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What Not to Do When You Find a Lost Cat

Two weeks ago, as TW was heading home from shopping, she spied what looked like a cat "turkeyed" on the sidewalk near a fence. What a strange sight! Cats don't usually sit out in the open especially not a block from an elementary school. As TW approached, the cat got up, walked up to her and rubbed against her legs. He was smallish in stature and painfully thin and malnurished. TW thought, well, this isn't a feral cat but it has no collar ergo someone must have dumped him from a car.

What Not to Do When You Find a Lost Cat

She didn't have wet food for kitty so she poured some of the kibble she always carries. She stroked him a few times and hurried home with plans of eating a little lunch and coming back with a can of food. Kitty was gone by the time she returned.

She drafted an e-mail to the local TNR—UCFCC—but decided to wait until she saw him again before she sent it. She didn't want to send them on a chase since she would often see cats once and then never see them again after they headed back to their colonies.

What Not to Do When You Find a Lost Cat

The next few days, there was no kitty. Then kitty appeared again, still fur and bones although his side had filled in a little. She gave him a can of food. Then she saw him a third time. As she was petting him, someone axed if that was her kitty. Negative. The person noted kitty had a collar which kitty wasn't wearing any of the other times. What TW should have done is copy the info on the tag to call the owner since she doesn't have a mobile phone. Instead she took some blurry pics of the tag which she posted online. Even Sherlock Holmes couldn't decipher it.

What Not to Do When You Find a Lost Cat
She sent the pics to UCFCC who told her she should catch kitty and bring him to their trailer until they could find his home. She also posted kitty to their FB page and nextdoor.com, a local social mdia site they said had helped with several lost cats. Almost immediately, someone answers they had also seen kitty without his collar. Someone else offered info that the kitty lived on that block. Finally someone posted she called the number on the collar and a young man who lived nearby came to get kitty, whose name is Leonardo. Case closed.

Not so quick. The next day, the guy who said Leonardo lived on that block said he saw him again. Sigh! The celebration was short lived. TW raced back but there was no sign of him anywhere.

It is TW's theory he's an indoor/outdoor cat who's owner lets him out when he goes to work in the morning and lets him back in when he's home. Leonardo may not be fixed and may spray in the house. Another theory is maybe this guy saw him the same day she did and adopted him on the spot.

What Not to Do When You Find a Lost Cat

What to do? On one hand, she doesn't want to catnap someone's cat; on the other, someone has to educate his staff to the dangers of letting such a friendly cat out, having the cat neutered and finding out why he's so underfed. Hopefully, though, now that Leonardo's staff has learned there are people who care and are looking out for him, he'll keep him at home and do the right thing. For now, TW hopes that she'll never see him again and that he's safe. But, of course, she could see him again this week.

Would you like to comment?

  1. I wonder what the whole story is behind Leonardo. All I know is sometimes humans don't take the best care of their kitties.

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  2. Kitties like that can be very confusing to peeps because they want to help so much.

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  3. I've looked after many cats there were 'owned' but I was always feeding them! I am a pushy type, and will hunt for owners and talk to them face-to-face, even when The Hubby is telling me to 'stand down, it's not your cat!' Nope, I'm gonna make sure the cat gets the correct care, or I'll hound until it happens. Just my way of thinking.

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  4. Oh, this is such a tough situation. One of my parents' cats started out as a wanderer that I found outside of their house. I found him late in the evening last October, he was roughly 5 months only, not neutered, and was crying as if lost. He was super friendly, so I picked him up and did my best Sherlock Holmes work. None of the neighbors nearby knew where he belonged, so I took him for a quick trip to our local emergency clinic, where they will scan strays for microchips when other clinics or the shelter is not open. He had no microchip. I took him back home, and since it was nice weather, he spent the night with food and all the necessities in a large dog kennel in my garage. He scarfed down his food as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. The next day we posted his picture online, put up signs throughout the neighborhood, all that jazz. Nobody came forward. We took him to the vet, and since he was not only not neutered but also full of worms and not well cared for, my parents simply had him neutered, fully vetted, and kept him. He is one of the sweetest cats I have ever met, and he just loves my dad to death.

    We hope your buddy Leonardo has a safe home. He looks and sounds like a real sweetie.

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  5. This is a dilemma our Mom knows all too well and her best suggestion is to feed it whenever you see it and keep mental note of body condition. It's possible the kitty will latch onto someone and move closer to another home where food and attention is more forthcoming. Our Mom seriously doubts the kittie's owner is going to suddenly get a clue, but then again, our Mom hasn't dealt with too many bright outdoor kitty owners. Seeing it hang around near a school is, unfortunately, troubling. Not all kids are kind.

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  6. oh wow that is a messy situation. I am upset that if Leonardo does have a home ,that his owner lets him out like that. That's crazy. What if there is a storm, what about cars? What about someone taking him or hurting him? I would love to give Leonardo's owner (if there is one) a piece of my mind. catchatwithcarenandcody

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  7. Oh CK, mommy would have a fit. She'd be callin' Leonardo's owner post haste and tellin' them off 'bout how dangerous it is fur him to be outside and lettin' them know in no uncertain terms that there's no s'cuse fur him bein' so skinny. Mommy just hates to see a kitty that looks hungry. 'Specially ifin somepawdy claims to be said kitty's owner. Good luck to TW. Big hugs

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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  8. We'll be interested to hear how this all turns out, as we suspect TW will see this little guy again. Purrhaps she can write the phone # off the tag then and call the young man with some sage advice. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy

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  9. ck....this re mindz uz oh both turtle N barry ~~~~~~~

    we pray ta cod leonardo was adopted; theoree two...

    him lookz like buddy boom...N now we must stop typin for feer oh sheddin teerz

    best fishes two ewe leonardo dood ~~

    ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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  10. Oh, poor Leonardo. Our paws are crossed that he gets a good life soon.

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  11. He's so adorable. And it's very hard when you find a kitty outside to know what to do. Just about every day our local shelter posts a picture of a cat someone has turned in that has been running loose asking if anyone knows who they are. So many people let their cats roam outside (unfortunately) so how is anyone supposed to know if they really need help? Four paws up to TW for caring so much.

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  12. We hope Leonardo gets a better situation, soon. He seems like a friendly guy. Nice detective work on TW's part to help track down his human!

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  13. It's a tough situation. We don't like the idea of Leonardo being outside all day like that. But yet, if TW (or someone else) finds the owner and talks to him, the owner might tell them to mind their own business. We would hope TW would continue to feed Leonardo if and when she sees him again.

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  14. Its always tough. My heart always goes out to the poor little soul, just like TWs.
    Ciao
    Barb
    PS When the ordeal is over, I shall blog about cat bites and what happened. There is still the possibility of slicing and dicing...but the Dr wants to wait for this course of Antibiotics to finish. Because the infection is in the bone, he wants to take things slowly.

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  15. Given that he is very underweight, I would take him to the TNR place. Give them all the info you have, and let them handle it from there. If Leonardo has a human, he/she needs some education, it sounds like. Your local TNR organization could help educate the human.

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  16. So many people espouse adopting cats to save them from shelters that we accept quantity over quality. No one teaches you how to care for a cat - the majority of us learn by trial and error. I've talked to so many people with horrid practices (scooping the litter box once a week, people who think kitty at home alone is fine for weeks on end, people who think kitty can hunt and fend for himself) - and they're SHOCKED when I mention that there might be a better way. So many "owners" just have no clue - and more galling, many just don't care. I've seen it time and time again ... one kitty goes missing or dies and it's no big deal because the people can just adopt another one. I don't understand - and I'm glad I don't. Leonardo having a collar is interesting though - it at least gives you some hope his wellbeing matters to his human. I hope it's just a matter of education (I've also heard so many people claim that it's the humane thing to do to let kitty wander ... UGH).

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  17. I hope he has a home. I would probably steal him because it clearly isn't a good home.

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  18. Oh gosh, poor Leonardo. I hope his owner gives him proper care and that you don't see him again!

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