Lost or found an animal?

I've lost my cat

Cats are prone to exploring their local area and travelling distances to hunt or find a mate. However, if your cat does not return home for some time and this is out of character, sadly your cat may be lost.

Follow these steps;

• Firstly check he/she is not hiding or trapped in your home or with a neighbour. Check behind furniture, on top of wardrobes and in sheds/outbuildings.
• Leave your cat’s belongings and tasty food in the garden to encourage them to return.
• If your cat is microchipped, contact the chip company to register your cat as missing.
• Contact the rehoming team at Raystede. We will take your cat’s details and check our lost and found records for any matches.
• Spread the word in your local area; use ‘lost’ posters, social media, and contact all local rescue centres and vets (the rehoming team can provide you with contact details).
• Contact your local authority’s Environmental Health Department, who deal with deceased animals found, just to rule out the worst scenario.
• Share your cat’s details on www.animalsearch.co.uk and on their Facebook page.
• Remember, if you are reunited with your cat, contact everyone again to let them know.

If your cat is microchipped, this significantly increases the chances of you being reunited should your cat be found. Neutering will help to reduce the likelihood of your cat straying.

I found a stray/abandoned dog

Under the Environmental Protection Act (1990), any person who takes possession of a stray dog shall either return the dog to its owner or take the dog to the local authority dog warden for the area. This means that by law, rehoming organisations such as Raystede cannot accept strays; they must stay with the dog warden for a minimum 7 days before being rehomed or humanely put to sleep.

• If it is safe to do so, check the dog’s collar for the owner’s contact details that will enable you to return the dog straight away.
• If there is no identification, immediately contact the local authority dog warden (phone numbers above) to inform them and arrange collection. If you do not inform them you could be accused of theft, but more importantly, you could be stopping a lost dog from being reunited with its owner.

I found a stray/abandoned cat

Cats tend to roam vast distances to set their territory, hunt for food and to find a mate if they are not neutered. They may be new to the area and simply lost.

Most seemingly stray cats do have a home, but are just wandering. Before assuming a cat is a stray or abandoned, you must be sure it does not have a home.

If you believe the cat is a stray and you need to find the owner, follow these steps;

• Put a paper collar on the cat with your phone number and a message asking the owner to contact you.
• Contact the rehoming team at Raystede. We will take the cat’s details and check our Lost and Found records for any matches.
• Spread the word in your local area; use ‘found’ posters, social media, and contact all local rescue centres and vets (the rehoming team can provide you with contact details).
• If the above steps produce no results and it is safe to do so, use a secure carrier to take the cat to your local vet practice. If the cat is microchipped, the owner may be contacted.
• Although tempting, please refrain from feeding cats in your garden or home; this encourages them to stay away from home and causes unnecessary upset for the true owner.

If you cannot locate the cat’s owner or the cat appears to be in immediate danger or distress, please contact the rehoming team at Raystede to discuss the cat and the availability of space in our cattery.

We may ask you to kindly care for the cat until we have space in our cattery. All stray cats are held for a minimum of 7 days before we consider rehoming them.

If you would like further advice, please telephone 01825 880468 to speak to our Rehoming Team.

The Rehoming Team are available to call between 8:30am and 4:30pm, seven days a week.