For the record, PETMD says that cats do not survive well outside below 7C.

Winter is coming.

Please help the cat!

Our focus is on distressed, injured, pregnant cats or moms with kittens.  We ask that people help the cats they find that they are concerned about.  We can't take every cat.  We can't be everywhere at any time of day.  We are volunteers and there are not enough of us.  We do our best.

If you find a cat that needs help, have it in your heart to get it out of the cold while being cautious.  You can leave a voicemail on our answering machine but we may not respond right away.  

Huge cat abandonment problem

Edmonton has a huge cat abandonment problem. It's worse since the pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

It's sad. The happy pet is now a burden, not a family member. Many move to rentals that do not allow pets so they get left behind or dropped off somewhere. Their unfixed cat gets pregnant because they didn't want to or couldn't afford to pay the spay fee. Leave it somewhere.

How do you tell the difference between a lost cat and an abandoned one?

It's tough. Identification is usually nil for both.

Of the over 1,900 cats we have rescued, we have only been able to return fewer than 50 to their owners due to some sort of identification or the person was actively looking for their cat.  Unfortunately, even with some cats we could identify through a microchip, several owners either refused to take the cat back or said they never had a cat!

Of those without a chip, only a handful of owners have come forward through Facebook posts or by looking in the neighbourhood.

What do you do?

The Animal Care and Control Centre does provide some good advice. Here is the webpage you can read.

https://www.edmonton.ca/residential_neighbourhoods/pets_wildlife/animal-care-control-centre

As they say, "owned lost cats are 10 times more likely to find their way home if left in their neighbourhood than if they are brought to a facility."

So...

A.  The first thing you should do is check all the Edmonton FB lost and found pet pages.

B.  Take the cat to a vet to check for a microchip.  Most vet clinics will do this without an appointment. and you can just drop in.  There is no charge, and it only takes a minute to do.  If there is a microchip, the vet can get the owner's information and contact them about the cat.  Sometimes, though, people don't update their contact information with the microchip directory, and so they cannot be found immediately.  Some digging on Google might have to be done to see if they can be found.

C. If no microchip, make a post on each of the above pages about the cat you found: no microchip, sex, general location found, temperament, condition found in, when it was found, how to contact you along with one or more photos.

If the cat is friendly and not spicy, and you have looked for the owners for a number of days, the ACCC is a good choice if they are accepting intakes.  The vast majority of well-behaved cats, if the owner doesn't show up within three days, are sent over to the Edmonton Humane Society or another rescue partner for adoption. If the animal is chipped, they will hold it for 10 days.

The bad part is that if the cat misbehaves at the ACCC and they don't consider it adaptable, it may be put down.  Feral cats are not accepted.

Less than 2% of lost cats found in a shelter

A major study on lost and found cats which we refer to states that less than 2% of lost cats are found by owners in a shelter. That is not good.

So, in the end, it will be up to your conscience on what to do if the owner is not found.

Lack of resources to deal with every cat

While we would like to help every abandoned cat off the streets and into a home, our resources preclude this. It is unfortunate.  We try to help those that are in danger of not surviving like injured or hurt cats or pregnant mommas and kittens.

But this is Edmonton.  Just because a cat can survive -30 doesn't mean it should be out there.

Help the cat

While we can't take in every cat (we are not a shelter), we can help by providing an insulated winter shelter for outside cats.  $25 requested donation and you can request it on this website.

If you are willing to provide food and water, a shelter would be a great help for these cats at this time if you cannot find a home for them.

Better yet, would be for you to become a rescuer and help the cat by bringing it inside and helping it.  This seems like a big ask but it is what rescuers do.  Help the animal that comes to you.