Animal welfare - semi-abandoned cat...

[2cvbloke]

Ok, my mum has a neighbour who moved in last year in the summer, she got herself a cat, a very nice black & white moggie, but ever since this poor cat has hardly seen the inside of her house where he's supposed to be living, so he has taken up residence in my mum's shed. His owner is hardly ever in, and every now and then she comes knocking asking if her cat is here (which 99% of the time, he is, sheltering from the elements in the shed!!!), then an hour later, he's back again, and she's probably gone out yet again.

One of the problems of this residence is that he is squirting everywhere as he hasn't been neutered, and most recently he squirted on my laptop's bag. As I say, he is a nice cat, and very friendly too when he's sleeping in my mum's washing basket, but this isn't his home! My mum tries to keep him out of the house as when he does make it inside, he tends to chase my mum's cats, especially her aging Siamese (who has difficulty breathing due to cat flu a few years ago), and if there is any left, he eats the cat's food, and sometimes even our food if it's been left out. One of my personal concerns is whether he is being fed properly, although he seems to be well fed, but whether that is by his owner or by him scaveging for food I don't know.

So, where exactly does my mum stand on this subject? Should the supposed owner be reported to the RSPCA, or should my mum (a cat lover) just have a strong word with her?

My two cats, Spud & Squeaky, have not had this problem, although yes they do tend to be left alone most of the day as I have no internet access at home, they're still very friendly and loving towards me (probably because I'm the only one who feeds them daily!!!). They're actually indoor cats, so they're always warm and have access to food and water, so they've not had much outdoor experience (I did let Spud out during the summer whilst I trimmed the trees in my garden), but they're happy and like living indoors...

Anyway, I'm going to go check Lucky (the Unlucky cat in the shed) just to make sure he's ok, he's got a chunk missing from his ear so that needs looking at...

 

[Jumile]

There's far too much of a tendency these days to "call the authorities" whenever something like this arises. Then the government legislates to prevent it happening (or just to punish/tax the evildoer), as they like to do now, and we whine about the nanny state and further deprivation of liberties. Can't have it both ways...

Your mum should take the measure of her neighbour (i.e. judge if she'll get a thump for her trouble), and have a strong word with her about her cat. She can always use the threat of RSPCA involvement, but only consider it as a last resort.

That my 2p, anyway...

 

[Analoguesat]

Id suggest a weighted bag and a barrel of water - but then I dont like cats ;)

 

[2cvbloke]

Id suggest a weighted bag and a barrel of water - but then I dont like cats ;)

That's not nice, no animal, bad or good, deserves that treatment, even dogs, which I personally don't like... :-Nooo

Anyway, my mum keeps threatening to go round to the cat's home (not the shed, the owner's house!!!), she just needs the pursuasion...

 

[rolfw]

Well firstly it is pretty irresponsible to have an un-neutered Tomcat on the loose, but cats don't need constant company like a dog and can cope pretty well with being left on their own during the day. It does of course need access to food and water during that period.

My sister has three cats on her ex smallholding to catch rodents and they spend all of their time (unless they manage to sneak in), outside or in the outbuildings, so that in itself isn't a problem. I'm sure there are lots of places for it to find shelter and unless it is showing signs of abuse or malnutrition, the RSPCA will probably not be interested.

 

[2cvbloke]

Well firstly it is pretty irresponsible to have an un-neutered Tomcat on the loose, but cats don't need constant company like a dog and can cope pretty well with being left on their own during the day. It does of course need access to food and water during that period.

My sister has three cats on her ex smallholding to catch rodents and they spend all of their time (unless they manage to sneak in), outside or in the outbuildings, so that in itself isn't a problem. I'm sure there are lots of places for it to find shelter and unless it is showing signs of abuse or malnutrition, the RSPCA will probably not be interested.

The un-neutered part is the main concern, I was just out in the shed to check on him and he just had a squirt on the recycling boxes right infront of me, basically marking his territory... :mad:

He does have access to food & water here, but because of that he's been marking his territory in the house, and you really can smell it, not very nice (but not as bad as a dog smell... ), which as I say is the main concern as he's un-neutered, once he's had the snip he'll just be a placid non-squirting moggie, but until then, this house is starting to smell bad (so maybe a cleaning bill too for Lucky's owner!!!)...

 

[chris]

We have just lost our 15 year old cat Misty on Monday, She was fine and like normal up until 7pm on Sunday then she had a seizure so we rushed her to the night vets who found a lump between her back legs which she said could be a tumor and recommended we take her to our own vets on Monday.

She then had another 2 seizure on Monday so when we visited our own vets later on the Monday she confirmed the lump and she said it was very large so we had to make the tough decision to have her put to sleep otherwise they would have to put her on valium while they do some blood tests which would take a week and we didnt think that would be fair on her.

It was a very sad loss as she always liked to help me when i was on the computer and her sister keeps roaming around the house looking for her.

 

[2cvbloke]

We have just lost our 15 year old cat Misty on Monday, She was fine and like normal up until 7pm on Sunday then she had a seizure so we rushed her to the night vets who found a lump between her back legs which she said could be a tumor and recommended we take her to our own vets on Monday.

She then had another 2 seizure on Monday so when we visited our own vets later on the Monday she confirmed the lump which she said was very large so we had to make the tough decision to have her put to sleep.

It was a very sad loss as she always liked to help me when i was on the computer and her sister keeps roaming around the house looking for her.

I'm sorry to hear that, it's amazing how animals just get on with their lives even if they have an illness of somesort, and the worst part is when you don't know about it until it's too late...

I've lived with cats all my life and when one of the oldest, about 17 years old, ones my mum had died (I just about remember her as a kitten when I was 1 or 2 years old) I was pretty upset.

The thing about most pets is they become a big part of a family, you always expect them to be there, and when they're gone, they're sorely missed. As for the companion or sibling cats, it's obvious that they also miss them, as your cat has shown...