When You've Found a Cat

Have you noticed a cat hanging around your yard or neighbourhood? Signs that it could be lost, abandoned or stray include:

  • the cat is around at all hours of the day and night
  • it looks to be in poor condition or its condition is changing for the worse
  • the cat appears to be very hungry, thirsty, or in distress

MEOW recommends the following:

  1. If the cat is injured, take it to a veterinary clinic during business hours or to one of the city’s 24-hour Emergency Veterinary Clinics. You can also contact our Rescue and Intake department to see if we are able to help.
  2. Provide food, water and shelter. Do not assume the cat will find its way home if you don’t feed it. Your kindness may save its life.
  3. Check for identification: a collar and tag, a tattoo in the ear or a microchip implant. A vet clinic can assist in locating a microchip.
  4. Speak with your neighbours to see if they know of the cat.
  5. Put up Found Cat posters around your neighbourhood at bus stops, mail boxes, area veterinary clinics and convenience stores. (You'll find a link below to a poster template you can use.)
  6. If the cat is friendly and can be petted, try putting a collar on the cat with a note with your name, phone number and a request for the owner to call if this is their cat. This will help you determine if the cat is lost or abandoned.
  7. Place online notices for no charge on Kijiji.ca, Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun Classifieds.
  8. Post your found cat on YYC Pet Recovery.
  9. If you are unable to find the cat’s home/owner, contact our Rescue and Intake department. MEOW follows a Capacity for Care model of care, so at times we may be at capacity and you may have to wait a short time for an admission spot. We will do our best to assist you as soon as possible.

You can download a printable PDF of these recommendations.

Here is a Word document you can use to create a Found Cat poster.

A closeup of a cute tabby cat eating bits of food scattered on the ground outside under bright sunlight
Stray cat eating food in autumn city park