Help! I’ve found a stray cat. What do I do?

Angelcat Haven Feline Rescue is committed to helping stray and abandoned cats throughout Massachusetts. As our mission statement says, havens have no boundaries and neither do we.

However, we need your help before helping local cats that you find.

ACH has limited volunteers who are dedicated to caring for over 50 cats and kittens at any given time. We need you to work in advance to help us help your community cats in the most effective and efficient way possible. We cannot drop everything and come catch a cat that may or may not have a home.

First, observe the cat.

• How is their coat?
• Do they appear thin or unkempt?
• Are they friendly?
• Do they have a tipped ear or collar?
  • If a cat has a tipped ear, they are already fixed and part of a TNR (trap neuter/spay and release) program. If a cat has a tipped ear, please leave them as they are doing crucial work to prevent more cats from coming into the area.
• What color are they?
• Is their stomach bulging?
• Make notes about when and where the cat comes by to help us trap them.
• If the cat is injured or appears to be unwell, please let us know immediately. You can also contact your local animal control officer.
• If you see kittens, please also contact us immediately. Do not approach them as you may scare the mother into moving them. Please observe them and take photos so we can determine how many and their age.

Next, work in your neighborhood. Contact every neighbor within 4-6 houses. If you do not know them or are concerned about contacting them, use a flier with a “found cat” poster with the cat’s information. Post on local community or yard sale Facebook pages. It is very likely that a stray cat in your neighborhood belongs to someone. We do not have the time or resources to contact all of your neighbors and we cannot trap someone’s pet. You are local and must invest this time and effort to help the cat before we can. Neighbors may also be feeding the cat and we need to know that when it comes time to trap.

Third, contact your local animal control officer (ACO) or town shelter to see if someone is missing the cat.

Our local ACO include:
Wrentham Plainville Aco Massachusetts
Norfolk Massachusetts Animal Control and Shelter

Fourth, if you are feeding the cat, please continue to do so but do not start and stop. Feed consistently to make it easier to track the cat and trap them if needed. Do not feel the need to feed them unless they seem excessively thin. If they are someone’s pet, they are likely getting double meals.  If you start feeding, please continue as the cat will rely on it to survive.

Once you have done your due diligence, we can help you trap. Please evaluate if we are the correct local rescue or group to work with. Our volunteers are primarily located in the Plainville/North Attleboro area and we are limited with how far we can travel to trap. We frequently trap in Wrentham, Plainville, Attleboro, North Attleboro, Walpole, Foxboro, Franklin, Bellingham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, etc. If your town is not listed, we can certainly try to help. If you are located in RI, we are unable to assist with trapping due to state regulations.

We hope that these steps help you with helping your community cats. We know it is a lot of work but you can help us help these cats and kittens.