Knowledge Base

If you have LOST your pet (cat or dog), please call the Montclair Township Animal Shelter at 973-744-8600. You should also email a photo of the lost pet to MTAS@MontclairNJusa.org – be sure to include WHEN your pet was lost and from WHERE (full street address) AND the best contact phone number to be reached in the event the pet is found. 

There are no wild packs of dogs in Montclair. If you find a dog roaming around in Montclair, that dog is someone's pet. It is in the pet's and family's best interest that the dog be reunited with its owners asap. 

If you have FOUND someone's pet DOG, please call Montclair Township Animal Control at 862-621-9113 for an ACO to retrieve the pet from you and bring it to the shelter for safe keeping until an owner is located. ACOs will scan the pet for a microchip, which will help reunite the pet with its family quickly. The pet will be held at the animal shelter for the legal 7 day stray hold and if no owner comes forward to reclaim their pet, it will then become property of the animal shelter and begin the vetting process so it can be put up for adoption by the public. If you are interested in adopting a pet you found that did not get reclaimed, you can follow up with the animal shelter AFTER day 7 to let them know your interest in that pet. No applications will be entertained for animals during the legal 7 day stray hold. 

If you have FOUND a CAT in Montclair, please be aware that cats are free-roaming in NJ, meaning residents can have indoor/outdoor cats that roam freely outside. If the cat you find is wearing a collar of any kind and/or appears friendly, please do not remove that cat from where it was found. Instead, we recommend taking a photo of the cat and emailing MTAS@MontclairNJusa.org along with WHEN and WHERE exactly it was seen, in case the owner is looking for it.

We do not recommend feeding an outdoor cat or bringing it into your home, unless there is extreme weather and you are worried for the health/safety of the cat. A healthy outdoor cat will return home on its own schedule, especially to eat. Feeding a cat you find outdoors will only delay the cat in returning home. 

If you find an injured/sick cat, please do not touch or handle the cat. Please call Montclair Township Animal Control at 862-621-9113 to have an ACO retrieve the cat and bring it to a local veterinarian for examination. The cat will be scanned for a microchip so that an owner can be located to come to the vet's office for treatment consultation. 

If you have cats that roam outdoors, we highly recommend microchipping your cats. It is a permanent form of ID that cannot fall off like a collar.

Remember, all pet cats and dogs must be licensed in Montclair. This helps the pets be reunited quickly if they ever get loose from home. Even "indoor only" cats and well-behaved dogs sometimes escape their property, so never say never! 

Information on pet licensing can be found here:

https://www.montclairnjusa.org/government/departments/animal_shelter/dog___cat_licenses