A cat has turned up or been found – what to do?
What to do now
- Take a look: well groomed and well fed – or thin, scruffy, injured, with weeping eyes?
- Healthy cat: do not feed it. Put a paper collar on it saying “Whose cat is this? Please call: …”. If nobody gets in touch within a few days, continue with step 4.
- Ill or injured cat, or kittens without a mother: secure them (box, carrier, quiet room) and get help.
- Have the microchip read – at any veterinary practice or animal shelter. Look for a tattoo in the ear.
- Report the find: municipality, animal shelter, Tasso or Findefix – and with us under “Lost & found”.
Please do not
- Do not shut in or permanently feed a healthy outdoor cat.
- Do not take kittens away too soon: the mother is often just looking for food. Watch from a distance for a few hours.
- Do not give cow’s milk.
Who helps
Animal shelter and municipality for found cats, a veterinary practice for injuries. For shy, feral cats and their kittens: local animal welfare groups or us – they need to be caught, cared for and neutered.
Report an emergency Animal rescue near you
Frequent questions
The cat is shy and seems to live outside.
Then it is probably feral. Please report it: such cats are caught, neutered, cared for and – if they do not become tame – released again at their feeding place.
I found kittens in the shed in autumn.
Autumn kittens have poor chances outside. Do not separate mother and young and do not drive them away – call right away.
Related
This page gives general advice. It replaces neither a vet nor legal advice.
More guides
- Wild animal foundFound a wild animal – who helps?
- Finding an emergency vetEmergency vet – how to find one at night and at the weekend
- Hedgehog foundFound a hedgehog – what to do?
- Bird foundFound a young or injured bird – what to do?
- Dog foundFound a stray dog – what to do?
- Pet run awayDog or cat has run away – what to do?
- Collision with wildlifeCollision with wildlife: deer or wild boar hit – what to do?
- Dog in a hot carDog in a hot car – what to do?
- Report animal crueltyReporting animal cruelty or neglect – how does it work?
- Poison bait foundFound poison bait – and what if the dog has already eaten some?
- Injured pigeonFound an injured pigeon – what to do?
- Fawn foundFound a fawn or young wild animal – what to do?
- Squirrel foundFound a squirrel – what to do?
- Bat foundFound a bat – what to do?
- Young hare foundFound a young hare or wild rabbit – what to do?
- Injured swan or duckFound an injured swan, duck or goose – what to do?
- Cat hit by a carCat hit by a car or found at the roadside – what to do?
- Abandoned animal foundFound an abandoned animal – what to do?
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