What to Do if You Find a Stray or Lost Animal
To unite as many lost pets as possible with their rightful
owners, we only accept stray animals that are found in Forsyth County. If you
have found a pet in a different county, please contact the Department of Animal
Services of the specific county you found the animal in. This is the most
effective way of reuniting a pet with its owner. Owners do not typically look
for their lost pet in another jurisdiction.
Found stray kittens. Did you know kittens are one of
the most vulnerable populations in animal shelters and that many end up there
because of well-meaning animal lovers? Removing kittens from their current
environment may not always be the right answer as the mom cat could be nearby
getting food (or hiding from you), and no one can care for a kitten like their
mom can! To help choose the right path for kittens you found, please read our Kitten Guide before removing kittens from a location.
Found an adult cat. While we encourage members of the
public and adopters to keep their cats indoors, there is still a large
population of indoor-outdoor owned cats. Often cats that are redeemed from the
Pet Resource Center are reported as “lost” when in fact they are right outside
of their homes. If you find an adult cat, take the following steps to try and
reunite the cat with its owner before bringing it to the shelter.
- Does the cat have a collar, harness, microchip or other
indicator of ownership, and have you seen this cat in the neighborhood before?
- If yes, check the collar and tags to see if you can call the
owner. Most indoor/outdoor cats have a territory of 0.01 miles, so they may not
be far from home.
- If possible, have the animal scanned at our animal shelter
or at a local veterinary hospital for a microchip.
- If the cat is not in distress, appears well groomed and is
in a safe location, it is likely just fine. Please leave the cat where it is.
- If the cat is showing signs of injury or illness, call the
Department of Animal Services at (770) 781-2138, and an Animal Services Officer
will be dispatched and triage the situation.
Feral and community cats. Feral and community cats
are the number one animal welfare issue effecting Forsyth County. The only
HUMANE solution to controlling the feral cat population is through a program
called TNR (Trap- Neuter- Return). For more information on how TNR works, click here.
The Pet Resource Center will make every effort to reduce the intake of feral
cats into the shelter and promote TNR as a solution to the feral and community
cat concerns.
If you find a cat that appears non-distressed and in a safe
location but shows feral behaviors such as avoidance of contact or
hiding/darting upon approach, but has an overall well-kempt appearance, this is
most likely a feral cat.
The Pet Resource Center will not place feral cats up for
adoption.
The Department of Animal Services will not trap or pick up
feral cats from the community.
Cats brought to the Pet Resource Center in a trap and deemed
feral will be TNR and released back to the location where they were trapped.
The Pet Resource Center will help with TNR efforts for a
feral or community cat problem on a case-by-case scenario. Contact the shelter
at (678) 965-7185 for more information.
For information to deter feral cats from your property, click
here.
Found a dog. The Pet Resource Center will accept
stray dogs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. If you find a
dog outside these hours, or if the dog is injured, sick or acting aggressively,
call the Department of Animal Services at (770) 781-2138.
Before bringing a dog to the shelter, attempt to locate an
owner using the following steps:
- Check the collar and tags on the dog for owner contact
information. They might be just next door!
- Call the Pet Resource Center at (678) 965-7185 to see if we
have a matching Lost Animal Report. If we do not have a report, we will take a
Found Animal Report over the phone.
- Check and post on Facebook pages such as Lost and Found Pets
Animals of Forsyth County and Focus on Forsyth.
- Check and post on your neighborhood dog owners’ group on
Facebook.
- We HIGHLY recommend using Pawboost, as it has resulted in many
happy reunions.
- Print Flyers: Pawboost
can help you create flyers to post in your immediate community.