Report a lost or found cat in the Stanford University area (Palo Alto/Menlo Park, California) to Feline Friends Network. Please include a description of the cat, date lost or found, and your contact information. We will alert Campus caregivers and FFN volunteers to watch for the cat on campus and around our neighborhoods. (Please note that we are location specific for what help we can give – if your cat is lost in another area, please use the links below to help you look for them.)
If you have found an injured cat on Stanford Campus, please call the FFN helpline 650-566-8287 and leave a message. If you are able to transport the cat yourself, please contact us and take them to Adobe Animal Hospital at 4470 El Camino Real, Los Altos, CA 94022, 650-948-9661 – Adobe can also call us directly.
We also recommend that you use Center for Lost Pets which will send notices to shelters and rescue groups.
What To Do if You Have Lost a Pet
1. Immediately put out food and water in your yard or an area nearby to encourage your cat to stay around, chances are she is hiding in the bushes! Post a watch to see if your cat shows up. If the cat is shy, consider borrowing a humane trap.The best time to find your cat is at dusk, use a flashlight to detect reflections from her eyes. Frightened cats may stay silent and hidden but are more likely to come out of hiding after dark.
2. Posters! Blanket the immediate and surrounding area with lots of them. Use a photograph, and print flyers on bright paper, to catch the attention of passersby. Post flyers so that they can be seen from moving vehicles and sidewalks, at stop signs and grocery stores, wherever people must slow down or congregate.
3. Talk to neighbors, ask them to keep watch for your cat – hand them a copy of your poster. Check if workmen have been in the area – cats have been know to take rides in construction trucks, delivery vans, etc.
4. Use LOST/FOUND classified ads in area newspapers:
a) Place an ad under Lost Pets.
b) Search ads for Found Pets.
Lost and Found ads are usually placed at no charge. Remember, people’s descriptions may not be accurate, and your cat could be dirty and rumpled – altering his appearance. Check into any ad that sounds remotely like your cat.
5. If your cat has a microchip ID contact the registry to report her as lost. HomeAgain AKC-Companion Animal Recovery 24 recovery hotline is 1-800-252-7894 and AVID’s Pettrac can be contacted at 1-800-336-2843
6. Report your lost cat to area shelters, where it will be listed in a binder or card file. Cats without ID are held only 3-4 days so check shelters every 3 days. Contact all rescue groups and shelters in your area.
Visit each shelter at least every 3 days. Look in your local yellow pages under “animal shelters”, “humane societies” and similar headings, some local ones are listed below. When you contact them, ask if there are other shelters to call. Check all kennel areas for healthy, injured and quarantined animals. Leave a flier with them. Check binders or card files for listings of found pets who are being fostered by people who found them. Check the DOA (dead on arrival) records. It is important that you check all the shelters, because your missing pet may have been picked up far from home for some reason. For example, she may have jumped into someone’s car or been chased by a dog. The shelter your pet is transported to may not be the one closest to your area!
SANTA CLARA COUNTY: | |
Palo Alto Animal Services | (650) 496-5971 |
San Martin Animal Shelter | (408) 683-4186 |
Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley | (408) 727-3383 |
SAN MATEO COUNTY: | |
Peninsula Humane Society | (650) 340-7022, Ext. 702 |
DO NOT GIVE UP!
Pets have been found months after they were lost!
When the Network finds a tame cat, we contact area animal shelters, advertise in area newspapers, and post flyers as appropriate. We foster or board the cat for at least one week (usually much longer) before placing them up for adoption. Our adoption program is a no-kill program.