The Nicholsons are your average big family with 5 boys. They are in the car a lot, like most everyone these days, and with several young sets of eyes – they don’t miss much happening on the streets in their East Cobb neighborhood.

“Our family has a soft spot for animals. We have stopped many times to load a stray dog into our car, rescue baby squirrels, move turtles to the other side of the road, and even stop traffic to ensure safe duck and geese crossing!” said Megan Nicholson.

One day, one of the boys mentioned that while their family goes to extremes to help some animals – they barely even talk about the cat wandering across someone’s lawn or walking down the street. So many people have just grown used to seeing cats outdoors. Several years ago, the Nicholson family lost their cat, Tabby, and they know the pain and anxiety it can cause an owner. They wanted to come up with a way to alert neighbors in the future that a cat is an indoor cat – and needed to be returned home. So, the family created Project Orange Cat. The Nicholson family thought they could help secure the safety and quick return of a cat by putting an orange collar, along with the owner’s contact information.

The Nicholson family took on this project to have this one action become a common practice for indoor cat owners.

By putting an orange collar on your cat and alerting neighbors that your cat is an indoor cat and needs help if they see it outside. You can purchase an embroidered collar, an orange collar with a tag, or even just buy an orange collar and write your information on it with a Sharpie but, anyway you choose, take this action to keep your cat safe!

“We have all seen a cat wandering in a neighbor’s yard or by the local school. Most of the time we just think, “Oh, there’s a cute cat!” If you saw a dog wandering around, more than likely you would try to help the dog, hopefully find a tag on its collar, and return it to its owner. But cat owners just aren’t that lucky,” Megan said.

Just a few facts:

  • Less than 5% of lost cats are returned
  • Most roaming cats are never caught or even checked for a micro-chip
  • Most cats have never been outside before they got out and are lost
  • Cats are not street smart and for the most part have no idea what to do when outside. Most cats have never seen a car, a coyote, a stream or pool. All these scenarios can lead to a very bad ending for your sweet pet.

Alert your neighbors if you have an indoor cat! Educate them on the orange collar and its meaning. Encourage others to alert someone if they see a cat outdoors with an orange collar on!

To learn more, www.projectorangecat.com.

Does your student need service hours? Project Orange Cat is happy to help with simple volunteer service hour jobs such as delivering flyers to neighborhoods or working at a local festival booth handing out information about Project Orange Cat.