Nextdoor has any number of lost and/or found cats posts every day. Posts begin: "It this your kitty?" or "Does anyone know whose cat this is?". These posts are usually out of concern that a cat may be lost or missing. These Nextdoor posts rarely get an answer. Unfortunately, such a post is often shown to folks living miles away or across a river from where a cat is sighted. It's just easier to ask all of Nextdoor, than to knock on a few doors, right? (Actually, I have done this — it's possible that someone remote may know someone local who recently lost a cat.)
The issue is complicated by ordinary "outdoor" cats that freely roam the neighborhood.
This blog article attempts to describe the situation, then lists some ideas, resources, and advice on what to do for a cat who seems lost or abandon.
There are several specialized sites that deal with strays — Some run by non-profits, others may be monetizing the situation.
Cat Definitions
Outdoor -
Owned by people, but not confined indoors.
Allowed to roam the neighborhood.
Some may have collars.
Stray / Lost -
Previously a homed cat, who got left behind, scared off, or neglected.
Community -
These are homeless outdoor cats that neighbors recognize and care for to some degree.
Feral -
Literally means Wild, having never been in a domestic environment.
Feral cats will run off if approached.
Indoor -
Indoor cats are none of the above.
Their people provide food and water, and a litter box indoors, or in a 'Catio'.
Discussion
How can a cat become Lost, and not find their way back home?
That's beyond the scope of this article.
Since outdoor cats can roam freely, you can't know whether a cat on your property is Stray, Lost, just someone's Outdoor cat. You may see a cat occasionally or daily.
Even if you shoo them away, they may hang out at your place if it feels safe — with no dogs or weird stuff going on. Beware - once you feed them, it's Game Over.
My Stray Cat
Consider 'Jackie' as a Case in Point.
Scruffy cat when she started hanging out at our place, Sept 2024. Photo: CD Stowell.
This cat showed up on our property sometime in September.
She is skittish, but does not run away, just keeps her distance. She allows very limited touch - but you can assertively pick her up. She knows what a door is, and always wants inside. That indicates she was probably someone's pet not long ago. But, now she has a wild streak.
Eventually, we named her 'Jackie'.
We took Jackie to a vet, and they determined there was no chip implanted.
We are sure she has fleas, so there is no way we'll let her anywhere inside our house.
(She lost her mind when I trapped her in a pet carrier!)
I'm feeding her and providing a pretty nice sheltered bed -- protected from rain and wind, and up off the ground.
If I don't have her spayed, I will eventually be looking at a pregnant mama cat.
So it looks like I may have to take the time and spend $$$ for that.
Then comes the smiling coyote...
Jackie would need a lot of TLC to become an indoor cat, especially around any children. Jackie is not ready for adoption via informal means between strangers or otherwise, in my opinion. All I can do is provide a low-cost safe place for her.
Females Are a Special Case!
Females should be spayed ASAP, otherwise there's gonna be more darn cats!
A spayed female may have a tattoo at the site of surgery - usually a green line - or there could be an ear tattoo. Few private clinics provide a tattoo!
This article should have a section summarizing spaying - the rules, gotchas, current availability in Portland, cost, etc. It's complicated!
How 'Jackie' got her Name
A story before we move on.. Summers ago, we had an older male cat with similar markings hanging out on our sunny deck for hours at a time. He had a tag with "Jack" and a phone number. A call to the number surprised the owner, who thought Jack was history. Turns out Jack belonged on the next street over. Whenever Jack showed up, we could text the owner who might come get him. Local coyotes may have had Jack for dinner.
Things You Can Do to Locate the Owner
Check with your Neighbors - They may know whose cat it is. If so, you're done, eh?
If you are able to take the cat in a carrier to a veterinary clinic, they can scan for a microchip.
Soft-sided carrier, allows vet to access cat in toto.
The vet will contact the registered owner (for free) and connect them up with you.
(Banfield Vet says that very few cats have chips, whereas most dogs do.)
Lost pet reports can be found on Multnomah County Animal Service's website - multcopets.org; you can also submit a Found Cat report there.
[LINK]
Other online avenues to check for lost pets (and post found pets) include Pawboost, Dove Lewis Lost & Found, and Craigslist. Links below.
Nextdoor doesn't seem to have a category for such posts, so they get mixed in with the suspicious characters, stolen cars, etc. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)
LINKS for County Services / Non Profit Organizations
Portland Craigslist Lost & Found items and animals (Good Luck!)
[LINK]
Post a Poster!
You could put up FOUND CAT flyers in your neighborhood. If someone responds saying this is their cat, ask them for details about the cat that aren't evident in your photo/description, request photos of the owner with the cat, and get confirmation from a legitimate veterinarian for proof of ownership. This is to assure the cat doesn’t end up in an inhumane situation (eg thrown to the Dogs.)
About PawBoost
This is a sort of regionally based platform for connecting lost/found pets with owners. A certain level of access is free. You need to sign up and pay to have more reach in your posts. It's up to you to figure this platform out! It's beyond the scope of this article.
Lost or found a pet? Report it to PawBoost here:
[LINK]
Example: For the latest information or to contact the finder of a FOUND pet, view on PawBoost:
[LINK]
What to do with an apparent stray?
You could't locate the owner (or they didn't want to be located) so you are left holding the bag, so to speak.
As we understand, you can no longer just take an apparent stray cat just anywhere, and turn it in. There's No Room at the Inn.
From Oregon Humane website: There is growing consensus among animal welfare experts, from the ASPCA, to The Humane Society of the United States, to Alley Cat Allies. In most cases, the best thing to do when you see a roaming cat or kitten – leave them where you found them. ("Leave Them Be" is trademarked!)
Provide food & water. In winter, provide adequate shelter.
Current Situation (Fall 2024)
The Oregon Humane Society (OHS), Pixie Project, and even Multnomah County Animal Shelter (MCAS) are all denying admissions of strays and kittens due to lack of capacity.
OHS and MCAS
Normally, MCAS is the one place that takes strays. They act as a clearing house, and after some processing, distribute strays (and kittens) to an adoption agency or pet store. (Algorithm unknown.)
At OHS, You must first "adopt" a Stray as your own cat. (Unsure of your responsibilities at this point, but there is some clues on the web.) Then you can surrender the cat, sick, healthy, injured or otherwise. OHS will ship the cat to MCAS.
Are we confused yet? There seems to be no easy answer. That's why letting a stray cat be a cat 24x7 is said to be the simplest solution.
This section could use some kind of diagram or flowchart to organize the information. Suggestions Welcome!-- Ed.
Providing Shelter, Food, and Water
From a neighbor: I used a 20 gallon Craftsman container from Lowes. I cut a cat entrance in one end and exit for the heating pad cord in the other end. Then I lined it with reflective bubble wrap type insulation.
Craftsman container with lid secured
Craftsman container with lid open, showing inside.
These cozy "Craftsman" cat houses also provide good protection against predators.
Some plans show two doors - the second door provides an escape route.
Links follow below for Creating a Winter Shelter. Shelters shown here can enable a cat to easily weather a spell of bitter cold.
Water should be set out and freshened up as needed. In freezing weather, you may want to use a large non-metallic bowl to reduce chance of freezing solid. (A larger mass of water will take longer to freeze.)
Food is really important in winter, as metabolization generates body heat.
I feed Jackie about 1 ounce, four times/day, more than is suggested on the bag of Purina 'Complete' food.
Rule of Thumb: Only as much food as can be eaten in 15 minutes should be put out. Leftover food will be snarfed by other cats, rodents, raccoons, et al, and you don't want to attract them!
Pick up the empty bowl, and keep it clean.
Side Benefit: A well fed cat might not feel the urge to hunt birdies. (?)
About PDX Cat Trapper
pdxcattrapper, a volunteer org, will come trap a cat, take it to be checked out, spayed or neutered, and then return it near where it was picked up. The catch is - YOU must make arrangements with the vet or whomever, implying that YOU pay for that spray/neuter job. The Trapper is just a catch, neuter & release service.
[LINK]
Topics Not Covered
Outdoor cats and strays can become Coyote's prey. Outdoor cats kill birds and mice.
Outdoor cats may poop in gardens, and make paw prints on vehicles.
So, owned (outdoor) cats cat be just as guilty of this as strays!
Vigilante cat trappers feel compelled to turn in every outdoor cat. True?
It seems like the County operates at the wholesale and distribution level, and the Stores and other agencies are the retail level. Is this accurate? If not, what is the model?
See Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS)
[Pets FAQ]
No Kill shelters vs reality.
Multnomah County has plans for a new Animal Services facility (rehab and shelter).
Adopting a Cat
That's easy — just shop around various Pet Stores! This is best because you are assured that cat has been checked for diseases, fleas, chip, etc.
The Lake Oswego Petco has LOTS of kitties for adoption! All kittens come spayed/neuter, up-to-date on vaccines, microchipped, test negative for Fel-luke, dewormed! One kitten is $150 or two kittens for $225! Kittens range from 8 weeks to 4 months old!
Some kittens listed on Petfinder are at the South Tigard Petco in King City.
[Petco listings]
Adopting a Stray
This may simply be a matter of declaration. A visit to vet to check for a chip is mandatory. If no one responds to posters or posts, You could pay for a wellness check at the vet, under your name. (Eg, has the cat been spayed? Have tests for feline maladies.) At this point, you could consider the cat yours and go from there.
Questions for Our Readers
Have you had success using Pawboost or other online resource?
Are Free spay-neuter clinics a Thing of the Past?
If you own a cat that goes outside, does it have a chip?
Does Nextdoor have a category of posts for lost & found pets? (No.)
How is the price of a cat set? Do they try to recover the cost of shots, test, etc?
What is the real concern here, anyway?
?
?
References
organizations, agencies, advice
Multnomah County Animal Services:
Rehoming page, also list of resources.
[LINK]
The Pixie Project is a non-profit animal adoption center and rescue.
[LINK]
Oregon Humane Society,
503-285-7722,
establishing ownership, then relinquishing ownership. Not sure whether you’d have to spay first.
[LINK]
This article was inspired by the never-ending posts on Nextdoor asking "In this your Cat?", and about lost cats, comments which often contained misinformation, and the bewildering 'network' of organizations and rules that try to address parts of the problem.
Comments will appear here —
To be curated from Nextdoor, then posted a week or so after article is published.
(At this time, we don't support commenting directly on the blog.)
How this Blog Post was described on Social Media
Here is what we'd say on Nextdoor: What's all this I hear about Stray Cats?
There's just too darn many of them, don't you think? Somebody ought to do something about this! (Grin.) Read about Stray vs Feral cats, and the complex of organizations and rules that apply to them on the New Collins View Blog. https://newcollinsview.blog/grab-bag/Community-Cat-Conundrum.html
