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Found a Cat?

Spotted a new face in your yard? Friendly kitty followed you home?  The guide below will help you figure out what to do next!

1. Assess the cat's behavior, appearance, and overall situation to determine whether to intervene. 

Not all outdoor cats are lost or abandoned strays. Some are feral community cats living in managed colonies; others are owned, indoor-outdoor pets. The best course of action depends on whether you think the cat is feral, owned, or stray.

How do you know whether the cat is owned or feral or stray? 

Behavior: Is the cat friendly, shy, or fearful?

  • Friendly and approaches you easily → May have an owner or be a lost or abandoned stray. These cats are more likely to do well indoors or be adoptable.

  • Shy but curious (e.g., hangs back, watches you, doesn’t run immediately) → Could be a lost or abandoned stray cat who has had some human interaction but has been on the streets for longer and needs time to rebuild trust.

  • Fearful, hissing, hides or runs away immediately → May be feral. These cats are usually not socialized to humans and may be candidates for TNVR and return to their outdoor home.

Appearance: Do they appear injured, underweight, or ill? clean or dirty? Ear-tipped (a sign of TNVR)? Collar?

  • Well-fed, clean, healthy-looking coat → Could belong to someone nearby or be part of a managed colony.

  • Thin, dirty, injured, limping, or suffering from visible illness (e.g., eye discharge, wounds) → May be in distress, recently abandoned, or unable to fend for themselves. Intervention is likely needed.

  • Female with enlarged nipples or signs of lactation → May have kittens nearby. Observe carefully before relocating.

  • Large belly → May be pregnant, and intervention is likely needed.

  • Wearing a collar or tag → Likely someone’s pet. Try contacting the owner directly or ask around your neighborhood.

  • Ear-tipped (flat horizontal cut on one ear, usually the left) → Already spayed/neutered and vaccinated through a TNVR program. Unless the cat appears injured or ill, it’s best to leave them in place.

  • No collar or ear tip, but friendly → Possibly lost or recently dumped. These cats should be scanned for a microchip and posted on local lost pet groups.

Location: Is this their first appearance or are they a regular visitor?

  • Seen regularly in the same place over time → May be part of a local colony or someone’s outdoor pet.

  • New to the area or seems confused/disoriented → Could indicate a recently displaced, lost, or dumped pet, especially if appearing suddenly and lingering in strange places.

  • Found near businesses, busy roads, or areas with no obvious shelter → Higher risk environment. If friendly, the cat should be relocated (at least temporarily while you take additional steps) for safety.

If the cat is feral: You do not need to intervene unless the cat appears injured or in distress. If the cat is not eartipped, you can contact us or another rescue that does TNVR. The rescue can inform you on what to do next, or may send someone out to trap the cat for you. Feral cats are not socialized to humans and are unlikely to adapt to indoor life. TNVR and treatment as a community cat is the best path for them (learn more about TNVR and community cats here).

If the cat is owned or stray: Continue to the next step.

2. Provide short-term safety while you figure out next steps.

If the cat is friendly, injured, and/or in immediate danger, you can carefully bring them inside (approach slowly + use gloves or a towel!) or into a safe enclosed space (like a bathroom or crate in a garage) while you figure out what to do next. 

Provide:

  • Food and water

  • A litter box (or a substitute like a cardboard box with shredded paper)

  • A quiet place to decompress

3. Try to locate an owner.

Try to locate the owner to confirm whether the cat is an indoor-outdoor pet that is fine outside or a lost pet that needs to be kept inside until the owner can retrieve him/her. Even if the cat seems healthy, it's okay to keep the cat safely inside while you wait to confirm with the owner that they live nearby and you can release the cat outside.

Ways to Locate the Cat's Owner

  • Post a photo of the cat and its location on social media (local Facebook groups, Nextdoor, Lost-A-Pet).

  • Check lost pet groups and local posts on social media to see if anyone has posted about a missing cat that matches the description of the one you found.

  • Knock on doors and ask neighbors if anyone knows the cat.

  • Bring the cat to a vet or shelter to scan for a microchip (this is free!)

  • Hang flyers around the neighborhood

If someone claims the cat: Try to confirm whether it is theirs by asking them to send photos of them with the cat, or asking them to tell you something about the cat's appearance that isn't in the photo but that the owner would know.

If you can't find the owner or the owner doesn't want the cat back: Continue to the next step.

4. If you can't locate an owner, contact local resources for rehoming or rescue placement.

If you can't find the owner or the owner does not want the cat back, and you can't keep the cat, you can contact us or other local rescues to figure out what to do next.

If the cat is friendly and adoptable, a rescue may be able to assist in rehoming the cat. If the cat is not adoptable, your best bet is contacting TNVR organizations.

Please keep in mind that we're a small foster-based rescue and cannot take in every cat, but if we can't help directly, we’ll do our best to refer you to someone who can.

If you must bring the cat to a shelter, try to confirm that the shelter is a "NO KILL" shelter.