Reporting a stray

If you're worried or concerned about a cat's welfare, it is never wrong to seek help.

If you're worried about a cat, or think it might be a stray, the first port of call would be that we advise you to paper collar the cat

• Paper collaring consists of attaching a piece of paper/thick cardboard around the cat's neck, making it secure but not uncomfortable/tight (we tend to use 'glue dots' to secure the collar)
• Put your contact details on the paper collar
• If the cat has an owner, when it returns home with the paper collar on, hopefully the owners will contact you to reassure you that the cat has a home
• Alternatively, if the cat reappears without the collar on it could indicate that it has a home, but this is not always the case (the collar may simply have come off)
• If the cat returns with no collar, and you've not been contacted, try this again and continue for 7 days
• If you've still had no luck, contact Hector's House Cat Rescue and one of our volunteers will be able to come out and scan the cat for a microchip
• Most cats are microchipped, and the owner's contact information is associated with the microchip number on various national databases
• If the cat is chipped, we will contact the owner 
• If the cat is not chipped, and paper collaring has not yielded any success, we will take the cat in and get it veterinary care, whilst trying to find an owner through the channels of social media

If the cat is seriously injured, please contact Hector's House Cat Rescue, or any other local animal charity so that the cat can receive treatment

If the situation is urgent, and you can contain the cat, contact the RSPCA who will give you a code, and take the cat immediately to a vet. This will not cost you anything, and you could save the cat's life.