How do the animal control people know wether a cat is a stray or just an outdoor cat?

free roaming pets are considered just as much a threat as strays to traffic and public and private property. Many municipalities will round these animals up along with the strays. collar no collar they don't care the animal is going in the truck and off to humane services the owner can pay the fine and pick them up. No one picked them up they will either be put up for adoption or put down. If there is contact information on the collar they will try to call the owners to come claim their pet ( And pay the fee).

where I live it's against the law to have roaming pets of any kind. Animal control makes rounds setting live traps or picking up animals.

A lot of people don't understand that cats can cause just as much damage or even more than dogs left to roam around. "Out Door" Cats are partially responsible for the decline in many song bird and small mammal species. Like the Doormouse in the UK.

Cat scratching and waste can wreck gardens.

Not all outdoor cats are friendly. Small children playing in playgrounds don't always understand that kitties don't want to play.

roaming animals cause serious trouble when they stray onto roads. They can become confused running into cars. an injured animal in a busy street can be a danger to themselves and to drivers.

Roaming animals are open to all sorts of abuse and neglect. I know a few people with out door cats that have regularly gotten locked in garages, sheds, or barns for days. the animal control officers don't want these animals roaming around where people can take them and do goodness knows what to them.

A collar usually. Microchips.

"Outdoor" cats are friendly but strays won't let you close enough to touch them. Shelter people evaluate each animal's personality and can tell within seconds if a cat has been around people. These cats are kept for a certain amount of time in hopes an owner will show up, then they're put up for adoption.

Strays look a little "rough". They can be skinny, scraggly looking, injured. Their fur isn't as shiny, and they don't let humans near them. Then again, housepets that live wild for a few days don't look so hot either, so it's just a matter of wait and see.

They dont any outdoor cat is considered a stray. They have leash laws no dog or cat can be let free to roam. They may not take the animal if it has a collar and a tag on.

Haha, very interesting question. =)

Well, Animal Control only gets involved if they specifically get a complaint call. If people are calling in, it's usually a stray.

If the cat is better-behaved, more calm, clean (for the most part), has clipped nails, and shows signs of being taken care of, it's usually someone's pet.

Also, cats who have owners are usually micro-chipped, so that when animal control, or a different shelter picks them up, they can scan the cat's back, and the owner's information will pop up on the scanner.

Or of course, if the cat has tags, it's not a stray. =)

First of all if an owner wants the animal control to not take his pet he will put a collar the the cat. Any cat witha collar belongs to soemone and the animal control knows that.

They can also tell by the health and physical aspect of the cat: if it's badly fed and has flees and is sick then it most probably doesn't belong to anybody.

If by mistake the naimal control takes your cat all you have to do is call them and tell them it was a misunderstanding.

Best of luck!

They can't - even with a collar. While collared cats obviously have a home, they still can be picked up for running loose. Same with dogs - if you let your dog outside to run - whether or not he has a collar - he can be picked up as a "stray' by animal control.

That is why its not a good idea to allow your cat outside with no supervision.

They don't, and it's gotten a lot of pets euthenized when they're taken to animal control and have stayed the required 'hold time' with nobody picking them up.

Not all strays or pets act like pets, they can act very feral if they've been exposed to danger outside, running soon as you make eye contact. Even a collar doesn't mean someone owns one--people dump pets and drive away thinking the cat can take care of itself. Most can't.

Our known ferals (we do TNR) are healthy and not cut up or injured, are flea free for the most part. Look healthy. We feed them and have a heated water bowl in winter, and a large water bowl in back in summer.

The pets dumped by the side of the road are the ones bone thin and starving when they find us. They've been injured trying to jump over chain link fences when dogs chase them, been hit by cars, have sliced their feet open on glass. Large wounds from trying to fight local tomcats instead of running. They're the ones needing vet help, from what we've experienced.

They don't. They rely on the owners coming round to check if their animal has gone missing. However, many cat owners don't start worrying about the whereabouts of their cats until the cat has been gone for several days and many (most?) animal control places only hold animals for 48-72 hours before they euthanize.

NO cat should be left outside to roam. So I would assume that they should be treated as strays. they will take them back to the shelter and check to see if there is a microchip

Collar. besides, u spelled stray wrong.