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Found a pet,
but not sure what to do next?

  • Contain the animal safely in a carrier, live trap, or secure leash

    • Avoid grabbing the animal aggressively as you don’t know the animals reactions

  • Bring to a local vet during their open hours to get scanned for a microchip.  24 hour emergency vets also have microchip scanners. If the pet does have a registered microchip, the vet or microchip company can help them reunite 

  • If there is no microchip or it is not registered, share on local social media pages with a picture of the pet. For the pets safety, leave some details out and let the owner identify those parts when they reach out (Ex: collar color, certain marking, etc.)

  • Contact local vet clinics, animal control and/or police department to report found animal. 

  • If no owner is immediately located and you need to house the animal, make sure to keep away from your pets. You don’t know what the health status of the pet is or how they do with other animals, especially given the stress they may be under 

  • Depending on the season, a temperature controlled bathroom, garage, spare room, or kennel in a safe space is perfect. 

  • Legally, you can’t rehome an animal immediately. Check your local stray hold times (typically between 5 - 7 days) before a rescue or new owner can take over.

  • A few things to keep in mind 

    • If someone tells you just to let the animal go, there is no guarantee it has a home, will make it home without harm, and you may be their only chance 

    • Needing to make space for an unexpected house guest is not typically convenient, but if your pet was lost and something happened to it that could have been prevented, it would be devastating

    • Rescues are overwhelmingly full and most cities don’t have animal control to help. Please be patient and see the list of rescues for help options

WELCOMING A NEW PET TO YOUR HOME
Cat Introductions to other cats/pets

  • Keep your new cat in a separate, secure space so they can have proper introductions when ready 

  • After day 3, start to swap their items (toys, blankets) a few at a time so they can adjust to each other’s scent 

  • You can also give them separate time in each other’s space

  • After at least a week, let the cats meet through a barrier like a carrier door or baby gate with supervision. Repeat a few times. Hissing is a form of communication, but watch for signs of unpleasant behavior like growling or swatting. Make it a positive experience with treats. 

  • Once all is going well, give them supervised time out together without barriers, but without access to hiding spots like under the bed, behind a dresser, etc. in case things don’t go well and you need to quickly get to one of them. 

  • If these interactions are going well, you can leave them alone for longer periods at a time. For peace of mind, some families utilize cameras to watch them while they are away until they are fully comfortable.

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UNDERSTANDING LITTERBOXES

One of the biggest reasons that people end up putting cats down and one of the biggest reasons we get cats in rescue is due to urinary & litter box issues. I have taken many classes and done a lot of research on this to understand how we can change this. I would encourage you to try these changes but also rule out a medical concern especially if urine has a bad odor, pet is declawed or is vocal while urinating. 

 

  •  You should always have one more litterbox than the number of cats you have

  • They should be easy to get to and locate (not far from main areas, not hidden, etc.)

  • Your cat's litter box should always be 1.5x the size of their body

  • There should always be several inches of litter as cats naturally dig

  • NO SCENTED LITTER! Cats have 14× more scent receptors than humans. Scented litter can be strong for us, meaning it's pretty intense for them. Their litterbox should never be so dirty that it needs scents to cover the odor, and masking a bad odor with strong smells makes it worse

  • No top entry or small covered litterboxes. You wouldn't want to be going head first into your bathroom and neither do they, especially if it is not clean.

  • Clean litterbox daily - you wouldn’t want to stand in or smell a dirty bathroom

 

What we do to maintain healthy litterbox behaviors: 

  • We use litter boxes with high sides but a lower entry, so it is easy for them to get in and out, but the mess from their digging is contained. 

  • We use stainless steel because it doesn’t hold odors or bacteria, but they also have large concrete mix tubs that are big and cheap at home depot we use as litterboxes. 

  • We use tidy cats free and clean or Dr. Elsey brand 

 

Other things to consider: 

  • Our biggest tool is that we make sure our cats always have raw, or at least trustworthy brand wet food. Naturally, cats lack the instinct to drink water as their ancestors obtain hydration through their diet. Giving cats kibble, the new normal diet for them, is depriving them of proper hydration and nutrition, shutting down their kidneys & urinary tract (and other organs & bodily functions). Since enforcing this with all our cats, our rescue rarely has cats with urinary or litterbox concerns. 

  • Declawed cats are more prone to litterbox issues & arthritis. Arthritis can become very painful and make it harder to travel to, in and out of the box, and make their paws more sensitive to litter    

HOW TO MAKE SHELTERS

Totes

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  1. Measure the inside of your tote & cut insulation accordingly

  2. Completely seal all cracks & connect pieces with all weather gorilla duct tape 

  3. Cut a board of insulation to fit the top your tote while still being able to seal the top of the tote shut 

  4. Seal top styrofoam board with all weather duct tape to the lid 

  5. Cut a 6.5” hole on one of the short sides or the end of the long side of the tote with a hole saw. Make sure someone does this who is comfortable with this tool

  6. Seal opening shut with all weather gorilla duct tape in a circular pattern, then again in a square pattern around all of the edges 

  7. Fill ⅓ of tote with with dry, clean straw

  8. Wrap top of tote with plastic wrap and seal to the sides of the tote with all weather duct tape

Coolers

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  1. If cooler is very dirty, wipe out with a cloth or wipe 

  2. Open the plug on the cooler

  3. Cut 6.5” hole on one of the short sides of the tote with a hole saw. Make sure someone does this who is comfortable with this tool

  4. Use duct tape to seal the hole opening in a circular pattern, then again in a square pattern around all of the edges 

  5. Fill cooler ⅓ of the way with clean, dry straw

  6. Attach metal hood to cooler over the opening if you have one. Make sure someone does this who is comfortable with the tools

  7. Wrap hood edges in duct tape to avoid sharp edges 

  8. Wrap top of cooler with plastic wrap and seal to the sides of the cooler with all weather duct tape.

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Call 

612-516-3446

Email 

firmfoundationrescue@gmail.com

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