Adopt a Pet | Find Your New Best Friend

If the cat is scared to go outside, walk beside it to help reassure it. Your cat will be calmer and less erratic with a regular feeding schedule. Over time, slowly increase the amount of eye contact that you give your cat.

Do not line the bottom of the trap with sections of newspaper. Gather blankets, sheets or large towels to cover the traps while trapping and during transport. Sign up and make sure you are always on top of the most important info for you and your pets. “After reading this article, I know I definitely have a stray and not a feral, plus other good advice.”

That includes providing enrichment activities like cat puzzle toysand areas where they can climb and play. Before transitioning your stray cat into your care, you will want to make sure you have all the right cat supplies. “At the vet, the cat should receive basic vaccinations and be spayed or neutered if she or he isn’t already,” Phillips says. You have some options when it comes to deciding what to do with a stray cat that has “adopted” you.

Determine What Kind of Cat It Is

Barn cats often live a short and unhappy life, dying from too many litters, easily treatable diseases or parasites. This includes a cat litter box, a place to snuggle up, and food and water. “ and a cozy environment will help the cat transition into this new life,” she notes. If you or others normally feed the outdoor cats, on the day before trapping supply only half the usual amount of food so the cats will be hungry.

These are important questions with many different implications. Contact your local municipal animal control facility to determine if they would be able to hold the cat and adopt it out or get in touch with its owners . If you decide to provide food for the cat, check to see if your city or town has an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of strays. This could then make the cat weaker and more vulnerable to sickness, parasites, and predation.

In fact, plenty of cats never see a vet unless they’re on death’s doorstep. 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. Many stray cats will interpret direct eye contact as threatening. Look briefly at the cat and then close your eyes or shift your gaze away.

Our content and products are for informational purposes only. Great Pet Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This nifty trick works great when you need to medicate your cat, too. Plenty of YouTube videos can show you how to burrito a cat with perfect aplomb. In the interest of avoiding this worst-case scenario, here are my top tips for cornering, capturing and confining cats for safe transport to the vet.

Bayonne ordinance fine tunes its feral cat program – The Hudson Reporter

Bayonne ordinance fine tunes its feral cat program.

Wear protective gloves before approaching the cat, and have a towel ready to throw over the cat if she tries to attack. Afterwards, release it as directed by your local authorities to an outdoor cat colony. These also help to foster the human-animal bond you share with your cat. Trap-Neuter-Return improves community cats’ lives, but there might be a time when you have to help a cat beyond getting her spayed.

Taking Your Stray Cat to the Vet

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. Today, under humane trap-neuter-release programs, these cats can be returned outside but will no longer contribute to the feral cat population — and they have a better chance at life once they’ve been neutered and vaccinated. In the past, it was common practice for animal lovers to trap outdoor cats and surrender them to a shelter. Euthanasia was the most likely outcome for feral cats brought to an overcrowded shelter.

Many stray cats are able to adapt to living indoors and can become wonderful pets. Before you bring a stray cat indoors, you should always take it to the vet first to make sure it doesn’t have any underlying health problems. If the cat has a microchip, this means that it has had an owner at some point. Ask the vet to give you a copy of the contact details of the most recent owner of the cat or see if the vet can contact them for you. Contact the owner to ensure that they don’t want the cat and that they are happy for you to adopt it.A vet will typically charge around $50 for an appointment, but most will scan stray cats for free. Isolate the stray cat from other pets until it is tested and vaccinated by a vet.

Some municipal animal controls have great adoption rates; you can call them or ask around to find out if the cat would have a decent chance there. If you have to choose between HSMO and the APA, the cat will have a better chance at adoption through the APA. Get to know the veterinarians and animal hospitals in your area, especially those familiar with caring for community cats. If you already have a trusted veterinarian and veterinary team but they are not fully familiar with the specific protocol for TNR or community cats, direct them to our . If you know a TNR advocate or group in your area, consult with them.