Outdoor cats should stay close to home

Most lost cats are found very close to home. They have a higher likelihood of being reunited with their family if they have a safe place to stay in the neighborhood where they were found for just a short period of time instead of being brought right to the shelter.

Every day lost pets are brought into our shelter, but their families do not know they’re here. When people see a cat wandering around, they want to bring them to the shelter. But people who have lost a cat assume they’re close by their home and most likely a neighbor will find and return them. They do not usually think to look for the pet at the shelter. This causes many owned cats to never get back to the people who love them.

Read more about outdoor cats.

Good Samaritans who find a “lost” cat and bring them to the shelter care about the pet and are trying to do the right thing. We are very thankful when people in our community help care for one another’s pets!

Now, we are asking people to take a few actions first to reunite the lost cat with their family before bringing them to the shelter. These extra steps help a lost kitty get back home faster and will prevent the finder from having to drive the cat to the shelter and out of their neighborhood.

The typical reclaim rate for lost pets is only 17% when a pet comes into the shelter. But when a pet is kept in a safe place in the neighborhood where they were found that rate jumps to 70%.

Watch this for more ways you can help an outdoor cat.