I was walking home from a nearby grocery store with two bags of groceries. I live in the city of Milwaukee, in a heavily populated area, but the walk to this store passes through a residential area that does not have a ton of regular traffic, like the main city streets do.
On my walk back, there was a cat standing on the sidewalk outside of a particular house. It let me get fairly close to it, and then hid under a car parked on the street.
I was carrying two bags of groceries, and was a 5-minute walk from my apartment building, so I dropped off my groceries and went back. There was a woman standing around a different car (like 3-4 spaces away from the original car) who told me she saw a cat hide under it. I told her I saw the same cat and was coming back to see if I could do anything.
She was trying to lure it out with wet food and treats (she was clearly a cat person), while I rang the doorbell of the house the cat was originally lingering outside of. Nobody answered. I tried doorbells of a few other adjacent houses, and nobody who answered was a cat owner.
I went home but I am feeling terrible for this cat. It's about 40 degrees F here today, which isn't too bad, but it has been lightly raining all day. The cat was wet and shivering.
I called MADACC (Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission) which is open today, but they only accept drop-offs. My hope is that this is actually a stray that is chipped. But they can only take this cat if I were to get it out from under the car and into a carrier, and bring it to them.
I currently have a cat with cancer and there is absolutely no way I would bring a strange cat into my home. I also absolutely won't allow myself to get bitten or scratched by an unknown cat. But I feel really bad about leaving this cat there.
Is there anything I could possibly do? I've never dealt with finding a domestic animal before, other than lost cats in my apartment building, but those were easy... I always knew they belonged to someone in my building, and they were always warm and safe being inside the building hallways.
I am going to go back one more time this evening and just try the doorbell of the house one more time, and see if I can see the cat still lingering. But is there anything else I can possibly do, while minding my own safety?
Edit: I am also worried about this cat hiding under a car when the car's owner comes back and drives it away. I am going to bring a few notes saying "A cat was seen hiding under your car; please check before driving off" and leave them on the windshields of the cars parked there. Between that, and ringing doorbells, that may be the best I can do.
On my walk back, there was a cat standing on the sidewalk outside of a particular house. It let me get fairly close to it, and then hid under a car parked on the street.
I was carrying two bags of groceries, and was a 5-minute walk from my apartment building, so I dropped off my groceries and went back. There was a woman standing around a different car (like 3-4 spaces away from the original car) who told me she saw a cat hide under it. I told her I saw the same cat and was coming back to see if I could do anything.
She was trying to lure it out with wet food and treats (she was clearly a cat person), while I rang the doorbell of the house the cat was originally lingering outside of. Nobody answered. I tried doorbells of a few other adjacent houses, and nobody who answered was a cat owner.
I went home but I am feeling terrible for this cat. It's about 40 degrees F here today, which isn't too bad, but it has been lightly raining all day. The cat was wet and shivering.
I called MADACC (Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission) which is open today, but they only accept drop-offs. My hope is that this is actually a stray that is chipped. But they can only take this cat if I were to get it out from under the car and into a carrier, and bring it to them.
I currently have a cat with cancer and there is absolutely no way I would bring a strange cat into my home. I also absolutely won't allow myself to get bitten or scratched by an unknown cat. But I feel really bad about leaving this cat there.
Is there anything I could possibly do? I've never dealt with finding a domestic animal before, other than lost cats in my apartment building, but those were easy... I always knew they belonged to someone in my building, and they were always warm and safe being inside the building hallways.
I am going to go back one more time this evening and just try the doorbell of the house one more time, and see if I can see the cat still lingering. But is there anything else I can possibly do, while minding my own safety?
Edit: I am also worried about this cat hiding under a car when the car's owner comes back and drives it away. I am going to bring a few notes saying "A cat was seen hiding under your car; please check before driving off" and leave them on the windshields of the cars parked there. Between that, and ringing doorbells, that may be the best I can do.
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