What to Do When You Find a Lost Cat: Vet Approved Tips & Advice
Updated on
Click to Skip Ahead
Cats have a tendency to show up when you least expect them. There’s a running joke in the cat community that you don’t go out and get a cat—a cat will adopt you at the right time. Of course, if you find a cat, the first thing you need to do is determine if the cat belongs to someone else. There are a ton of reasons that a cat may be loose, so you should always start by searching for the cat’s owner. Let’s talk about the steps you should take if you come across a lost cat.
If the Cat Looks Unhealthy, Should I Find Its Owner?
When you come across a cat that is thin, sick, or poorly kept, it can be extremely tempting to pass judgment and assume that they have not been cared for properly. Some people take this judgment a step further and intentionally avoid trying to find the cat’s owner, under the assumption that the owner doesn’t deserve the cat back.
It’s impossible for you to know a cat’s story when you find them. Some health conditions may make a cat look bad, even if they’re being appropriately managed. Hair loss, weight loss, skin lesions, and missing teeth can all be indicative of neglect, but they can also all indicate that the cat has a medical condition. Some conditions can’t be cured and, even with management, some signs of the condition may remain.
It’s also impossible for you to know how long a cat has been loose when you find it. A cat that has been missing for weeks or months may look awful now, but they may have been well cared for when they went missing. If a cat went missing around the time of a storm, wildfire, or other natural event, they may look a little worse for wear when you find them, simply because they’ve been exposed to harsh elements. If you find a cat, the right thing to do is always to start by looking for an owner. If you have concerns about the cat’s well-being, contact your local animal control office or animal shelter. If the cat is obviously injured or needing urgent veterinary care then take them to a vet.
The 6 Tips on What to Do When You Find a Cat
It is important to note that all times you should take your safety and that of the cat into consideration. Bites and scratch wounds can lead to serious infections and trying to catch a scared cat may cause it to run into oncoming traffic for example.
1. Approach Slowly
Cats don’t like to be approached quickly, especially by people they aren’t familiar with. They also don’t like excessively noisy people, as this can feel threatening to them. If you see a loose cat, approach them slowly, using a soft voice and moving slowly into the cat’s space instead of making them feel overwhelmed by your presence. In some cases, you may need to sit in the area for a few minutes for the cat to work up the courage to approach you.
2. Check for a Collar
Collars are a great way to make identifying a cat easier, but there are times when a collar can fail. While some cats don’t wear collars at all, others may lose the tags on their collar. It’s also common for people to use breakaway collars on their cats to keep them safe if their collar snags on something, so some cats will simply lose their collar.
If the cat does have a collar, check it for a phone number for either an owner or a vet clinic. Get as much information from the collar as you can. Some collars will provide information like the cat’s microchip number and if they need medication.
3. Be Gentle
Once you’ve gotten a look at the collar, you’ll need to catch the cat. Even the friendliest of cats may not like to be picked up, though. When you start attempting to catch the cat, make sure to use slow but sure movements. Most cats will only give you one opportunity to grab them, so make it count. If the cat seems like they will tolerate being picked up, then you may be able to simply scoop them up. However, if the cat is fearful, catching them in a towel or blanket may be necessary until you can get them into a safe place.
Put the cat somewhere safe and secure but also where they can’t get into any trouble. Nobody wants to have to fish a nervous cat out of the ceiling or from under a bed.
4. Check for a Microchip
The average person doesn’t have a way to check an animal for a microchip at home, but essentially all vet clinics and animal shelters will have a microchip scanner. Animal rescue organizations also usually have these scanners. Have the cat scanned to check for a microchip, ensuring the person scanning the cat checks all over their body. In some cases, microchips can migrate to unusual places in the body, like to the front portion of the chest or further down the back.
A microchip will provide you with some form of information, including the company that manufactured the chip. If the owner has registered the chip, then you’ll be able to get contact information for them from the microchip company. For unregistered chips, the microchip company will be able to provide you with the clinic that the microchip was sold to or the contact information that the chip is registered to if it isn’t the owner. Sometimes, shelters, clinics, and breeders will register chips to themselves until the owner resets the registration.
5. Contact Local Resources
If the cat doesn’t have a microchip or if you’re unable to reach someone at the contact information provided, then you need to start reaching out to local resources. Animal shelters, animal rescue organizations, vet clinics, local lost and found social media sites, neighborhood apps, and even police departments should all be notified of the found cat. If the cat has a microchip, they may also put out an alert to the other registered users in the area to notify them that the cat has been found in an attempt to find the owner.
Provide a description of the cat. Some people choose to keep certain identifying information to themselves to ensure the person who claims the cat is, in fact, the owner. If the cat is a purebred breed or has a highly unique appearance, then this may be necessary to ensure someone doesn’t falsely claim the cat as their own. This retained information can be something as simple as a specific marking on the cat or the color of the collar they were wearing.
6. Find the Cat a Place to Stay
Some people are able to hold onto a cat when they find them, but not everyone has that luxury. Having other pets in the home or small children, or if you’re about to leave for vacation or other extenuating circumstances exist, then you may not be able to take the cat to your home. In this case, contact local resources near you to find someone who can take the cat.
Animal shelters and rescues are great resources, but they don’t always have the space to take a found cat. In some cases, you may need to find a trusted friend or neighbor who can take the cat in until the owner is found.
What to Do if You Find a Cat You Can’t Approach
1. Visualize the Cat
Not every cat will let you get close to them. Nervous cats and feral cats that aren’t used to human interaction will be fearful of your presence and may attempt to escape and hide. In other cases, you may hear a cat but not see them. Do your best to get an accurate visual of the cat. Get an idea of what the cat looks like, and also try to identify any noticeable injuries or other specifics. This will help you with the next steps you should take.
2. Contact Animal Services
If you spot a stray cat, contact your local animal control services. They usually have the training and equipment to catch a nervous cat. You may also need to contact rescues and other resources in your area for assistance. It’s not a guarantee that you will find someone who is willing and able to come to where you are and catch a cat.
3. Set a Humane Trap
Humane traps are an excellent tool when it comes to catching a cat that won’t let you touch them. These traps are baited with stinky food, like wet cat food or tuna fish. When the cat enters to get the food, the trap closes behind them, trapping them in a cage. This will allow you to take the cat directly to a resource to have them scanned for a microchip and evaluated.
Some organizations may allow you to borrow a humane trap, but you can also typically find them at hardware stores. Keep in mind that stinky food can attract more than just cats, so there’s a possibility that you’ll catch raccoons, possums, skunks, dogs, and other loose or wild animals. It can take days or weeks to catch a loose cat.
4. Contact Local Resources
Once you have the cat, start contacting resources as mentioned above to start getting the word out that you’ve found the cat, as well as to start trying to find the owner.
5. Find the Cat a Place to Stay
If you’re unable to keep the cat, follow the steps above to help the cat find a place to crash until a more permanent option is available.
How Do I Know if a Cat Is Lost?
It can be really difficult to tell the difference between a lost cat, an outdoor cat, a stray cat, an owned cat, and a feral cat. In some cases, you won’t be able to tell the difference, which may result in you catching a cat, only to find out it’s an outdoor cat that lives five houses away.
Feral cats are cats that have not been raised by humans, so they are essentially wild. These cats are extremely wary of humans and will typically not tolerate being handled or having humans close to them. Many organizations practice TNR or trap-neuter-release programs. This allows them to ensure the feral cats aren’t continuing to reproduce without forcing the cats into home situations that they may never feel comfortable in. Cats that have been TNR will usually have a notch taken out of the top of one of their ears. This is a practice called “ear tipping” that helps people tell at a glance that the cat has been fixed, doesn’t need to be caught again, and is feral.
An overly friendly cat wearing a collar is very likely to belong to someone, so you may knock on nearby doors to see if the cat belongs to anyone before you catch them. Indoor cats that manage to escape are likely to act very nervous out in the world, so these cats may act feral but are likely to be much cleaner and in better physical condition.
In Conclusion
If you find a cat, the best-case scenario is that you can immediately identify where the cat belongs. However, in some cases, you may take all the steps to find where a cat belongs, only to not succeed. For many people, this is simply how they end up with a cat. If you’re unable to keep the cat, though, then it’s important for you to quickly find a safe place for the cat to stay until a permanent solution can be provided.
Featured Image Credit: Wollertz, Shutterstock
