Lost or Found

I found a cat!  Can PAW take it?

Accepting a cat into the PAW rescue system is based on criteria and foster home availability. Our foster homes operate continuously at full capacity. Spaces in foster homes become available only when cats get adopted. 

Make every attempt to find the cat’s owner.  Place a free Found ad in the Lethbridge Herald 403-328-4418 and on www.lethbridge.kijiji.ca.  Check both for listings of lost cats. 

Report details to PAW at 403-328-6700 or email a picture and details to all local rescue groups including PAW:  pawsociety@shaw.ca.

Because openings in rescue groups are limited, please consider keeping the cat if you cannot find its owner.  Be sure to have it spayed/neutered and health-checked as soon as possible.  You could qualify for a spay/neuter subsidy through a Lethbridge organization, NOKA, 403-327-6652.

My cat is missing!  What should I do?

• Act quickly!  Do not wait for a day or two to see if your cat will come home on its own.  Cats not familiar with the outdoors are often too terrified to respond to their owner’s voice even though they may be able to hear you or see you. Lost cats start to wander when hunger and thirst set in.
• Leave food and water outside in several areas of the yard to encourage the cat to stay close to home (if it’s winter, purchase a plug-in water bowl and make a shelter).  Don’t worry about attracting other cats.  A little extra food will be worth it to get your cat back.  If you share your area with skunks, it is best to elevate the food to table height. 
• Talk to your neighbours (cats initially don’t go very far).  Ask them to keep their eyes open – give them a picture of your cat.
• Place a free ad in the Lethbridge Herald, 403-328-4418.  After several days, your ad may be deleted, however you can ask them to place it again (and again).
• Make use of internet sites to advertise the loss of your pet (e.g. www.lethbridge.kijiji.ca).
• Make a flyer, photocopy lots, deliver in a two to three block radius (expand the area as needed).  Making a flyer is fast and simple by using the “Create a Flyer” link on www.petbond.com.  Always have a photo of your cat on hand (digital is best).
• If you (or your neighbour) have seen your cat but he/she is too scared to let you approach him, you may have to use a cat trap.  There are lots of do’s and don’ts when it comes to trapping a cat.  Call PAW for advice.
• Carry flyers with you at all times. Talk to people who regularly walk or run in your neighbourhood.  Usually, people will want to help.  Search the back allies and the yards of your neighbours (with permission).  Shake a treat can if your cat is familiar with that sound.  Look under bushes.
• Check every three days at the city Animal Shelter, 2405 – 41 St. N., Lethbridge, to see if your cat is there (check all rooms that cats are kept in). Take a poster with you.  Remember, if your cat ends up at a city animal shelter, it could be destroyed if not claimed.
• Call PAW and leave a detailed message, 403-328-6700 or email your poster to pawsociety@shaw.ca.
• Report the details of your missing cat to other rescue groups and shelters
• DON’T GIVE UP!  Over the years, PAW has heard many amazing stories from people who kept on searching and eventually found their cat.
• When/if you find your cat, let PAW know (and all the other places that you had notified).

The safest place for your cat is indoors.

The PAW Society is a firm believer in keeping cats indoors with outdoor access only allowed with strict supervision (harness) or in an enclosed cat-run.  Even if your cat never goes outside (the best), it is a good idea for it to have some form of identification.  A break-away collar with a name tag is the easiest way for your cat to be identified by someone who finds him/her.

Tethering your cat outside on a harness and leash and leaving it unattended is not safe.   Your cat could get strangled if it gets caught up on something or it could be attacked by another animal.  Some cats are escape artists and can get out of a harness.

Do not become complacent about your cat’s safety.  Keep reminding your family about open doorways.  Visitors to your home should always be accompanied to the door when they leave.

If you are moving, be very careful on moving day.  Put your cat in a carrier until you can safely take him to his new home.  When you arrive at your new home, put your cat in a room with the door closed and labelled (until the commotion is over).  Always use a cat carrier for transporting your cat.

If you are having a large gathering at your home (e.g. holiday season), safely confine your cat in a bedroom. 

There are too many dangers lurking outdoors!  Cats are often lured in to baited cat traps.  Mean-spirited people have been known to dump cats in unfamiliar areas (river bottom, rural areas).  Cats regularly get killed on roadways and can be preyed upon by coyotes and owls.  You only need to look at the size of the PAW Society’s Lost and Found binders to realize just how many cats go missing every day.

With plenty of stimulation and items to play with (e.g., toys, cardboard boxes, paper bags, vertical space for climbing, cat scratcher, window perch, laser pointers), strictly indoor cats are happy and contented little creatures and have the best chance of living long, healthy lives.