Local Resources

24 – Hour Emergency Clinics

There are many veterinarians in Sonoma County. The following are emergency centers.

VCA Animal Care Center
6470 Redwood Drive
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707.584.4343
accsonoma.com

VCA Pet Care Emergency Hospital
1370 Fulton Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707.596.7485
vcahospitals.com/petcare-west

VCA Pet Care Emergency Hospital
2425 Mendocino Blvd.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707.596.7524
vcahospitals.com/petcare-east

Redwood Veterinary Clinic
1946 Santa Rosa Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
707.542.4012
redwoodvetclinic.com

Animal Control Numbers

City of Santa Rosa: 707.565.7100
Cloverdale: Police 707.894.2150
Cotati: Police 707.792.4611
County: 707.565.7100
Healdsburg: 707.431.3386
Petaluma: 707.778.4396
Rohnert Park: Police 707.584.2600
Sebastopol: Police 707.829.4400
Sonoma: Police 707.996.3601

Financial Assistance

Care Credit – carecredit.com
Waggle – waggle.org
Pet Assistance, Inc – petassistanceinc.org
Paws 4 A Cure – paws4acure.org

Animal Shelters & Welfare Organizations

Sonoma County

Bird Rescue Center
3430 Chanate Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
707.523.2473
birdrescuecenter.org
Receives injured/stray birds from Sonoma County

California Animal Rescue
707.293.4470
car.rescuegroups.org
Dogs*Puppies*Cats*Kittens

Forgotten Felines of Sonoma Country
P.O. Box 6672
Santa Rosa, CA 95406
707.576.7999
forgottenfelines.com
Discounted spay/neuter services for feral cats

Friends of Animals In the Redwood Empire (FAIRE)
P.O Box 2001
Rohnert Park, CA 94927
707.538-9098
faireonline.org

Healdsburg Shelter
14242 Bacchus Landing Way
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707.431.3386
humanesocietysoco.org/healdsburg-campus

Humane Society of Sonoma County
5345 Highway 12
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
707.542.0882
humanesocietysoco.org

Native Songbird Care & Conservation
8050 Elphick Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707.484.6502
nativesongbirdcare.org
Receives injured/stray native songbirds from Sonoma County

North Bay Animal Services (Petaluma Animal Shelter)
840 Hopper Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.762.6227
northbayanimalservices.org
Receives strays from Petaluma

Pets Lifeline
19686 8th Street East
Sonoma, CA 95476
707.996.4577
petslifeline.org
Receives strays from Sonoma Valley (as space permits)

Rohnert Park Animal Shelter
301 J. Roger’s Lane
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
707.584.1582
rpanimalshelter.org

Sadie’s Haven Horse Rescue
2951 Thorn Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707.206-1892
sadieshaven.org
Care and shelter for equines that are neglected, abused and/or abandoned.

Sonoma County Animal Services
1247 Century Court
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707.565.7100
sonoma-county.org/shelter
Receives strays from Santa Rosa, Windsor, Penngrove, Cloverdale, and all unincorporated areas

Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue
403 Mecham Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.544.6713
scwildliferescue.org
Receives injured/stray wildlife from Sonoma County

Wildlife Fawn Rescue
19201 Highway 12 # 105
Sonoma, CA 95476
707.833.6727
fawnrescue.org

Marin County

Marin Humane Society
171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd
Novato, CA 94949
415.883.4621
marinhumanesociety.org
Receives strays from all Marin County and Cities

Napa County

County of Napa Animal Shelter
942 Hartle Court
Napa, CA 94558
707.253.4382
countyofnapa.org/animalshelter
Receives strays from Napa County

We Care Animal Rescue
1345 Charter Oak Avenue
Saint Helena, CA 94574
707.963-7044
wecareanimalrescue.org
Receives strays from Napa County (as space permits)

Whiskers, Tails & Ferals
1370 Trancas Street #206
Napa, CA 94558
707.258-CATS (2287)
whiskerstailsandferals.com/
Finding forever homes for abandoned or unwanted cats and dogs.

Feral Cats

Feral Cats

(material provided by Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County)

There are three classifications of feral cats:

  • Total Feral – a wild cat with no previous human contact or only negative contact
  • Semi-Feral – a shy or fearful cat that has had some positive human contact
  • Converted Feral – an abandoned domestic cat that has reverted to semi-feral behavior
  • Feral cats are unowned wild cats, often offspring of abandoned, unfixed domesticated cats. They may form colonies near a source of food. Feral cats will breed and overpopulate very quickly if their numbers are not controlled by spaying and neutering. In many cases feral cats perform a welcome service in the form of natural rodent control, and are often appreciated by livestock owners and farmers. However, it’s still strongly advisable to keep the population under control and prevent unwanted litters of kittens. Even if the kittens are caught and tamed and rehomed, there are always many, many more cats in our county shelters waiting to be adopted, therefore the first choice should be to prevent more babies from being born.

    What is a feral colony?
    A colony is a group of cats that congregate in a specific location. This usually occurs due to a consistent source of food, such as a dumpster behind a restaurant, a barn/field full of mice, a natural body of water, etc.

    What is a caretaker?
    The caretaker is the person who takes responsibility for feeding, providing clean water and monitoring the cats for health problems.

    Is there a difference between a colony in my backyard and a colony in a commercial or public area?
    Somewhat. Whether the colony of cats is in a residential neighborhood, on rural property, or near a business, the same basic guidelines apply. If you want to trap/neuter/release (TNR) feral cats to prevent overpopulation, you should either trap exclusively on your own property, or with the property owner’s permission. If it’s your backyard, ranch, or business, there is no problem. However if the colony is residing on someone else’s property it’s best to get their participation and/or agreement with your trapping arrangements. Keep in mind that the smaller the property, the more chance that the cats will roam outside the property boundary and have an effect on neighboring residences or businesses. The more cats there are, the more “above the radar” they will be to the neighborhood. Controlling the population by spaying and neutering makes for good neighbor relations!

    Will SNAP Cats remove a feral cat from my back yard if I don’t want it to stay there?
    Only in emergency situations. Relocating a feral cat can be a difficult process. We can, however, provide Safe Relocation Guidelines if you are interested in attempting this. First you have to find a willing homeowner and a safe location. Removing a cat from its established territory is only done as a last resort and only if a safe relocation site is available. Once that relocation site is found, the feral cat must be caged for four weeks at the new site so it can become accustomed to the sights, sounds and smells of its new home. In addition, a regular feeding pattern is established. This is the only motivating factor to encourage the cat to stay at its new home. Please contact us for more information regarding relocation. Ultimately, if at all possible, the better choice is to leave the cat where it is, after altering the cat to prevent the undesirable behavior.

    What local services are available to assist the public with feral cats?
    Local shelters can provide (rent) you traps. Once trapped you return the trap and feral cat to that shelter. It’s very traumatic for the feral to be trapped, removed from its environment, then stuck in a cage at a shelter until a barn home is found for it.

    Therefore, SNAP Cats recommends Forgotten Felines. They provide several low-cost spay/neuter clinics per month for feral cats. They loan traps when needed (as available) for people using their clinics. With more than 20 years experience, Forgotten Felines is considered to be feral cat experts. They can offer guidance, information and support for people trying to control a cat population, as well as taming feral kittens, deterring unwanted behavior, feeding guidelines, and, of course, trapping. Forgotten Felines staff and volunteers have a wealth of knowledge to share regarding taming feral kittens, deterrence of unwanted behavior, feeding guidelines, and, of course, trapping. They are standing by to help get you started with managing your colony. Call them to sign up for a clinic – 707.576.7999.