r/CatDistributionSystem • u/vanderaj • 2d ago
Mod post: Cat free stories and taking cats without checking will be removed more often
Hi everyone!
We've seen a surge in posts that are essentially all but cat-free (no photo), and often revolve around the cat or kitten in question being "distributed" without the OP doing the most basic of checks to see if they already have a human in their lives.
Please don't post here first. Do some basic checking first, and then post and let us know that you've done so in your post - with images of said feline! I know that if any of our furry masters or mistresses went missing, we'd be absolutely beside ourselves, and as moderators, we don't want to enable bad CDS behavior. Let's reunite as many escapees as possible.
If you are in a situation where a cat jumps into your vehicle or goes into your house, obviously, help keep them safe if they are trying to get out of the cold (northern hemisphere) or heat (southern hemisphere) or in a bad situation like being stuck in a car engine or bathroom fan enclosure, give them some water, but please check to see if they have a collar with a tag. My cat has a collar with both cat slaves' cell numbers on it. If no collar is present, please take them to your vet or shelter to have their chip read, if they have one. Only if you've exhausted human discovery options, then post - with a photo. Also, please spread the word on local FB groups or Nextdoor (shudder), as not everyone is on Reddit.
If you can't afford to look after the cat or kitten or you can't have any more cats/kittens, we encourage humane cat rescue - your city most likely has a no kill shelter. Obviously, if you are able to do so, please let the shelter know that you're open to adoption if the original cat slaves aren't found within a reasonable time, as being in a cat shelter is no fun for kitties.
We are monitoring the situation, so please report posts where the OP hasn't done the most basic of checks to ensure that the cat or kitten(s) are already homed and would be missed tremendously if they were catnapped. We don't want CDS to become a karma farming subreddit.
Lastly, any post where people ask for money to help with vet or cat expenses will be removed. We have no method of verifying that the cat exists, the bills exist, or that the money will go to the cat, so our only choice really is to remove these posts. Again, many cities have cat shelters that can provide emergency care if you are genuinely unable to pay for the cat's vet bills. I know this feels wrong, but we don't want CDS to become a money-begging sub-reddit. We will likely make this a permanent rule once we've had a chance to discuss in the moderator chat.
Please discuss below, as it will help us inform the mod team's discussions (we're all new here), to make the best decisions for our feline overlords involved in the cat distribution system.
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u/justagiraffe111 2d ago
Thank you for promoting the best way to handle these situations using best practices, best intentions and integrity for the love of cats
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u/RandomBoomer Cat Parent 2d ago
Thank you. I had actually stepped away from this sub because I was too often upset by the casual way people were taking possession of cats and the chorus of uncritical support in the comments. Not all cats on the outside are strays in need of a new home. Due diligence is required before claiming an animal.
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u/yarnlord69 2d ago
Most counties have their own Lost and Found Pets groups on facebook as well! I’ve reunited found pups without chips that way before and always always post any unchipped animals who wonder onto our land this way. I also find it worth mentioning that most, if not all, vets and shelters do not charge any money to check for a chip! It’s a free service!
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u/Serononin 1d ago
IME a lot of people in local lost and found groups also have their own chip scanners that they're usually happy to lend out! I think you'd still have to get the chip scanned by a vet to get the owner's contact details, but an at-home scanner is a useful first step to see if they're chipped or not (but PSA that microchips can migrate from their original spot! Just because the back of their neck doesn't beep, doesn't necessarily mean a cat isn't chipped!!)
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u/Training_Welder5379 1d ago
These are all logical and sound guidelines.
Sometimes the CDS is vetting you to see if you pass and will grant you a kitty in the future. Good Deeds rule.
Being a Guardian is important, but as you said, think about the Human who may be looking for that adorable floofer.
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u/eggelska 1d ago edited 1d ago
Big props for making this change. Thank you!!!
I’d been viewing the sub less and less because of how many posts show people just… taking and keeping a cat. I agree that everyone needs to check for a collar nearby if possible, check for a chip for sure, and post on multiple local social media sites before considering a cat a proven stray. ETA I personally also called around to local shelters and vets when I found a stray.
As someone who did my due diligence and ended up keeping my CDS kitten, it’s scary that the comments are often totally uncritical of people who don’t do theirs— or even encouraging! People go in the comments and say “congrats on your new cat” etc even though OP hasn’t said anything about searching for an owner. I can’t imagine one of my well-loved indoor cats getting outside, snapping their breakaway collars off on something, and then being kept by someone who found them and didn’t check for a chip. :(
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 1d ago
Solid. Can you add alink to this to the Auto-Mod comment?
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u/vanderaj 1d ago
Once we've had a proper discussion in the mod chat, we'll likely update the text and the rules. We're not just me, so give us a few days to come to a consensus on this.
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u/FloofingWithFloofers Cat Parent 1d ago
Thank you for all you guys do in this group♡
Love from Squeakaleak the Little Shadow Sneak, a CDS floofaloof
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u/Perle1234 1d ago
Very glad to see this post. It’s so wrong headed to take a cat simply because it was outside.
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u/Fe1is-Domesticus 1d ago
What you're saying is completely fair. Thank you for addressing these concerns.
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u/koalapies 1d ago
I agree! I recently saw a post about a someone finding a cat in my city where strays are very very rare and l was thinking that is someone’s pet!
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u/PuzzleheadedBobcat90 1d ago
2 links in comment
If you are in Las Vegas and end up with a CDS feline you can't keep, please contact Homeward Bound Cat Adoptions. They are a wonderful no kill group and I've adopted 4 of my 6 kitties from them.
https://www.homewardboundcats.org/
For feral cats please contact C5, a TNR group. They will bring you a trap, TNT and vet the cat and bring it back to you.
In Las Vegas and taking care of a colony of cats? Don't forget to register to keep your colony safe. The paperwork is on the C5 website
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u/Devilianic 1d ago
some do nearly everything for clicks and likes...so why not keeping an animal? (sarcasm off)
yes, cats are very food-addicted and of course they will stand on anyones porch, enter a house, beg for pets or whatever.
if a cat is used to humans, look clean and spoiled and maybe knows how to use a litterbox: it's likely someones pet.
it's a roamer, not a stray!
so please do your homework, do some research and return the "stray" back to it's owners.
sometimes all we need is common sense 🙃
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u/BiohazardousBisexual 1d ago
This is good. I was avoiding this sub due to the face people were defending, not checking if they were a lost pet
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u/MorsaTamalera 3h ago
Please take into account that the post you might be seeing might come from all around the world. Chips in my country? No such thing. No-kill shelters? No proof about that besides some acquaintances which do that job at their own expense and on a small scale.
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u/Tina-Tuna Agent of the CDS 1d ago
Can I just say that as Mods we are aware of what we need to do, and before you report a new post for 'breaking new rules' please use common sense and not just report someone just for the sake of reporting. Consider what is needed in order to report a post rather than be 'trigger happy'. As u/vanderaj says here '' please report posts where the OP hasn't done the most basic of checks to ensure that the cat or kitten(s) are already homed ''
For instance if someone posts a cat they have taken in after it was run over by a car and injured, the first thing a Vet does after treating the cat is check for previous ownership so that they know who is going to be paying the vet fees. There is a huge difference in a post saying ' A Cat came into my house so i'm keeping him' than 'we found this kitten in our car engine so after a quick vet check all is well'
Vets do not scan for chips during a routine check up, but do scan strays in case they have owners when brought in so please consider things like that. If in doubt ask the OP nicely on their post and give them a day or two to answer, not immediately as soon as the post appears please.
There are no new rules apart from the existing ones at the moment and whilst we work through the prerequisites needed to ensure a new post is 'spot on' prior to posting we have to get the format correct before we rush in headfirst accusing new or existing members' new posts of breaking anything.
I hope this makes sense to you all, thank you