Without looking at your cat, can you say what colour eyes he has? If your cat has white on his paws, which paws are white? What colour collar does he wear?

 

You may not think knowing these things is important, after all your cat is on your lap right now as you read this, but what if your cat got lost? Knowing what your cat looks like is important to helping you find a lost cat.

 

There are many ways you can identify your cat, but physical appearance is the easiest. Other people who are not particularly familiar with cats, or who many not want to touch a cat they think is a “stray” can understand “Black cat with white paws on the front”, which is considerably more descriptive than saying “Black and White cat” when one realizes just how many black and white cats there are.  As well if you say you lost an Abyssinian cat, the word "Abyssinian" means nothing to your neighbour who took in a brownish coloured cat.

 

SPCA’s in large cities may take in 20 stray cats a day especially at times of fireworks and thunderstorms. When you phone to report your cat missing it will be very helpful for the shelter or vet to have more information than “Tabby”. They may get 7 or 8 Tabby cats in a day. Gender of course may eliminate some, but knowing what colour eyes your cat has, and where he has white, are important identification markers on cats.

 

Even if your cat has a collar, it may fall off. Your cat may have a microchip, and microchips have been known to fail.

 

SPCA's have a Lost Cat Report where guardians can leave information. Typically they ask questions about the cats colour, including the colour of the cat’s eyes. This is one question most people are not sure of. But when a shelter has cages and cages of solid black cats, the eyes might be the only distinguishing feature.

 

The best place to keep information on your cat is on its veterinarian record. Similarly cat owners should have two or three good pictures of their cat showing his face, and paws. Photographs can be used on “Lost Cat” posters or left at the animal shelter on their Lost Cat report. Pictures can be very important to help you find a lost cat.

 

Things to Note

 

DSH, DMH, DLH – refer to hair length, Domestic short hair, medium hair, or long hair.

 

Eye Colour – note that cats can have two different colour eyes, and if so, which is which.

 

Colour – Learn your cats colour, Tabby means it has stripes, Tortoiseshell is black (or grey) and orange (or pale orange), if the cat also has white it is a Calico. These are the three colours most people confuse, as some think all cats are “tabby”.  (Also note orange is correctly referred to as "red" in cats).  There are many other cat colours. I wanted to include posters but because there are so many, it would be really confusing and impractical.

 

White Markings - on the feet, tail, face, body...

 

Gender – you should know this but note a “Tom” is a male who is not neutered. Some people are unaware of their kitten’s gender, if you do not know.... do not guess.

 

Breed – if your cat is not a registered cat, do not refer to it as a breed, many people erroneously call their long haired domestic cat a “Persian” but shelter staff will dismiss cats they call DLH in that case and only consider cats with pushed in faces – a characteristic of the Persian breed.

 

Collar Colour – Of course collars do fall off, as do tags, but knowing the colour of the collar can be of help.

 

Behaviour – be aware that a normally friendly cat might not be so calm and friendly in the shelter, as such behaviour is not usually a good identifying feature.

 

Identification – does your cat have a microchip? Do you have the number?

Ears: some feral cats that have been adopted out also have clipped ears to note that they have been sterilised.

Nose  - noses can be pink or black or have a brownish tinge.

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