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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Speak with your neighbours to see if they know of the cat.
- 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.)
- 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.
- Place online notices for no charge on Kijiji.ca, Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun Classifieds.
- Post your found cat on YYC Pet Recovery.
- 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.
