Mill Valley resident Prentice Sellers was on vacation last summer when she got a call from a concerned neighbor. The neighbor happened to see a picture of Sellers’ cat, Panda, on the “found animals” page of Marin Humane’s website. Panicked, Sellers called the shelter and learned that Panda had been brought in two days prior by a woman in Corte Madera who said she was given the cat by a friend but couldn’t keep him. This friend turned out to be a neighbor of Sellers’ who had assumed Panda was a stray. Fortunately, Panda was microchipped, but Sellers was out of cellphone range for two days and didn’t receive the calls from the shelter. She immediately sent her son to get Panda, and he was happily reunited with his family. But that’s not always the case.
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While Marin Humane strongly encourages people to keep cats indoors exclusively — to protect them from getting hit by cars, attacked by coyotes and into fights with other cats — it’s not illegal to let one’s cat outside. But cats allowed to go outside also face another risk — being mistaken as a stray and fed, which discourages them from returning home, or worse, being kept inside someone else’s home or brought to a shelter.
Unless the cat is clearly ill or injured, feeding a cat you don’t know, bringing them into your house or bringing them to a shelter can do more harm than good. (If the cat is ill or injured, Marin Humane should be called immediately.)
Time and again, when people post a photo on Nextdoor of a cat they saw outside, commenters urge them to feed the cat, bring the cat inside, take them to get scanned for a microchip or just take them straight to a shelter. The impulse to protect animals is strong. (Believe me, I worry whenever I see kitties outside.) But that cat may be on a special diet, and you could be harming them by giving inappropriate food. And that trip to a vet to get scanned for a chip may result in the cat escaping the carrier and ending up in an unfamiliar neighborhood — not to mention this creates extreme stress for the cat.
What about bringing that cat to a shelter? Nationally, the rate of cats brought to shelters being reunited with their owners is less than 7%. Here in Marin, we fare better, with 22% of cats being reunited, thanks to the high rate of microchipping, but that’s still too few. The other issue is that being in a shelter environment is tough for many animals, but especially cats, and when cats are stressed, they’re much more likely to get sick.
If you truly believe a cat you see is lost, post a photo on Nextdoor and other local social media sites and ask if anyone is missing theirs. Knock on neighbors’ doors and file a “found” report with Marin Humane in case anyone calls there. And again, if they look sick or injured, call the shelter right away.
Growing up, I lost two beloved kitties after they were hit by cars, so as an adult living in areas with coyotes, I’ve always kept my cats indoors. (They love their swanky catio.) I truly wish everyone would do the same, but I’ve learned not to let my concerns create even more risk for the very animals I’m worried about.
That being said, I have no problem politely reminding cat owners to get their cat microchipped. And thanks to a generous cat lover, microchipping for cats is free at Marin Humane. To make an appointment, call 415-883-4621.
Lisa Bloch is the marketing and communications director for Marin Humane which contributes Tails of Marin and welcomes questions and comments from the community. Visit marinhumane.org, find us on social media @marinhumane, or visit [email protected].