What should you do when you find a cat on the street

David Garcia
2 min readDec 27, 2022

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Cover: Stray cat at Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto Prefecture; June 2010 @ wikimedia.org

I always wanted a cat at home, and I struggled in many battles to get one. Unfortunately, there are many rules and things to bear in mind, and one of the worst cases you might experience is when a well-fed cat approaches you because it is lost and needs help.

So, if you find a cat on the street, here are some steps you can take:

  1. Determine if the cat is lost or stray: If the cat is wearing a collar with identification tags or seems well-fed and well-groomed, it may be someone’s pet that has gotten lost. In this case, try to locate the owner by checking the identification tags for a phone number or address or by posting flyers in the neighbourhood (the vast majority of cat owners are very irresponsible, and they don’t chip their cats, which limits a lot any option to help the right way).
  2. Check for injuries: If the cat appears injured or needs medical attention, it is essential to get it to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
  3. Try to capture the cat safely: If you can safely capture it, you can bring it to a local animal shelter or animal control agency. Many shelters have programs to help reunite lost pets with their owners.
  4. Consider providing temporary care: If you cannot locate the cat’s owner and it is not safe to leave the cat on the street, you may want to consider providing temporary care until you can find a more permanent solution. This may involve providing food, water, and a safe place for the cat.

It is important to remember that cats can be unpredictable and may scratch or bite if they feel threatened. It is vital to approach them cautiously and use proper handling techniques to prevent injury to yourself and the cat. If you are not comfortable handling a stray cat, you may want to contact a local animal welfare organization for assistance.

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David Garcia
David Garcia

Written by David Garcia

Senior Software Engineer, Backend, NodeJS & Symfony developer, workaholic, passionate for new technologies and OSS contributor. https://linktr.ee/davidgarciacat

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