Yesterday morning I received a call about a 'stray' cat who was laying on a path unable to move. Sadly it was so ill its life could not be saved.
What made me mad about this is later I learnt that someone had been feeding the cat in their greenhouse for months. Had they contacted me when they first saw they cat and thought it a stray, in all probability it would have had a nice cosy home by now. Or at least lived its last few months in comfort and know love.
I know the info below has been given before but as new people are registering all the time I am sure you will not mind me posting again. Obviously the names are local to us but it gives you an idea of the action to take.
If you have a cat living with you and think is either lost, abandoned, the owner has moved and left it behind (sadly all too common and to think the cats/s was the result of someone's so called good home, or you know of anyone else with such a cat DO NOT ASSUME IT HAS NO OWNER (OR ASSUME IT HAS), PLEASE REPORT IT TO US IMMEDIATELY, 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 hundreds of lost cats on our Lost and Found Register 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 or being fed by well meaning people, but are never actually reported., depending on the condition of the cat and the safety of the location we can decide what course of action to take to ensure the cat receives all the help it needs. E.G. if the cat is well please ring our lost & found xxxx xxxxx, take the cat to a vet to see if has been micro chipped, alternatively if you live near some of our fosterers (5 have microchip readers) they will do it for you. If there is no record perhaps you could on a long thin piece of paper write do I belong to you and your telephone number then attach the paper to a cat collar by wrapping sellotape round and round then put the collar on the cat if after 3 days you have received no reply take the collar off as they are considered dangerous and many cats have lost their life to them, ring us and we will put the cat on the list waiting to come in. If you ring Elaine xxxx xxxxxx she will supply you with a paper collar which is very safe. PLEASE OFFER THE CAT SHELTER & FEED IT, I KNOW SOME ORGANIZATIONS SAY DON'T AND THEY IT WILL MOVE ON, HOWEVER IN OUR VIEW THAT IS CALLOUS, I AM SURE IF YOU LOST A PET IT WOULD BE NICE TO THINK SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE WAS CARING FOR IT. ALSO THE CAT HAS A GREATER CHANCE OF FINDING ITS OWNER OR COMING INTO CARE AS IT IS NOT ROAMING FROM STREET TO STREET LOOKING FOR ITS NEXT MEAL AND ENDANGERING ITS LIFE. We also suggest that you ring the Cats Protection Headquarters shelter in Derby xxxx xxxxxx between 11 am & 3 pm any day and put the cat/s on their list of cats waiting to come in, as a shelter they usually home much quicker than us therefore spaces become available more frequently. If the cat appears below par PLEASE contact us immediately and we will pay for the cat to be seen by a vet and if possible bring the cat in.
Also contact PET SEARCH UK 01246 629873
If you have internet access or perhaps a friend can do it for you I suggest you also post the details on Pet Finder Aniline Admin
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?
If the cat is a garden cat or feral please ring us immediately and we will arrange for it to be trapped, neutered/spayed, have an MOT, flea & worm treatment we will then if at all possible return it to site if arrangements can be made for feeding etc fostered we will try to find it a new home
PLEASE DON’T LEAVE IT UNTIL IT IS PREGNANT/ILL/INJURED OR YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE FED IT LONG ENOUGH BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO TAKE ANY ACTION, BECAUSE WE ALWAYS HAVE A LOT OF CATS WAITING TO COME IN.
