r/CatRescue

There is a woman in my neighborhood who lives outside with her two cats. I have offered to help her but she says she is okay. I brought her some protein bars, water and food for her cats, but I want to do more. She is very kind and grateful. I worry about their safety and worry about them especially with the heat. Does anyone have ideas to help her? She does not want to be separated from her cats and I know a lot of shelters do not allow animals. Thank you in advance!!

I live in alberta and in my town there is a man who has had 200 cats previously removed from him property. The man has gathered more cats which are not neutered, mallnuriched, pregnant, or injured. The town that I live in also has a cat rescue that I am in contact with but they said there's not much we can do.

The owner of the cats has been violent in the past with the cat rescue due to the removal of the cats.

The man hasn't been home in quite a long time as he spends the night at someone else's house and has recently bought a second home.

Bylaw doesn't deal with cats and if there is food and water visible on the property nothing will be done. The closest SPCA near me is full and can't handle a problem this large.

I feel like there's something I need to do and I don't know if I even can do anything.

A cat has been coming around our house recently. I was able to trap her today( of course it was about 10 minutes after animal control closed 🙄)
Once I was able to get a closer look I discovered she is pregnant. She’s very sweet and had been making biscuits in her carrier, and loves to be pet, so she’s definitely familiar with people. She also has no microchip.
I’ve been posting on facebook, and someone reached out claiming to be the owner. They were able to provide photos from before she was pregnant that had some matching markings, and they live very close to where we found the cat, so I do believe they are telling the truth.
They claim they’ve had her for 5 years, and that she’s an indoor cat but got out yesterday.
My concern is that she’s absolutely filthy, and is just skin and bones. It’s clear she’s not been getting the care she needs.
I asked how she got pregnant, and they have a male cat at home who is not neutered, but supposedly on a 3 month wait list for an appointment with a local clinic. So I feel they may not be able to get her or her kittens proper vet care.
I don’t want to keep anyone’s pet from them, they’d likely have to pay fees and vet bills to get her back, and drive about 20 minutes to pick her up, when they could be reunited tonight. I also don’t want to risk making them angry or risking my safety or anything.

So my question is, should I hold her overnight to take her to the shelter when they open in the morning, or give her back to her owners?

UPDATE
The cat was taken to animal control. I gave them the owner’s info and let the owner know.

Hi All, I love animals especially cats and my heart goes out to the feral population in Scranton and anyone who cares for them.

I live on the north side and there is a very serious problem I could use help with. A neighbor not satisfied with animal control's trap & release program started trapping ferals here approximately 8/2025 and is just getting rid of them. This person is not working cooperatively with animal control and is trapping and disposing of even neutered cats. The matter was reported to SPD who gave this person a cursory interview and dumped the issue on animal control who did zero to stop this crime. Reporting this to the mayor's office and all city councilors yielded nothing but "we'll look into it" and no awsers or action.

This person started trapping again 9/2026. I reported it again and a polite officer from SPD showed up and listened but said the issue had to go to animal control. Most disappointingly he didn't even check the trap which was in plain view! No one from animal control has followed up.

A few days later I heard electronic beeping coming from this person's porch. I looked from the sidewalk and it was coming from the trap which likely had a cat in it. I called dispatch and told them they needed to send someone NOW and they'd catch this animal abuser red handed. No one from SPD or animal control showed up and now another feral cat has been disposed of by this vile individual.

If you are an animal lover in this city, please complain about this to the mayor's office and council and demand action. Please reprint and spread this call for action in other social media. If anyone knows of any county or state agencies that can help then please share.

Thank you and God Bless.

mayor: Scranton311@scrantonpa.gov

city council: fvoldenberg@scrantonpa.gov

Found stray cat around grove street and st Nicholas Avenue in Bushwick/Ridgewood area. No microchip. Describe or send pictures to help me identify if it could be yours