What to do if You’ve Found a Cat
1. Offer Kindness
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.
If you are bringing the cat into your home keep the cat contained in a separate room, away from other animals to ensure there is no transmission of illness or parasites (a spare room or bathroom work great!).
Signs that a cat could be lost, abandoned or stray include:
the cat is around at all hours of the day and night and in extreme weather
it looks to be in poor condition
the cat appears to be very hungry, thirsty, or in distress
2. Help locate an owner
Check for identification: a collar and tag, a tattoo in the ear or a microchip implant. Any vet clinic will assist in locating a microchip, free of charge.
Post a picture and location of the cat on Facebook. Regina Lost and Found Cats and Regina Lost and Found Pets are very active pages with many members.
Survey the neighbourhood by speaking with neighbours to see if they know of the cat, and post found posters in the area.
File a Found a Pet Report through the Regina Humane Society.
If someone claims to be the owner, be sure to request identification and proof of ownership before releasing the cat.
3. Request Assistance
If you are unable to find the cat’s home/owner, fill out our intake form. We will respond to your form as soon as we can, but please understand that Regina Cat Rescue is a volunteer-run organization, it may take several days to hear back from us. In the meantime, learn how you can help stray cats here.
Please note that Regina Cat Rescue does not operate a shelter location and we rely on volunteer foster homes to take in cats. Foster capacity remains very strained and we evaluate on a case-by-case basis dependent on available resources. You can help by becoming a foster for this cat in need! Regina Cat Rescue covers all expenses and assists in finding the cat its forever home. Please note your interest in becoming a foster on the intake form, and fill out a volunteer application.
I Found Kittens Outside, What Do I Do?
First, determine whether they have a mother. Mother cats may be out for several hours at a time getting food, so try to wait somewhere unobserved to see if she comes back. If you are unable to monitor regularly, try sprinkling some flour in the area around where the kittens are located and look for paw prints upon your return. A mother cat should return within 2-4 hours.
If the kittens have a mother
The first thing to do is provide food and water to ensure the nursing mama is getting the nutrition she needs to feed her kittens. We recommend a high-calorie kitten food placed in a nearby location, but not too close to her nest. It is always best to keep kittens with their mother as she is the best at giving them proper nutrition, regulating their body temperature and keeping them clean. Plus, it's healthier for her — nursing mothers without kittens can get a painful infection called mastitis, which can be deadly if not treated.
From there, there are two options (our intake team can help to advise on the best course of action, and be sure to complete an intake form)
Take the mother cat and her kittens inside your home and keep them in a large kennel or a small room like a bathroom or laundry room. This stops the mother from moving the kittens, and she'll look after them until they're old enough to be weaned.
If the mother cat is feral and not used to humans, it might not be safe to bring her inside. In this case, let the mother take care of her kittens where you found them until they're about four weeks old, when they start eating solid food. The kittens and mother will then need to be trapped for the mother to be spayed and released, and the kittens to be socialized for adoption!
Determine a kitten’s age using this guide:
Under one week: Eyes shut, ears flat to head, skin looks pinkish. Part of umbilical cord may still be attached.
1 week – 10 days: Eyes beginning to open, ears still flat. A kitten this age is smaller than your hand.
3 weeks: Eyes are open, ears are erect, teeth are visible. Kittens are just starting to walk and will be very wobbly.
4-5 weeks: Eyes have changed from blue to another color and/or kittens have begun to pounce and leap. Kittens this age will begin to eat wet food.
8 weeks: Kittens this age weigh approximately two pounds. If they have not been exposed to humans, they will be shy and hissy and need to be socialized.
If the mother cat does not return after several hours, act quickly because neonatal kittens are fragile. Delay can be fatal.
Kittens should be alert and warm to the touch. If the kittens are cold and lethargic, it's crucial to warm them up immediately. Getting too cold is a leading cause of death for newborn kittens and can happen fast. Do not attempt to feed chilled kittens. To keep kittens warm, place the kittens in a box or pet carrier with a towel-covered magic bag or heating pad set on low inside the box. Be sure the heating pad covers only half of the bottom of the box – the kittens must be able to move off the heating pad if it becomes too warm.
For kittens four weeks of age and younger, do not feed cow’s milk as it causes diarrhea, which leads to severe dehydration. You will need KMR or other kitten milk replacement formula, along with special bottles for feeding. Kittens cannot be fed until they are warmed – feeding chilled kittens is very dangerous. Depending on their age, kittens will need to be fed every two to six hours around the clock.
Our experienced neo-natal team is available to help. Email neonatal@reginacatrescue.com , and complete an intake form immediately.