4 Paws strives to provide people who care for cats with resources, education, and support to help keep human-animal bonds strong and prevent cats from becoming homeless. We hope you will find answers to some of your questions, as well as places to contact for assistance with caring for your cat.
On this page you will see direct links to:
- Re-homing your cat: tips on what to do when you need to find a new home for your cat
- Lost & found help: resources for local lost/found information and tips on finding your lost cat or reuniting a pet with his/her owner
- Cat care: information on basic cat care
- Behavior correction: tips for training your cat and solving unwanted behavior
- Other organizations: links to local animal shelters and rescue groups
- Cat Food Bank: information about 4 Paws Cat Food Bank
The resources on these pages are listed to assist cat owners. The contents of external websites are beyond 4 Paws control. 4 Paws accepts listings to this web page that are complementary to its mission statement and reserves the right to refuse or remove any listings that are not in line with 4 Paws mission.
Do you need Pet Loss Grief Support?
Cats are mysterious creatures with individual quirks. Sun Cities 4 Paws provides the following information to help you better understand feline behavior and provide the best possible care for your cat. Please use this information to supplement advice from your veterinarian. If you notice any change in your cat’s behavior, consult with your veterinarian first to exclude a physical ailment as the reason for the behavior change.
Tips to resolve common cat behavior issues:
- Fearful cats: https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/helping-fearful-cat-in-new-home.pdf
- Inappropriate urination & spraying/marking (litter box issues):
- Aggression towards people: http://www.ddfl.org/resource/understanding-cat-aggression-towards-people/
- Shy Cats: https://4pawsrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Shy-cats-v2-3.14.21.pdf
- What is declawing?: http://www.declawing.com/the-truth-about-declawing
- Cats and babies: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/cats-and-babies
- Cats and children: http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/cats-and-children-10-things-every-parent-should-know/
If you have any questions, please call us at (623) 876-8778 or (623) 773-2246
These resources are to assist pet owners and animal caregivers. The contents of external websites are beyond Sun Cities 4 Paws control.
Importance of keeping cat’s claws trimmed.
Cats and kittens like to kneed when they are content or when stretching, they use their claws. If not trimmed, they can accidently scratch you or they could damage furniture.
A cat’s claw can grow long enough to curve into their pads and it can cause a very painful, possible infection even, for the cat.
The following is a tutorial with photos on how to clip your cat’s claws: https://cat-world.com/trim-cats-claws-including-photos/
Or, you can call 4 Paws at 623-773-2246 to make an appointment. For $10.00, we will trim your kitty claws.
Other alternatives are animal grooming salon or sometimes your vet will do for a nominal charge.
Remember, you may need someone to help you hold the cat or kitten as they might make a sudden movement and you don’t want to accidently cut to far up the claw.
Helping to feed cats (& dogs) in need
We are honored to help local feral caretakers feed their colonies. Additionally, we provide cat and dog food (when available) to pet parents in need of help.
Sun Cities 4 Paws will give out cat food to feral feeders and others in need once a week based on our availability
Your donations are needed and appreciated — the Sun Cities 4 Paws food bank is 100 percent donation driven. Donations of dry or canned cat food are always welcome!
We recently partnered with Cuddly to help us keep our pet pantry, Daisy's Diner, full for those in need. https://cuddly.com/pantry/4919616/daisys-diner
Other Ways to Help
Host a cat food drive at your workplace, church, or club. Please contact us at information@4pawsrescue.org for more information about hosting a cat food drive.
Pet food bank resource list
Here are some additional resources for those in need of pet food:
- http://chuckwaggin.org/
- https://www.cause4pawsaz.org/
home.html - https://azpetproject.org/
resources/financial/
These resources are to assist cat (& dog) owners. The contents of external websites are beyond Sun Cities 4 Paws control.
Lost a cat
In all cases of stray or missing pets, the first place to check is your local county animal services agency. When you visit or contact those agencies, provide a color photo and description of your lost cat. Visit their websites and/or shelters regularly to check for your cat. You can also check online lost/found classified listings. In Maricopa County, go to: https://www.maricopa.gov/
The next thing is to go to Petco Love Lost, which helps reunite missing pets with their people by using a photo of the pet. Search their national database of more than 100,000 dogs and cats, then create and share digital lost pet alerts on NextDoor, Facebook, and via email. Click here to learn more: https://lost.petcolove.
Other tips to find a lost cat
- Ask family, friends, and neighbors to help search for your pet as soon as you realize your pet is missing. Be sure to check around your yard and under your deck.
- Place clothing, toys, litter box, and other items familiar to your pet outside in your yard where she/he might sense it. Cats can smell their own litter box up to a mile away.
- Walk through your neighborhood every day and more than once to look for your missing pet.
- For a lost indoor-only or timid cat, think like a cat and look at every hiding spot possible in your yard and your close neighbors’ yards. Lost cats will remain hidden and quiet, so check under bushes, in garages and tool sheds, under porches, and any other tucked away place.
- Post information on your social media pages to let your friends know that you are looking for your lost cat.
- If your pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company to make sure your contact information is current. You also can put a “lost or stolen” alert on the pet’s microchip so that if it is scanned by a shelter or veterinarian, they will know that a concerned owner is looking for that pet.
- Check the “found pet” ads posted on Craigslist, your local Next Door site and your local paper.
- Place a “lost pet” ad in online lost/found forums, your local Next Door site and in your local paper.
- Put signs around the area where your pet was last seen. Include a photo and description of your pet, your phone number, and when your pet disappeared. Offer a reward if possible.
- Ask to post your flyers at businesses in your area such as gas stations, restaurants/fast food places, convenience and grocery stores, veterinary clinics, pet salons, pet supply stores, emergency veterinary clinics, laundromats, churches, and community centers.
Get more information about lost cat behavior, search tips, tools you can use, and ways you can find your cat on https://www.petfinder.com/
If you have Facebook:
Found a cat with kittens?
If you find a cat and kittens, there are several things you can do to help find the cat’s owner or provide the cat with the opportunity for a new home.
- If you found a lactating female cat, please do not remove her or confine her to a cage or trap. Try to find her kittens and reunite them; separating them can be harmful to both kittens and the mother cat.
- If you find very young kittens with no mom, please do not remove them or confine them to a cage or trap. Leave the kittens and watch for mom to come back as she may be out looking for food. If after 12-24 hours mom does not come back, then try to find a place to take the kittens.
What to do with a stray cat
Take the cat to your nearest veterinarian to scan for a microchip. You may be able to get the cat back to their owner right away! If there is no microchip, all stray or found cats must first go to local county animal services in order to give the cat the best chance of being reunited with its owner. You can find the animal services agency closest to you by searching online for “animal services” in your area.
In Maricopa County: http://www.maricopa.
We offer the following tips and resources to help you with found cats:
- Before you attempt to bring a cat to a shelter, determine whether the cat is a feral cat. https://www.alleycat.org/
resources/feral-and-stray- cats-an-important-difference/ - Feral cats should not be taken to shelters—visit the https://www.adlaz.org/
spay-neuter-hotline/outdoor- cats/ website for more information about how to handle a feral cat(s). - File a found pet report with your local county control agency (see above).
- Put up signs in your neighborhood—if you live in/near apartment complexes, leave a flyer with the manager.
- Check and post lost/found pet ads in newspapers, your local NextDoor site and on https://phoenix.craigslist.
org/. - Walk around your neighborhood and talk to neighbors who might know and/or be looking for the cat.
- Post information on your personal social media pages to spread the word about a found cat.
The contents of external websites are beyond Sun Cities 4 Paws control.
For other shelters/rescues, please go to PACC911 website listed below for a complete guide.
Emergency vet clinics
Low Cost Spay & Neuter/Vaccinations
- https://www.maricopa.gov/283/Spay-Neuter
- http://www.nipandsnip.com/
- http://www.spayaz.com/
- http://www.alteredtails.org/
These resources are to assist cat owners. The contents of external websites are beyond Sun Cities 4 Paws control.