Cat In Distress Alert

Thank you for wanting to help a cat!

ECWAR primarily deals with cats, but we can sometimes help with other animals.  For dogs, it's best to contact a dog rescue.  For wildlife, WildNorth -- https://wildnorth.ca/ is best. If they aren't open, we have helped wildlife on occasion, even a dog.

If you are on this page and reading this, you have to understand a few things, as there are misconceptions about what we do.

1. Almost all outside cats that come around to a house are abandoned.  They have lived in a house, but their guardians kicked them out for one reason or another.  This is the hard lesson we have learned.  These cats are looking for shelter and food.  Some want to come in but are too afraid, although some are pretty forward about it.
2. We don't have enough resources to take in all stray cats right now.  We are working to change this, but it is in the future.
3. Right now, we bend over backwards to help injured, distressed, or pregnant cats, as well as moms with kittens and abandoned kittens outside.
4. So if you see a cat that needs help, please do what you can.  Food, water, and, if it keeps coming around, some kind of shelter.  We do provide emergency winter shelters.
5. If you can bring it in, isolate it and follow the instructions on our FOUND AN OUTSIDE CAT page. It is important to look for an owner.  That page tells you what to do.
6. You might think rescues are agencies that help everyone who calls as soon as possible.  That's not possible, and it's not even reasonable.  We are not government agencies.  We are people who care about animals and devote our spare time (some much more than that) to helping them.  We might unreasonably expect you to, too, because there isn't enough rescue space across Edmonton to take every cat that should be saved.  Cat abandonment and rescue are community problems, and only community members can solve them.  That includes you.  Please step up if you can. We can offer advice and possibly more help.
7. If you see a distressed or injured cat, etc., as per the categories above, take photos, get the address, confirm whether it will stay there, then fill out the form below.  Nothing is worse than being told about a cat that needs rescuing, only to show up and find the cat has left.
8. Depending on the situation, we may not respond immediately.  There are only a few of us.  We are a volunteer organization.  It may take us some time to mobilize resources.  But sometimes we perform miracles.
9. When we do respond, we prefer to do so by TEXT.
10. We are not a surrender rescue.  Please don't ask us.  It breaks our hearts.  At some point, we will have a page up here with resources for that situation, since it's so common.

All that being said, here is a form you can fill out to contact us about an animal in trouble.