HELP! I found a cat!

We focus on rescuing at-risk cats and kittens from public shelters. As such,

CatPAWS does NOT accept owner-relinquished cats, cats whose owners have died or those people find.

Following are some organizations which may take owner-relinquished cats. CatPAWS makes no recommendation or representation regarding these organizations. People are urged to do their own research.

PLEASE NOTE: Relinquishment fee or donation is often required for private organizations accepting cats.

With rescues overloaded you may not always be able to find one that can take in another cat or kitten.

You may need to be your own 'rescue of one' for a cat or kitten in need. Some valuable information from No Kill LA with care guides and links!

If you found or need to re-home a cat, you may also post on a public Facebook page we set up. It currently has over 1500 followers and is a networking tool to reach a wider audience. It is called:

Community Bulletin Board: Cats needing homes

As this page is viewed by people all around the country, please be sure to put general location (city/state) and your contact information.

People have also had good success using their neighborhood www.NextDoor.com!

Please remember that a cat taken to a public shelter unless it is one with a very vigorous foster home program or no-kill policy is statistically more likely to be killed than adopted - over 80% at some facilities.

We encourage you to care for the cat/kitten if you are at all able to do so and try to find a home using any number of resources, such as networking on social media, making up flyers and posting at local businesses, handing out to friends, family and coworkers. Always remember to check for a microchip! Most vets will do this at no charge, or can be done at the local shelter. There is a free site available to the public to list pets for adoption and rehoming called RescueMe.org.

Please be sure to have the cat spayed or neutered before adoption – there are many organizations which do so for little or even no cost. Resources permitting, CatPAWS can help with spay/neuter cost. We also recommend charging a nominal ‘rehoming’ fee of $25-50 to weed out people who may have less than good intentions for the cat, like selling to research labs or using as dogfighting bait. Yes, people do that.

In order to help with screening and interviewing potential adopters, you may use a ‘generic’ adoption application, which can be downloaded from this page.

Click here for Lower Cost Spay Neuter Clinics

If you find a very young kitten, newborn or not yet weaned

he or she will need immediate and monitored care in order to have a chance of survival. Please see Guide on kitten care which can be used as a reference.

Thank you for taking on the responsibility of caring for these abandoned cats and kittens. It is difficult and sometimes heartbreaking but rewarding, too. No matter what the outcome you will know you were part of the solution and made a difference in the life of an animal that needed help.

KITTEN CARE GUIDE