How to Help Find a Lost Cat in Canada | PetzLover

Is it a lost cat or a neighbourhood cat?

Not every cat outdoors is lost. Toronto, for example, permits cats to roam, so a relaxed, well-fed cat on a porch may simply live nearby. Calgary, by contrast, requires owners to keep cats on their own property, so a cat wandering there is more likely to be out of place. Signs that a cat may be lost:

• It hides under porches, decks, parked cars or bushes rather than walking openly.
• It cries at doors, looks thin, or has a matted, wet or dirty coat.
• It wears a collar but nobody on the street knows it.
• It matches a lost-cat poster or ad in your area.

An ear-tipped cat, with the tip of one ear removed, has usually been through a trap-neuter-return program; Toronto, for example, runs one for feral cats. Leave those cats where they are unless they are injured.

What should you do if you see a lost cat?

1. Do not chase it. A frightened cat runs and hides deeper.
2. Note the exact place, time and direction it went, and take a photo from a distance.
3. Check lost-cat ads and posters near you. You can search lost cat ads by location and message the poster with your photo and the place you saw it.
4. Look for a collar and tag without grabbing the cat. Calgary requires licence tags unless the cat has a microchip or legible tattoo.
5. Tell neighbours and building staff, and check whether a door camera caught the cat.

If there is no ad yet, you can post a found-pet ad with the photo and the area, keeping one detail back so you can check whoever replies.

How do you safely contain a frightened cat?

• Approach slowly, crouch, and let it come to you; offer strong-smelling cat food.
• Use a carrier, or wrap it in a thick towel; a panicked cat can scratch and bite.
• If it will not come, leave water nearby and tell the owner or animal services where it is.
• Keep it away from your own pets, in a quiet room with water and a litter tray.
• Do not feed people food; Toronto Animal Services warns it can do more harm than good.

Who should you contact about a lost cat in Canada?

Rules on found animals differ between cities, so follow what your animal services tell you. In Toronto, a cat the city impounds is held for at least three days, not counting the day it arrives or days the shelter is closed, before it can be adopted out, so report a found cat quickly. If no owner comes forward, people hoping to give it a home can read how to adopt a kitten or cat.

How do you check that someone really owns the cat?

• Ask for photos of the cat at home, ideally several from different times.
• Ask for a detail you kept back, such as a scar, a coat marking or the collar colour.
• Ask for the microchip number, licence number or vet records, and compare them with the scan.
• Meet at animal services, a vet clinic or another public place.

How can neighbours help in the first week?

• Check your garage, shed, basement and under decks; in the 2018 study, about one in nine cats found alive were inside someone else's house.
• Search at dusk and dawn with a flashlight; eye shine shows a hidden cat.
• Share the owner's poster and lost ad in local groups and building chats.
• Report new sightings to the owner with the time and place, even if you are unsure.

In the study, owners whose cats were found alive rated a physical search as the most helpful method in about two thirds of the cases where they used one. The owner's side is covered in what to do when your cat is lost, and anyone who ends up rehoming a cat nobody claims can read how to rehome a cat responsibly.