Emergencies

Emergencies happen. Cats can get hurt, sick, or escape.

Any emergencies should be emailed to fosteremergency@torontocatrescue.ca immediately. This email is monitored and someone will answer you within 2 hours. There is no phone number to call or text. You do not have permission from TCR to take the cat to your own vet, or administer medication not already prescribed.

Take a minute to think about if this is an emergency, or if this is a new situation to you and there is some panic in your response. It can be scary when your cat gets sick, but not all medical conditions are emergencies.

An escaped cat should be treated as an emergency. Please email & then read the escaped cat section below.

Medical Emergencies in Cats.

A good rule of thumb is any situation in which you would call 911 for a person.

Here are some specific symptoms that could indicate an emergency:

Not breathing or laboured breathing
Signs of extreme dehydration: dry white gums, weakness, vomiting, not urinating, skin tenting (when the skin is pulled up, it stays there)
Abnormal lethargy or inability to stand
Unconsciousness or inability to wake up
Cold to the touch and weak
Broken bones and cat in severe distress
Any trauma: hit by a car, dropped or stepped on and showing signs of distress
A large wound or profuse bleeding that doesn't stop when pressure is applied
Inability to urinate (cat straining to urinate, yowling when attempting to urinate, blood in urine especially in male cats)
Kittens have many issues that can be considered emergencies. Fading kitten syndrome can happen very quickly. Check the Kitten page for more specific medical issues with the Queens or kittens.

It is very common for cats to be quite ill but stable enough to wait until the next morning to go to a regular TCR clinic or until you can get them medication from a medication station. The following situations are examples of situations that can likely wait until the next morning:

Vomiting but still active
Diarrhea but still active
Not eating but still active (in the case of young kittens, they should immediately start syringe feeding overnight)
A sudden seizure that has ended and the cat is responsive and largely active
Bad URI symptoms and not eating for a short period of time

What If The Cat Escapes?

We encourage all of our foster parents to keep the cat(s) in a secure area, however, accidents can happen. If your foster cat does get outside, do what you can to get him or her back inside. Try enticing the cat back with its food and litter box placed outside your door.

Contact your Foster Coordinator & the emergency email immediately.

We may have volunteers that could assist in finding the escapee and/or we can provide a humane trap. TCR requests that all foster homes ensure that their windows and screens are safe and that no cats can escape. Please remember that any cat when frightened may scratch out a screen in order to get out. It is sometimes possible for cats/kittens to escape from a small window opening. Please also ensure that all members of the family are careful to be aware of the cats when outside doors are opened.

What If The Cat Gets Into The Wall or Ducts?

Place food inside a carrier near opening they escaped into. Wait for cat to smell the food and come out. This could take several hours, you need to have patience. If the cat goes into the carrier to eat close the carrier door. Make sure to block off the entry point to prevent further adventures.

You can also place food in hiding spot near escape opening and monitor if they come out.

If after a few hours there is no sign of the cat it's time to get your FC involved. You may need to break drywall, open pipes or remove baseboard to get the cat out safely.

This scenario can be avoided easily if you make sure to block off ALL entry points before you use the sanctuary space.