What to do if you find a Deceased Cat

We regularly receive reports from people who have found the body of a cat who has been knocked over in a traffic accident, or has passed to Rainbow Bridge for other reasons.

Lothian Cat Rescue and other small rescues try their best to get out and collect these poor cats, but due to a lack of manpower and available hours, this is not always immediately possible.

Following the steps set out below, in our view, maximizes the chances of the family of the cat having a chance to say goodbye to their cat – which is something any cat owner or lover would appreciate if the worst were to happen to their baby:

• As a very minimum, if the wee one is lying in a place where damage/further harm is likely to come to it, please move the body to a safer place. If possible, cover with a towel or blanket.
• If you can access an old towel/blanket or even a strong carrier bag, could you go one step further and take the wee one to the nearest vet or rescue centre to be scanned for a microchip? All vets and rescues have a chip reader and all should be happy to scan for a chip, and retain the body. There should be no charge for this service.

If this is not possible:

• if you use Facebook, send details of the cat to local rescues/animal groups via private message.  Useful details to provide include the location of body (be as precise as possible), when seen and any description of the cat you are able to give (colour, whether wearing a collar, size etc).  If possible, most rescues will try and retrieve a deceased cat from its location.  There are also volunteer scanner groups operating in a number of areas who may be able to assist.
• In addition, or if you don’t use Facebook, email or phone with details of the deceased cat to local rescues.
• Call the local street cleansing department – sadly it is not always the case that  a cat collected by local street cleansing will be scanned for a chip and as such it really is far preferable to try and get the body to a vet/rescue centre if at all possible.