Found a cat at Brooklyn and Dean - need advice!

brooklynleather

We spotted a young (6 months) tuxedo cat, definitely domesticated and very sweet and affectionate. It is tuxedo style short hair with a puffy tail and white whiskers.

We left it for now in case it was an indoor/outdoor cat but it had no collar and it's quite cold out.

Should we try to bring it in and leave flyers in the neighborhood or let the cat stay outside? Advice appreciated!

christinafrombklyn

I know I can easily say this as I'm not you, but bring him/her in!! You can put fliers up tomorrow---it's sooo cold out, I just came in from walking my dog.

Good luck!

brooklynleather

We went back out and the cat was gone.

I feel bad I didn't bring her in earlier but I was feeling this ethical dilemma about it. If she shows up again, I'll bring her in.

mougar

Even if you don't think you can find the owner, it is always better to pick up cats. You can still make lol cats and pie.

whatchuwant

Generally, actually almost exclusively, there's no such thing as an indoor/outdoor cat in the city. Too dangerous.

brooklynleather

Yeah. It just seemed really possible that it came out of a window in the courtyard area and I couldn't figure out what the most ethical thing to do was until maybe it was too late

dapearl9

I had a similar experience the other night with an orange cat (see the thread I made). It was incredibly friendly, following me down the street almost to my apartment door. I was very tempted to take it in but there are a few factors to keep in mind.

Despite what WCW said, there is still a chance it could be someone's cat on the prowl. And you can put up fliers but that's still not a guarantee. Maybe my situation is different too but I wouldn't be able to keep a cat as a permanent pet so I'd have to eventually find an owner or worse, give it to a shelter where even if I could find a no-euthanasia one there's no assurance it won't spend god knows how long in a cage.

So it's a dilemma. You could potentially be helping out the kitty but also harming it as well. No clear cut answer.

brooklynleather

Right well it just got more complicated. Kitty returned. We're calling her "Chance"

I had about 40 people over and 2 cats roaming my home already so I couldn't bring her in. We put out some food and water and a box with towels in it to keep her warm but now I am not sure what to do.

laura b

My spiel on this:

To start with, call Animal Care & Control (311), which keeps a database of lost/found pets, and report the cat. Put up "Found Cat" flyers in your neighborhood—but for the cat's safety, please ask any potential claimants to bring a photograph to prove ownership. (Unfortunately there are unsavory folks out there who will use this pretext to sell unwanted animals to medical labs or use them as bait in dog-fighting rings.)

But whether the cat is lost or (more likely, in this neighborhood) abandoned, she needs a place to stay--particularly in this icy cold weather. Domestic cats are not okay outdoors—besides freezing they also risk starvation, disease, being hit by a car, or worse. Since the cat is friendly, please consider taking her in (or ask a neighbor to) for a night or two, until an owner, foster home, or shelter can be located. Since you have pets of your own, you would want to enclose the cat in a separate room to avoid potential conflict or spread of illness.

Try the following list of shelters, but bear in mind that since there's a fairly horrific pet overpopulation situation in NYC, they could be full or have waiting lists:

www.animalalliancenyc.org/aboutus/participants/atoz.htm

Bear in mind, too, that unfortunately Animal Care & Control does euthanize and therefore should be viewed as a last resort only. If at all possible, bring the cat to a no-kill shelter.

If the kitty has been vetted (tested and vaccinated), she stands a better chance of getting into a shelter. (I can give you info on low-cost vet options if you like.)

It's possible to find a foster or adoptive home for her yourself. Flyers, craigslist.org, and this here board can be very effective. Take some cute photos and email them to all your friends and coworkers—and ask them to do the same. Before you adopt the kitty out however, please read about the tragedy of "free to good home." Again, there are evil, or just plain irresponsible people out there. It’s important to carefully screen potential adopters, so that the cat ends up in a safe and permanent home.

In terms of an outdoor shelter, towels are not a good idea because the cat can only lie on top of them, so they actually draw out body heat and defeat the purpose. I wouldn't recommend this long-term for a domestic (as opposed to a feral) cat, but you can create a warm, makeshift shelter out of ordinary styrofoam containers. Check out:

http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

Anyway, that's my .02. Good luck, and bless your soul for caring.