The Problem Of Feral Cats Multiplies
First, what is a feral cat? According to Margaret R. Slater, DVM, PhD, senior director of epidemiology, animal health services with the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , a feral cat is âany cat who is too poorly socialized to be handled … and who cannot be placed into a typical pet home.â
According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, there are between 60 million and 100 million feral cats in the U.S. They are usually the offspring of cats who were lost or abandoned by their owners, and they grow up not socialized to humans.
Because a female cat can become pregnant as young as 16 weeks of age and go on to have two or three litters a year, the feral cat population — and the problems associated with it — grows and perpetuates. In seven years, a single female cat and their kittens can produce 420,000 more cats.
Take The Cat Into Your Home
The first rule of thumb for any animal that hangs around humans is this: animals go wherever the food is. A stray cat that has been hanging out in your neighborhood for an extended amount of time has stayed because it is being fed. Whether you are the primary feeder or someone else is doing it, food is being provided.
This should lead you to ask whether it is appropriate to take this cat into your home. If you own your own home, you dont have to worry about landlord permission. You do have to worry about who owns the cat, though. Taking the cat into your home will pretty much seal the deal as you being its new owner. Are you okay with not reuniting the animal with its original owner?
You also have to consider how taking the cat in will affect everyone else living in your home. You may have children with allergies or a spouse who absolutely abhors cats, or indeed, animals. Then there are frequent visitors to worry about, too. Maybe your primary babysitter is deathly afraid of cats. You never know.
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Helping Abandoned Stray Cats And Kittens
The following is an excerpt from the Petfinder Blog.
Almost every summer, Carol goes out on the porch of her remote rural home and discovers an unfamiliar feline face. Another cat or kitten has been thoughtlessly abandoned during the night.
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Carol is a senior citizen, and all of her own cats are fixed. Her income is fixed as well, and she has no money for vet visits for new cats.
Yet the abandonment continues.
I volunteer with a feral-cat trap/neuter/return group in addition to my job with Petfinder. We helped neuter Carols outdoor cats in 2002 , so luckily we are there to help when new cats appear in her life. When my phone rang this Sunday, the news was particularly bad: Two female cats and three tiny kittens had been left at Carols door.
Abandonment of domestic animals is illegal. In New York State it is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or a year in prison. However, its hard to catch someone who merely slows down and tosses a cat alongside a country road or leaves a box of kittens at a campground.
If you wander outside one day with your morning coffee and are greeted by the forlorn mews of an abandoned cat or kittens, you might be tempted to hope they will just go away. However, ignoring them will only make the situation worse. A dumped pregnant cat may shortly have kittens beneath your porch. Healthy kittens, abandoned without their mother, will soon starve or become ill or injured.
Determine The Cats Sex
If the cat allows you to come close, nows the time to determine their sex. You can do this by lifting the cats tail or, potentially, waiting until they stick their rear in your face as you pet them!
Male cats also have testicles which should be easy to see if theyre fully grown.
If you cant get close enough to determine the cats gender but would like to have them spayed or neutered, its okay to make an educated guess based on color.
Almost all calico and tortoiseshell cats are female, while most orange cats are male.
Just be sure to tell the veterinarian or organization youre bringing them to that you arent positive about the cats sex so that they can be prepared.
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The Difference Between Stray And Feral Cats
The terms stray and feral often get used interchangeably, but there is a big difference between a stray and a feral cat.
Stray cats used to have a home. This means they have been socialized to some extent and used to live with a family.
Cats that are truly feral have never lived with a family. They have not been socialized in any way, and are usually a lot more scared of humans.
Ferals are typically not adoptable. They will never be able to live in a home, its just too hard to change how they think and behave.
Strays on the other hand usually can be. In fact, most strays are simply missing or lost cats that should be returned to their owners.
Caring For Stray Cats Who Prefer To Stay Outdoors
If your new kitty just wont come inside, you should provide some kind of shelter. You can make a feral cat boxthere are lots of online tutorialsor you could even open up your garage on really cold nights, Phillips says.
If youre not able to make a feral cat box, you can also buy one. There are cat heated beds and unheated options as well as houses that can be used as shelters for stray cats.
Also, if you live in a cold climate, a heated water dish might be a good investment.
During the spring and summer months, you will also want to make sure that you provide your cat with plenty of shaded, cool areas to hang out as well as access to cold, fresh water.
You can use a cat bowl like the Neater Feeder polar pet bowl to help keep a fresh source of cold water available for you cat throughout the day. You can also provide a cooling pet pad, like The Green Pet Shop self-cooling pet pad, so your outdoor kitty always has a place to relax and cool down during hotter days.
Its important to be realistic about the outdoor kitty that you found, says Delgado. A feral just isnt going to try to get into your house.
If youre unable to take on the care of a stray cat or a cat is too feral and aggressive for your safety, you still have options.
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Can Feral Cats Be Adopted
A traditional shelter is not a good place for adult feral cats because they are extremely afraid of humans. Their instinct to escape at all costs can make them dangerous to handle and puts them at risk for injuring themselves.
PAWS is equipped to take in only potentially adoptable cats, and therefore, we do not accept feral cats at our shelter for adoption. Feral cats brought into PAWS are typically euthanized.
Have You Found A Stray Cat Or Litter Of Kittens Here Are Some Resources That May Help
Stray and Feral Kittens are an Epidemic: Between the months of March and September, every shelter in the region will be overrun with kittens, both orphaned litters and those with a mother. Many of these litters are either strays or ferals. Neither one has a legal owner however, the difference between a stray cat or a feral cat is that a stray cat is accustomed to people and a feral cat has lived in the wild and has been self-sufficient with little to no contact with people. For more information on caring for neonatal kittens,
Stray cats can often be socialized and then adopted. Feral cats generally cannot be easily socialized and adopted. However, kittens under four-months old can often be socialized and adopted even if born to feral cats.
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