I've recently been involved in a lot of conversations about what's the "right" thing to do with friendly cats found outdoors. I think there's probably not any one "right" thing to do. But what I'm seeing a LOT of, is indoor/outdoor owned pet cats that are lovingly stolen from their actual home. They're seen outside, and someone either just keeps them indoors, or brings them to a shelter like mine.
So I wanted to share this story.
We had a cat brought to our SN clinic for spay today. The woman who brought her in had seen her around outside for a while, talked with all their neighbors, and the cat didn't belong to anyone. Last November, knowing winter was coming and she needed help, the caring woman brought the cat indoors and has kept her there ever since. Today they brought her to be spayed and vaccinated.
Turns out she's a neutered male cat. And microchipped. My clinic folks don't have to deal with this that often (it's usually in the shelter side), and pulled me in to help.
We tracked the microchip and called the registered owner. As soon as I said where I was calling from, before I said anything else, she started shouting "Did you find my cat?!?! You found my cat?!?!?!". SO EXCITED!
Turns out the cat had gone missing last November. She'd talked with all her neighbors, but never found her cat.
I've attached a map of where the cat's home is, and where he was (lovingly) stolen to. Obviously, he was well within the normal daily range of indoor/outdoor cats; he "disappeared" the same day he was "saved" by the well meaning neighbor. Interestingly, both people told me that they "talked with all the neighbors" and yet they never talked with one another.
If he wasn't chipped, his real home would never have gotten him back.
This story is only unusual in that it happened while the conversation about friendly cats found outdoors was happening...I've seen this exact same story happen over and over and over again. The vast majority of times, people don't get their cat back. This cat was unusual in that he was microchipped, not that he was stolen. With love, and all the best intentions.
Every cat should be evaluated individually. But I'd argue that that evaluation does not need to include us knowing exactly what is going on. As with ferals, their condition tells us whether the cat needs help or not. Most don't.
Best,
Karina
#CommunityCatManagement