Adopt a Pet | Find Your New Best Friend

“It is going to be a challenging process so patience is key. Allow the cat to get close to you on its own terms and give it lots of love.” A strange, frightened, and possibly sick or injured animal can behave unpredictably. A sudden move on your part, even opening your car door, can spook them and cause them to bolt—possibly right onto the highway.

You can also post notices at veterinary hospitals and on websites such as petfinder.com. Just make sure you ask about their policy regarding loaning out equipment. Some shelters require trapped cats to be brought into the facility, where they may be killed rather than helped).When using a net, it’s important to wear protective clothing and thick gloves at all times. Provide the kitty with a comfortable bed, food and water, and a toy or two to play with. Try to interact with the cat once or twice a day to get them used to human companionship.

However, sometimes cats become estranged from their original homes and need new ones. These cats usually present as friendly and willing to re-enter life as a housecat. So many folks don’t know how to look for flea “dirt,” find tiny ticks, or check out a stray cat’s skin and coat. Again, get this checked out so you don’t bring an unknown flea problem into your home or expose your other pets to pests.

Have Them Checked Out By A Vet

Try feeding the cat different types of food, such as cat biscuits or packets of cat food. If the cat has been on the streets for a long time, it may not be used to typical foods and will take a while to get used to its new diet. Taking in a stray cat is a great way to adopt a new pet that otherwise may never have a good home. Before you decide to adopt the pet as your own, make sure that it doesn’t have an owner. If the cat doesn’t have a home, vaccinate it, treat any injuries or illnesses, and then slowly introduce it to your home.

Consider putting out a bowl of commercial wet food or cooked chicken or beef for the cat to enjoy while you hang out near them. The cost of a trip to the veterinarian with a stray cat can be extensive if the kitty has multiple problems to address. At the very least, a check-up will give you a clear idea of what kinds of treatments the cat will need so you can determine whether you can handle the financial responsibility of making the cat healthy again.

Any time you welcome a new pet into your life is a major moment, and it needs some thoughtful preparation, according to experts. In addition to picking up practical things like supplies, it’s also crucial to make sure that they’re healthy and feel safe with you. If you’re not able to safely restrain the animal, call the local animal control agency . Do so whether or not the animal is injured, and whether or not they are wearing an identification tag. Leave your phone number with the dispatcher, and try to get an estimate of how long it may take someone to respond. If possible, stay on the scene to keep an eye on the dog or cat until help arrives.

Instead, find a humane society or rescue center in your area that is willing to take the cat in and provide it with the care that they need. If you’re bringing a stray cat to live with you, you might expect to keep it indoors all the time. But chances are, you’ll let them make the transition slowly by letting them spend some time outdoors too. Before you take in a stray cat, have a vet check whether they’re spayed or neutered, Dr. Sara Ochoa, DVM, a small animal and exotic veterinarian, and consultant for DogLab, tells Bustle. “The last thing you want to do is adopt a cat and then find out she is expecting kittens,” she says.

This is also a time to consider the condition of the cat and if she will need padding in her trap to be more comfortable. For example, a cat with an injury may experience discomfort or soil a vehicle or the ground without a towel or blanket covering the bottom of the trap. Our content and products are for informational purposes only. Great Pet Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Certain cats respond well to relaxing pheromone sprays that you can spritz inside the carrier or diffuse in your home on the big vet visit day.

She lives off the grid in Hawaii with her husband, her garden, and her rescue animals including 5 dogs, a cat, a goat, and dozens of chickens. If you do take a cat to a vet, the veterinarian can find out if the cat has a microchip. If no microchip is found, you can decide whether to pay for a check-up and find out what kind of care the cat needs or to take the cat to a shelter that can better assist them. The only way to know what costs will come into play is to have the cat checked out by the veterinarian. They will determine what kinds of tests are necessary and eventually, what kinds of treatments, if any, will be needed.

However, you should not expect a veterinarian to provide you with a bunch of free services as a thank you. Veterinarians like to help animals, but they must make a living to keep their doors open and their families thriving. A veterinarian can scan a cat for a microchip, so if there is an owner it can be found, but that’s generally the extent of available free services. Here’s what you need to know about the costs of taking a stray cat to a vet in 2022. There are organizations that can help you make sure the kitty either finds a good home or—in the case of feral cats—receives proper medical care. “Your local TNR program can help safely trap a cat, get him medical care and then release him back into the wild.

Again, most cats don’t roam more than 6-7 houses from where they live. It is always best to knock on the doors on your street to see if anyone knows the cat. If you cannot locate the owner after several days or weeks of observation and the cat continues to appear healthy the cat should be allowed to remain in the area without human intervention.

If you are able to transport the animal, take them to the nearest animal shelter. If you plan to keep the animal in the event no owner is found, notify animal control that you have the animal or that you have taken them to a veterinary hospital for treatment. You can usually place a free “found” ad in your local newspaper or on sites like Craigslist. As a community cat advocate, it’s always wise to plan ahead for how you’ll pay for veterinary bills, including any beyond the usual spay and neuter, vaccination, and eartip. Use our tips on developing resources for cat care to help create an emergency medical fund, or for ideas on how to negotiate a payment plan with your veterinarian. If you cannot get a stray cat to come to you and get into a carrier for transport to a veterinarian, you can take steps to create trust before trying again to get them to go with you for medical care.

The vast majority of veterinarians will require you to use a cat carrier when bringing any cat to the vet. Bring the food inside once the cat is comfortable eating near the house. Place the bowl of food inside the front door and ensure that nobody is around to scare the cat. If you have any other pets in the house, lock them in a separate room for minute while the cat eats. We have tips for safely trapping sick or injured kitties below.

Let your cat outside after 3 weeks if you don’t want it to be an inside cat. This time inside allows it to bond with your family and pets and will help it to remember to return home once it is let outside. Let the cat outside on a warm dry day and ensure that it is hungry. Often, friendly neighbor cats are indoor/outdoor cats and not lost at all, simply roaming, which is perfectly legal in city and county areas and something cats love to do. If you’re adopting a cat, chances are you’re very excited to have them as part of your family.

“Take a picture and post it online, asking if anyone knows the cat hanging out in your yard. Sometimes you can find the cat’s owner, or someone who takes care of local cat colonies will recognize him,” she says. Before assuming that a cat wants to adopt you, you should check to see if he’s wearing a cat ID tagor bring him to a nearby animal hospital or rescue group to have him scanned for a microchip. If the cat has an owner, it is your responsibility to make a genuine effort to reunite cat and owner. According to the ASPCA, there are tens of millions of feral and stray cats in the United States.

By providing your mobile number, you agree to receive autodialed, recurring text messages from the HSUS with updates and ways you can help animals. Transfer the cat to a humane trap, with comfort padding if needed. If you haven’t already, review our general information on TNR at alleycat.org/TNRGuide and our information for hard-to-trap cats at alleycat.org/HardToTrap.

If you can handle the veterinarian costs, the following information can help you properly budget. Whatever whets your new cat’s appetite should be your go-to. Some stray cats will be friendly right off the bat, but with others, it may take time and patience to establish trust. “If a cat is not comfortable with humans, they will mostly scratch or bite if you attempt to handle them. Go slow and always allow the cat a way to leave the situation so that they don’t feel cornered,” says Gouge. In these cases, it seems as if stray cats decide to “adopt” an unsuspecting person as their new caretaker.