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Community cats

Saw a cat living outdoors? Tell the people who look after them.

Many cats outside are cared for by a neighborhood colony and a local trap-neuter-return (TNR) group. A short report from someone who saw a cat helps that group decide where to go next. Your report goes to them privately. It is never posted, mapped or shared.

Send a report

Reports you send are listed in your field journal, kept in this browser.

What an ear tip means

A cat with a small, straight cut across the tip of one ear (most programs use the left) has usually been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and returned by a TNR program. It is done under anesthesia during surgery. An ear-tipped cat does not need to be trapped again, which is why noting the ear in a report matters.

Take the three-minute ear-tip lesson

Helpful

  • Watch from a distance and note the coat, the ears and how the cat moves.
  • Note whether food or water is already put out. Someone may be caring for the colony.
  • A photo from where you are standing, if the cat stays put.
  • A rough place: the block, a landmark, the nearest cross streets.

Please don't

  • Chase, corner or pick up a cat you do not know. Scared cats bite and scratch, and chasing pushes them into traffic.
  • Trap a cat on your own. Trapping works when it is planned with a group that has a clinic slot waiting.
  • Post a colony's exact location publicly. People who harm cats look for exactly that.
  • Approach wildlife. This page is about domestic cats only.

If the cat is hurt

A report here is read when the organization next checks its inbox, which may not be today. For a cat that is bleeding, cannot walk or is struggling to breathe, call local animal services or an emergency vet now.

What happens to your report

  1. It goes to the organization you chose, and only to them.
  2. Someone on their team reads it and decides whether it belongs to a colony they already look after, starts a new one, or does not follow up.
  3. Your private receipt link shows which of those happened. It never shows where the colony is.

Organizations choose the areas they take reports for. WhiskerMatch does not trap, transport or treat animals, and does not alert anyone automatically.