if the cat is not yours

If you’ve found a cat, there are several things you should do before taking them to a pound or shelter – there is a chance the cat is not a stray but simply lost:

If the cat has identification, ring the number on the tag
Doorknock your immediate neighbourhood with a picture of the cat. Make sure to check with anyone who’s new to the area – their cat may have escaped in the move and be disoriented
Make flyers and letterbox your neighbourhood – you can enlist the support of neighbours in doing this
Ring your local vet to check whether they have any reports of lost cats. You can also check whether they have a microchip scanner which would be able to identify the cat’s microchip details (if any)
Review the pictures of lost cats at websites: www.lostpetfinders.com.au
Check out the lost & found on sites such as: www.gumtree.com.au
Ring your local council’s companion animal office; for a list of councils go to www.olg.nsw.gov.au

If you can’t find an owner for the cat, you can phone our office to discuss surrendering the cat. When we receive an unowned cat, we first try to establish whether or not they are in fact owned and just lost (we reunite dozens of lost cats with their people each year) before putting them up for adoption.

Please note, as a no kill shelter Cat Protection has a closely managed number of surrender spaces and we cannot guarantee when these spaces will become available.

Surrenders are by appointment ONLY – please phone our office between 10am and 5pm, Monday to Friday on (02) 9557 4818.

If the cat is friendly and you would like to keep them, ask about our Adopt-a-Stray program which offers a heavily discounted rate for desexing, first vaccination, microchipping and includes free registration.

Stray kittens

Many stray mother cats have a strong maternal instinct to protect their kittens and will often start nesting in someone’s home if they feel it’s a safe place. If you find that a stray mum has chosen your home to raise her kittens, as soon as possible please phone us on 02 9519 7201 between 10am and 5pm, Monday to Friday for advice, and we may also be able to assist. To give the mum and kittens the best chance of staying healthy and being rehomed, early intervention is important.

For more information on considerations regarding orphan kittens, refer to our factsheets: