Notice: We are not taking any new cats at this time
We know there is an overwhelming need for help in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Please look at http://www.petfinder.com/to see the local groups in your area that maybe able to assist you in finding placement for your pets.
Pet Insurance
Alleviate the financial stress associated with your pet’s unexpected medical expenses and generate funds for our shelter at the same time! Simply apply for a ShelterCare Pet Insurance Program by using the ShelterCare banner-link (above and at left). ShelterCare Pet Insurance Programs cover you when your pet needs essential veterinary care from an illness or injury. Also, every time a completed application for a ShelterCare program is generated through our shelter’s Web site, we automatically receive a $25 donation to help cover common needs like blankets, litter and food. This donation is of no cost to you and provides us with essential funds. Make the right move and enroll today!
What do to if your cat has gone missing
Make up flyers and post them on every street corner, call local shelters and Animal Control
Be sure to give them recent pictures; visit them everyday
Check with local vet offices
Call ER vets such as VSEC (215.750.7884), Cares (215.750.2774), Bucks County Vets (215.918.2200) and UPenn (215.898.4680)
Go door to door, the cat most likley did not stray far from home
Place flyers at the local WAWA, supermarkets, local vet offices, etc
If your cat is microchipped call the company and report the cat missing
Get your rescue involved if you adopted.
Place ads on craigslist
Try www.petfinder.com — classifieds AND LOOK at the shelter animals that are available for adoption; your pet might show up there
Indoor-Only Cats: The territory for an indoor-only cat is the inside of the home where it lives. When an indoor-only cat escapes outdoors, it is "displaced" into unfamiliar territory. Usually they will look for the first place that will offer concealment and protection. Their instinctive response is to HIDE IN SILENCE because that is their primary protection from predators. How long they remain in that hiding place and what they do from there is dependant upon their temperament. The investigative question when an indoor-only cat escapes outdoors is: WHERE IS THE CAT HIDING?
You may need to borrow a safe trap from a local rescue group or animal shelter and put it in a very safe place near your house where it can be set and monitored frequently. You could put a piece of unwashed clothing from the cat's favorite person and place it over the trap so that it will feel secure going in. Place food inside the trap only.
Log on to www.petfinder.com and list your pet as missing. I believe that you can also add a picture. You can go to the home page of their website and go to locate shelter section on the left hand side of the page and type in city, state and the zip code which I do not know. Then a whole list of shelters will come up in that area. You can probably email a picture of your missing pet. You can also check the shelters on their websites and search for a picture of your missing pet. Please remember that shelters are always very busy and may not have an opportunity to list your pet on their website right away. Some of the shelters provide an email address, so you can email a picture of your missing pet. You should follow up with a telephone call to each shelter to file an official missing pet report.
Petfinder.com will allow you to sign up to receive an email if an animal matching the description of your pet is posted on their site. Sign up for this service and enter your pet’s information. Your pet may be posted as found or as available for adoption. (Some finders do not want to turn an animal over to a shelter that euthanizes unadoptable animals. Shelters have no choice but to euthanize unadoptable animals when their facility is full.) All “no kill” organizations in this area operate with foster homes or board animals at small, private venues.
If you have the time available I would check with the shelters in your area or the area where you’re pet went missing. REMEMBER YOUR DESCRIPTION OF YOUR PET MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE PERSON THAT LOGGED YOUR PET INTO THEIR SYSTEM. So if you have time you may want to check the shelters by physically going to them. Ask a friend or relative to help you.
YOUR PET MAY ALSO BE AT A SHELTER CLOSEST TO THE HOME OR WORK PLACE OF A FINDER. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THE NEED TO VISIT YOUR LOCAL SHELTERS AS OFTEN AS THEIR STAFF RECOMMENDS.
When you contact shelters, get directions to their facility and find out their policies on coming to check for your pet. The receptionist will page for a kennel attendant to accompany you to the holding and adoption areas. Shelters also have an isolation area for animals under the doctor’s care; ask them to check this area as well. Bring a picture or vet records so that they can check these areas and confirm your ownership. The shelters want to make sure they are pairing lost pets and their owners; not falling victim to someone trying to get their hands on a highly adoptable animal by claiming they lost a pet matching the description they provide.
Plan on visiting local facilities as often as their practices suggest. It is important to avoid the euthanasia or adoption of your pet. When you make your phone call to get this information, make an official lost report as they recommend as well. Don't assume an email or fax is the most efficient way to communicate your need to shelter staff. Make sure you update your lost report weekly with the shelter. Be sure to check sick/isolations rooms at the shelter.
Check with local police or animal control officers in your township. You may also want to check with animal control officers from adjoining townships.
Important information when trying to locate your pet:
Where the animal was lost: A minimum is state, county, (not country), city, and street name, with cross streets. The name of your housing development is not enough.
When the animal was lost: Please give the date, and a general time of day, if known.
A description of the animal, including color and markings: Please be sure to include age, approximate size and/or weight and sex. Be sure to mention if the animal was wearing tags or is tattooed or micro-chipped. Your pet’s name would also be very helpful. Please indicate whether or not your pet is approachable by a stranger or whether they should notify you first. It is also important to mention whether your pet is spayed or neutered; is your cat declawed. Giving a breed or species name is not enough. Not everyone knows what a conyer looks like and or what color you mean when you say a dog is blue or a cat is red.
*A PICTURE OF YOUR PET IS VERY HELPFUL*
Contact Information: You must include contact information. Please be sure to include your name and email address. You should include your telephone numbers and the best time of day to reach you. You may also want to include another person if for some reason you are not available.
Other information: If your offering a reward, this is where it would be mentioned. The circumstances of how your animal was lost can be very helpful. For instance, if your dog was frightened by fireworks, he may have spent quite awhile running. If you’re animal mats easily, or likes to roll in the mud, that may help.
List your pet every single day on craigslist in both the lost and found section and the pets section. Once the initial information is registered, I think that it is fairly easy to keep updating.
Check the lost and found section and the pets section of craigslist every day for found pets, pets for adoption. Some animals go right into foster homes because the shelters are overcrowded.
You may also want to check local vets in the area and leave a flier with your pet's picture and your contact information, including a telephone number. Ask family, friends and neighbors for help. Also check the local after-hours pet emergency clinics.
You can log onto www.lostandpound.com and list your pet as missing there also. You can also search the found section for your missing pet.
You can also log onto www.futurebestfriend.com and list your pet there as missing also. You can also browse their found section for your pet.
Ask family, friends, and neighbors to help you search for your pet as soon as you realize your pet is missing. Also speak with people that walk dogs in your neighborhood. Walk, bike, drive, or jog through your neighborhood every day and more than once to find your missing pet.
Give your mail carrier, garbage man and pizza delivery drivers a copy of your lost pet poster. These carriers travel your neighborhood 6-7 days a week.
You may also want to post a picture of your pet on fliers, be sure to include your telephone number, distribute them to neighbors. You should post them in high traffic areas like telephone poles, pet store windows, groomers, grocery stores, schools, etc. Make sure they are visible and easy to read from a moving car.
Check with other area SPCAs. The animal may have crossed the county line and may have been taken to another shelter
Place an ad in the local newspaper – be sure to also check them for someone locating your pet in the Lost/Found Section.
Try to leave something outside with your scent on it (clothing unwashed) outside, your pet may find its way home. If you lost your pet away from home, it might be best to return to the site where you were separated at quiet hours and try locating them then. Be sure to stop, be quiet and listen for faint cries from your pet. If they are frightened they might remain in hiding. Be sure to bring a flashlight with you. If at all possible bring someone with you for safety reasons.
Leave their litter box outside to help them find their way home.
Unfortunately, you may also want to check with the local sanitation department. If the animal is dead, they may have been notified to remove the body.
www.missingpetpartnership.org – helpful suggestions and they have additional information about hiring a pet detective. If you choose to do this, do not wait to long.
Low cost spay/neuter programs in the Greater Philadelphia aArea
Forgotten Cats, a 501(c)3 organization, has opened a second spay/neuter clinic in Willow Grove, PA minutes from the Willow Grove Mall.Forgotten Cats accepts stray and feral cats for low-cost spay/neuter.Cost per cat is $25 inclusive of vaccines and parasite treatment. Owned cats are $50 for a male and $70 for a female. FIV/FeLV testing IS available for $15.Volunteers need for various tasks.For information and scheduling, please contact 215-219-8148.
Forgotten Cats also runs a spay/neuter clinic in Claymont, DE, right off 95 over the PA-DE border convenient to South & Southeast Philly and Delaware County.For info on this clinic, please contact 302-429-0124 or e-mail info@forgottencats.org.
Philadelphia area
The Spayed Club: P.O. Box 1145, Frazer, PA; 19355; 610-275-7486; www.thespayedclub.org; New low cast spay/neuter clinic located at 800 Chester Pike, Sharon Hill, PA. The following prices are for Ferals Only (cash at drop-off time — no checks, no credit cards): — $20 includes spay/neuter, eartip, pain meds, rabies vax, distemper vax (FVRCP), ear mite treatment (Ivermectin) if necessary. — FeLV/FIV test is $25 extra — FeLV vax is $10 extra — Flea treatment (Revolution) is $10 extra — Ferals must be in traps, not carriers. — All ferals will be eartipped. — This price is for true ferals who will be returned to the colony, NOT for tame strays or cats being fostered. — There is no extra charge for heat, pregnancy or cryptorchidism. — Pregnancies will be terminated during surgery. This clinic is closed on weekends. In the future, ferals will be accepted without appointments from registered trappers only, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Pick-up will be the day after surgery, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No feral dropoffs on Fridays! At this time they are accepting trapped ferals immediately. Anyone interested in more info, please e-mail appointments@thespayedclub.org or call 484-540-8436.
Friends of Animals: Certificates may be purchased by calling 800-321-PETS; www.friendsofanimals.org
Animal Education League, Woodlyn, PA; 610-544-9535; Certificate program, no income limit. Call to receive application, prices and a list of participating vets.
Spay and Save, Lafayette Hill, PA; 610-279-9714 or www.spayandsave.org. For lower-income residents only. Application is more detailed. Prices and application on Web site.
Morris Animal Refuge, 1242 Lombard St, Phila, PA; www.morrisanimalrefuge.org. $40 spay/neuter certificates. No income limit. Certificates must be purchased in person at Morris Refuge.
Humane Society of Berks Co., Reading, PA 610-921-2348, ext. 12 or www.berkshumane.org. Low-cost and sliding scale (income-based) vet services.
Hope Animal Resource Center, Phila, PA; 800-738-HOPE or www.hopeanimalsanctuary.org. Mobile spay/neuter clinics in Phila locations. Low-income only. No feral cats.
Cats With No Name, Pine Grove, PA; 877-433-7257; www.catswithnoname.org. Low-cost mobile spay/neuter clinics in Southeast PA. No income limit. Clinic schedule available on Web site.
Philadelphia Community Cat Council — CUBE — perform services at Philadelphia SPCA – Mondays and Fridays Cost $20.00 which includes, vaccinations, defleaing and spay/neutering for feral cats and strays. Application must be completed for each cat. Appointments take one-two weeks to schedule. Application and more information is provided at www.phillycats.org. E-mail completed application to info@phillycats.org.
Operation: Cat S.N.I.P. Spay-Neuter-Immunize-Protect, Phila, PA *For stray and feral cats ONLY* On-site spay/neuter clinics in NE Philly, one Sunday per month. For appt. call 215-357-4946.
Spay.Neuter.Save Network, Phila, PA; E-mail: FeralClinic@aol.com. *For stray and feral cats ONLY* On-site spay/neuter clinics at 111 W. Hunting Park Ave., 2nd Sunday of every month. E-mail for info or appt.
Organization for the Responsible Care of Animals (ORCA), Lancaster, PA; 717-397-8922. Low-cost, fixed-price spay/neuter program serving Lancaster County. Call for info.
New Jersey
A comprehensive explanation of the state spay/neuter program and information on free rabies clinics can be found at: www.state.nj.us/health/cd/spayneut.htm; 609-588- 3121
Animal Welfare Association, Voorhees, NJ 856-424-2288, ext. 105 or www.awanj.org. On-site spay/neuter clinics. No income limit. Visit Web site for more info and prices.
Oasis Animal Sanctuary, Williamstown, NJ; 856-262-1222 or www.oasisanimalsanctuary.org Income limit: $40,000 taxable income. Proof of income required. For NJ residents only.
Ace of Spays, LLC, Medford, NJ; 609-654-2921 or www.aceofspays.com. On-site spay/neuter clinics in Vineland and Hainesport, NJ. No income limit. Call or visit Web site for info.
Delaware
Delaware Humane Association, Wilmington, DE; 888-DHA-SPAY or www.dehumane.org. On-site spay/neuter clinic. No income limit. Call for appointment, or visit website for info and prices.
Feral cat information
Alley Cat Allies - Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) - is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and tame cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers.Visit their Web site
