Innovative program for helping "lost" cats

Study

“Tag! You’re Home! Reunification of Pet Cats With Their Owners Using a Community Engagement Approach: A Community Case Report,” published in the Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health, 2024. Complete article available online here.

Overview

An innovative “shelter diversion” program resulted in 26 of 32 cats (81%) being reunited with their families (31%), rehomed (6%) or kept by the residents who found them (13%), or, in some other way, requiring no further help from the shelter (31%).

Key Points

The “Tag! You’re Home!” program (TYHP) was created by Loudoun County (Virginia) Animal Services (LCAS) to reduce their admission of “healthy social adult cats” lacking identification (e.g., collar/tag or microchip) by encouraging residents to return these cats to where they were found [1]. LCAS staff provided residents who agreed to participate with flyers and yard signs “advertising” the found cat; the cats were fitted with break-away collars containing the message “Am I your cat? If so, call…” and the shelter’s contact information. If, after five days, the cat was still in the area and unclaimed, the resident could then return the cat to the shelter.

Of the 32 TYHP cats, 10 (31%) were reunited with their families. Six of the cats (19%) were returned to the shelter after five days. Of these, one was reunited with their family “through the shelter, and five had an outcome of adoption” [1] Four cats (13%) were kept by the people who found them and brought them to the shelter, and two (6%) were rehomed by finders. The outcomes of 10 cats (31%) were unknown to shelter staff.

The TYHP results correspond reasonably well with those of previous studies showing that cats are more likely to be reunited with their families through methods that don’t involve the shelter (e.g., signs posted, neighborhood searches) than by calls or visits to the shelter [2–4].

Analyzing LCAS data spanning eight years, the authors note that of 198 cats returned “through traditional RTO methods” (and for whom accurate location data was available) half were found no more than 0.27 km (0.17 miles), “or approximately 2.7 city blocks, from home” [1]. These results offer further support for programs that return healthy free-roaming cats to where they were found rather than admitting them to the shelter.

"With programs such as TYHP, the animal shelter can serve as a point of connection to keep animals in an environment where they are safe and cared for and ensure that pet owners and concerned finders have access to the resources needed to reduce unnecessary shelter intakes."

Authors of the study point out that, although it was not the aim of TYHP, the program resulted in cost savings to the shelter as well. The supplies cost, at most, $45 per day, far less than the costs associated with impoundment and care for the 5-day mandatory stray-hold period ($75). Moreover, “keeping healthy free-roaming cats out of the shelter also reduces overcrowding and the risk of contagious disease, which, at LCAS, costs an average of between $40 and $200 per cat to treat, including staff labor” [1].

Nationally, RTO rates for cats were estimated to be just 2.8% in 2022 [5], only marginally better than estimates from the 1990s (2.1–2.2%) [6]. The TYHP results illustrate the potential for increasing RTO rates for cats by returning healthy, social adult cats to where they were found rather than admitting them to a shelter.

See related Issue Brief:

• Cat health and welfare after TNR: Considerations and concerns

References

1. Dalrymple, A.M.; Stively, N.E.; Kreisler, R.E. Tag! You’re Home! Reunification of Pet Cats with Their Owners Using a Community Engagement Approach. Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health 2024, 3.

2. Kremer, T. There’s Likely a Better Way to Get Lost Pets Home: Public RTH. Human Animal Support Services 2023.

3. Lord, L.K.; Wittum, T.E.; Ferketich, A.K.; Funk, J.A.; Rajala-Schultz, P.J. Search and Identification Methods That Owners Use to Find a Lost Cat. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 2007, 230, 217–220

4. Weiss, E.; Slater, M.; Lord, L. Frequency of Lost Dogs and Cats in the United States and the Methods Used to Locate Them. Animals 2012, 2, 301–315.

5. BFAS The State of U.S. Animal Sheltering, 2022; Best Friends Animal Society: Kanab, UT, 2023; p. 5.

6. Zawistowski, S.; Morris, J.; Salman, M.D.; Ruch-Gallie, R. Population Dynamics, Overpopulation, and the Welfare of Companion Animals: New Insights on Old and New Data. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 1998, 1, 193–206.