FOUND CAT: Tortoiseshell and white cat - East Ham area, Newham

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Please post on Facebook. Newham cat society.have you knocked on doors to see if owned?Can you put a paper collar on him with your phone number on it.if no response after a few days,get him scanned for a microchip. I can get a rescue volunteer to come and scan him.Shared to Facebook East london groups.

07947 485 893 Ruth

Found a cat - General advice The primary goal is always the animals welfare, but there are some considerations when deciding whether to intervene. Read below to determine best route for the cat you have found. Is it clean, does it seem healthy and well fed, does it come and go, does it have a collar on (in some cases)? Could it have a loving owner in the area and is out roaming? If yes then best to leave alone. But paper collar if concerned (advise below) If concerned it looks lost or in trouble then monitor it, keep it safe/warm in situ, and try to find the owner (advise below). Be mindful that If you remove from the area you could be creating a lost cat, and a desperate owner. If the cat is in immediate danger, then try to make the cat safe if you can, by removing from danger, and try and find the owner (advise below) OR Could the cat be elderly, as some old cats look small, skinny, less well kept, like humans their appearance deteriorates over time although they may be healthy, well looked after. Always be careful not to confuse old with neglected, as you could be removing an elderly cat from a loving home, and putting into a vet/rescue system that could cause it distress or worst case cause them to euthanised due to age. Again monitor the cat, and if concerned try to help the cat by keeping safe while you find the owner. If in doubt compare the cat to online pictures of elderly cats, they have a very distinct look when they get old . https://icatcare.org/advice/elderly-cats-special-considerations/ https://www.boredpanda.com/senior-elderly-cats/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic OR Does the cat seems unwell, is injured or obviously distressed, then ring up and/or visit nearby vet to ask for advice / seek emergency treatment. Don’t leave the cat with any vet if cat does not need treatment, but do leave pictures or posters with vet to help finding owner. If leaving at a vet, as the person who removed cat from the area you are responsible to find the owners, so ensure you take pictures of the cat and follow below advise to find them. OR Is the cat outside day and night? Does the cat appear to be neglected, distressed, extremely hungry, dirty and/or flea-ridden? Provide water for the cat. Do not give human milk under any circumstances. As a general rule you should not feed a cat you don’t own, both because it can encourage the cat to keep visiting you and not go home. Also some cats have intolerances / health issues / special diets and could become severely ill eating regular cat food. However if the cat is obviously malnourished / very hungry / underweight then you can provide food too, in case this cat is lost / starving / a stray / feral. It is likely you should visit a vet in this situation for a health check (if possible), so please research best food to give an unknown cat with the vet, likely fresh chicken/white fish will be best. In instances where you are 100% sure the cat has no owners, then contact a local rescue and see if they can help the cat. Rescues can re-home a cat as quickly as 7 days, so it is very important to only go down this route if A/ you have searched thoroughly for owners first (see below) and not found, or B/ the cat is obviously stray / starving / poor condition and needs urgent help / rehoming. (see comments above on elderly cats, do not confuse) If you do this step prematurely without fully checking locally for owners then you could be stealing a healthy cat from a loving home. Try to find the owners! Knock on doors all around - to ask if anyone knows him/her. Don’t show a photo of the cat, and give only a brief description, let the potential owner describe their cat to you, saying if there are distinguishing features. If the description matches show the picture. Put a paper collar on the cat if the cat is visiting regularly and you feel it is safe to let them out, giving your contact details, and asking them to call you if cat is theirs. Use tape to attach but always leave a gap for safety, so the collar will break if the cat catches it. If no owner is found, then get the cat checked for a microchip, either free at a vet if going there, or through a local rescue, who may have a volunteer who could come and scan for a microchip (scan angels). Don’t leave cat at vets unless unwell. If there no response to a paper collar and no chip then put up posters in local streets (Include only 1 picture where distinguishing marks are hidden, so you can get the owner to confirm specific marks when they contact you). Make posters large and clear, and weather protect them. Give brief comment / description / approx area / date found and contact number. Also make leaflets and post through doors in local streets to catch people you have not already spoken to. If an owner comes forward then ask them for proof of ownership, clear photos of the cat (ideally with them), and any distinguishing features, before you hand cat over.

A bit of a good and a bit bad news, a local volunteer group called Cats Better sent a volunteer to scan the cat, and it was found to have a chip, unfortunately the chip was not registered to anyone as the cat seemed to be TNR (Trap Neuter and Return), the operation was carried out by Celia Hammond based in canning Town, and so I was advised to consult CH animal trust, who came and took the cat away, as they said they would try and find out who the feeder was , later on I also posted Found Cat posters in nearby streets and had a response from a gentleman who said he got the cat some 10 days earlier from a street about half a mile away where this cat had been living without any owners, or his owners abandoned him when they had to move out, so this gentleman took him home not knowing the cat may be chipped, sadly CH is not appearing to give him the cat back, I vetted the gentleman and he showed me various pictures of this cat in his home, he bought all the toys for him, but tha cat jumped out of an open window and ended up a street away in my garden where he stayed for 4 days before I posted him as found cat.

The Cat is still with Celia Hammond, who may be undergoing health checks, but it has been two weeks and I feel sad for the cat who is still confined indoors in CH clinic, I much rather he was returned to the current care taker or even a new owner who would take good care of him and give him TLC, The current owner is devastated obviously but CH needs to meet legal obligation exhaust all enquiries in their attempt to reunite with original owners, but since the cat is TNR there are officially no previous registered owners , so in my view the cat should be united with hos last care taker or foster owners. I am praying the cat is not suffering being held indoors when he had been living free outdoor for the last year and a half.

I have no further updates on this cat, it was last handed over to Celia Hammond Animal Trust who took it away, and said they will try to unite him with his owners, as the cat had a collar, but their enquiry drew blank as the telephone number registered for the owner denied owning this cat ever, so CHAT said they would home him to someone, however there was a chap who had adopted him whose details I found after I put up posters and he responded as having this cat for about 10 days until it escaped from an open window, he would have taken it back but CHAT for some reason were reluctant to let him have this cat back. This is where it ends, I have had no further communication from CHAT. I don't know where that cat is now. Yes I would have liked to know that it is homed to a decent family. the owner it drew blank,

Report closed by Mike85 with an outcome of: Other