If you found a friendly stray cat, a feral or community cat, or a kitten/litter of kittens, start here.
Always assume a stray animal is somebody’s lost pet and carefully check for a collar with ID tags and, if present, immediately call the number on the tags or collar. If the pet is wearing a Contra Costa County license tag, you may go to https://www.petdata.com/ and search for the tag number by entering it in the “Tag Search” field. If identified, it will provide the owner’s contact information, which you can use to contact the owner to let them know you’ve found their lost pet.
You can also take the animal to your local vet or shelter to be scanned for a microchip, which may be implanted under the skin. A microchip may lead you straight to an owner, or you can visit www.petmicrochiplookup.org to research a microchip number.
It’s possible that this pet has a person or family who misses them may have already filed a lost pet report. Check here every few days and put up signs in the area the pet was found, because an owner may be out looking for their pet, or they may be at work or out of town and not even know their pet is missing.