Neighbor’s Cat- And She Is Not Taking Care Of Him

[amandag1]

Ok... not sure if this is the right place for this thread.
But I moved to my neighborhood a year and a half ago, and I noticed there is a very friendly black and white cat who loves treats and to hang out outside. All seemed normal.
This summer the same cat has been returning to my front porch and he looks really sick- very very skinny, a cyst on his forehead and always yowling for food. I fed him for a week or two then posted about him on our neighborhood facebook group. He has a collar, a name and a phone number.
His owner responded after some time saying he is sick and to not feed him because he is on a special diet.
I messaged her asking what food so I could give him it, she never replied.
The cat is returning again and literally BEGGING for food. The way he ravenously eats is as if he isn't being fed.
I just dont see how shes caring for him.
Today he showed up again and I gave him some wet food but his owner drove up
And told me to stop....
But she didnt pick him up & take him home!!
What the heck is going and what can I do?!

 

[Kieka]

If the owner has asked you multiple times not to feed the cat, please don’t feed the cat. If he truly is sick and needs a special diet you are just making things worse for him by feeding him. If you feel it is being neglected or mistreated you should contact your local animal control about the situation. You could also take it to animal control and say you think he is sick but the owner isn’t responding to your attempts to reach them.

 

[Norachan]

I think the best thing to do is report her to The Humane Society or Animal Control. If her cat really is sick she should have vet records to prove it. If she is neglecting him then they will be able to take over from there.

 

[ArchyCat]

All the previous suggestions are quite legal and proper.

Myself? I might arrange a quiet "catnapping". Take him in and make him an indoor only cat. And immediately take him to a vet. Not hers, if you know who that might be. Find out his aliment and do what ever is necessary to treat him.

The original owner seems at least negligent in permitting her cat to roam outdoors. Or maybe cruel.

This is a difficult position for you or for anyone else that has empathy for pets.

 

[Winchester]

Well, I've done the catnapping thing. Long story, but I catnapped two sisters and brought them both into the house. Whisper gave birth to five kittens in our bedroom about two months later. Her sister, Bootser, came inside about a year later. The owners didn't push it, nor did I ever deny it (kind of difficult to deny the cats were in the house when they were sunning themselves in the living room window). And besides another neighbor ratted us out. It does put you in a bad position and, if the woman can prove you do have the cat and she wants to be a witch about it, you might have to give the cat up in the end.

Do I advocate catnapping? Personally, yes. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But that's just me. I don't think TCS would support it.

 

[Maria Bayote]

I am sorry that you have to deal with this. I understand perfectly what you are going through as I have quite a similar issue with my neighbor now.

If that cat is sick and as you say very very skinny then why is it allowed by the owner to roam outside, as her cat may be eating something it should not have? If that cat is on a special diet then why can't the neighbor also give you the name of that special food needed? She should be happy that somebody is also looking after her cat. My suspicion is that the owner does not really know what her cat's special diet is, or maybe she does not know really what ails her cat. Maybe she has not even brought that poor cat to the vet.

I'd say report her too!

 

[Willowy]

I'm gonna take the other side. He may be hyperthyroid or have cancer or something like that. And it can be very stressful for an outside cat to be forced to stay inside. I would let him have his freedom for the time he had left. If he is hyperthyroid and she's feeding him the special thyroid food, giving him any other food will ruin the effect.

Try having more conversations with her, if she'll answer. If you really do find that he's being medically neglected, then other options may be on the table.

 

[Kieka]

I'm gonna take the other side. He may be hyperthyroid or have cancer or something like that. And it can be very stressful for an outside cat to be forced to stay inside. I would let him have his freedom for the time he had left. If he is hyperthyroid and she's feeding him the special thyroid food, giving him any other food will ruin the effect.

Try having more conversations with her, if she'll answer. If you really do find that he's being medically neglected, then other options may be on the table.

Agreed. My rainbow kitty had cancer on his throat. We loved him greatly but he did go outside his entire life. We did 6 months of chemo and he lost weight during the treatment; but it didn't work. The last month of his life he was medicated for the pain and did have a special diet that didn't upset his stomach with the medications he was on. We still allowed him outside because he loved it and would hurt himself trying to get out if we didn't let him out. Towards the end he was skinny and had a baseball sized lump on his neck but he was happiest sitting on his chair outside. We let him live the life he wanted right up until it was time to call the vet to our house when the cancer was noticeably impacting his quality of life (he closed his eyes for the last time in his chair outside where he loved to be).

If someone else was feeding him and I caught them at that time, I would have asked them to not. I also wouldn't have picked him up and taken him home just because I asked someone I saw feeding him to not feed him. My current cats go outside and I've asked neighbors to not feed them as well. I do give the neighbors who ask some safe treats and ask they only give one a day but I monitor their food intake so I wouldn't want anyone to feed them any actual meal type food. I know Link begged for food from one neighbor when she stopped giving him food, she came and told me, I had to show her my feeding station and explain he is just a glutton and I am trying to maintain his weight. Plus he gets nasty stomach upset if he is fed too much or the wrong food. I went into detail because I understand some people won't stop unless you do, but not everyone is comfortable with sharing that level of detail.

I do understand the desire to help the cats we see. But if you don't understand the full situation you really can do more harm then good. Its different if you contact the other person and they say "go for it" or the animal is legit left behind or dumped (shoot, Rocket was dumped on my doorstep by someone saying "here is your cat" and I got my rabbit because his owner left his cage open in their front yard and when asked they denied ever having a rabbit despite the open cage a foot from their door). But if you are told not to feed and that the animal has a medical issue? The other person doesn't owe you an in-depth explanation of exactly what is going on and it might hurt too much if the cat is in the hospice stage. If you think something should be done, please contact animal control and let them make that choice.

 

[amandag1]

Update on this situation
The cat continued to sit at my front door, meowing, pawing begging for food. It was too heartbreaking for me not to feed him. At times, I felt like he was going somewhere at night and returning to my door at various times- but for the past month he has SOLELY stayed at my front yard/door area. He has been outside, permanently, for weeks.
I contacted Animal Control and they told me they do nothing for cats....and shelters are full. They won't send anyone for pick up. They said I can try cat rescues and take the cat myself.

I contacted a Vet/hospital that they directed me to- with a humane officer/ cruelty/neglect hotline. I spoke to them and since he has a collar and a phone number they told me to call animal control for a cat at large. I've been tossed back and forth.
Last night I left another message for the humane officer asking what to do. He is not returning home, his cyst is growing larger, and he is neglected.

The owner hasn't replied to my messages , hasn't even opened them. We do have a community facebook group, I can tag her in a post and ask her to please check her direct messages....or wait for the humane officer once again.

I don't mind scooping him up and taking him to a rescue- but is this legal?

 

[IndyJones]

It is legal to take an animal to a shelter or rescue but they also have a legal obligation to at least attempt to find the owner.

You could try it but she might just end up back on the streets if her owners claim her.

 

[Norachan]

I don't mind scooping him up and taking him to a rescue- but is this legal?

You're not breaking any laws by taking the cat to a rescue. If the cat has a collar with the owner's ID on it he probably will end up right back where he is.

A cat with no ID and a large cyst may get PTS by shelters that are over crowded and struggling to fund all the medical care of the cats they have.

It's a real conundrum. I think your only chance of helping this poor guy is to take him to your vet, and take over his care yourself. If you do that and the owner then responds to your messages you could ask her to surrender the cat to you. Then you could decide whether to keep him or find him a place in a shelter.

 

[IndyJones]

The cat might also have a chip. If it is chipped she will wind up back where she is even if you remove the collar.

 

[kittyluv387]

Let's face it. Contacting authorities most of the times doesn't amount to any action. At best they will contact your neighbor and she will pick up the cat and things will continue on as always. At worst the cat will be PTS. There are just too many cats in the world to take care of. If it were me I would take in the poor thing to the vet myself and start treatment. But I understand a lot of other people wouldn't have funds for that.

 

[ArchyCat]

Time for a discrete catnapping! Take the poor creature to the vet for treatment and a physical check up. And then take her home and keep her indoors all the time1

 

[amandag1]

I wish I could take him in- but I have a sick, anxious, CHF kitty who I spend literally hundreds (and thousands when in the ER) on,
My husband would kill me if I took on this one.

 

[amandag1]

I’ll call some local rescues & see what they say. I can take him to one if they allow and pledge some money to his treatment.

 

[Jcatbird]

Unh. Horrible situation and if you are like me, it cannot be ignored. Call rescues repeatedly and plead for this cat. Maybe start an online fundraising campaign for him? If money goes with him, I have found it is much easier to find foster care or even an adopting home through a rescue. You can easily have him checked for a microchip through a rescue group.
You could also offer to “purchase” the cat from the owner for a nominal fee. It’s awful but money talks. Sometimes an owner simply can’t take care of a cat. It could be lack of funds or lack of caring or some other unknown factor. Hard to know. An attempt at friendship might be enlightening either way. If they cannot afford care, perhaps you can let them understand that surrendering to a rescue does not mean PTS. That may be the fear. I would try everything until that poor cat got help somewhere. I think you are wonderful for persisting in this. If you are a kitty guardian, you’re a kitty hero. You are a guardian even if you are not his owner. I wish you all the best of everything. Please do update us.

 

[jefferd18]

[

The owner hasn't replied to my messages , hasn't even opened them. We do have a community facebook group, I can tag her in a post and ask her to please check her direct messages

That sounds like the best way to get her attention. I have had to tag people before when they didn't respond to my PM's. It worked.

An abscess is nothing to fool around with, it could break and go into the cat's blood system and then he really will be in trouble.

However, if she continues to ignore you then I would take some photos of him and put them up on the facebook group and tell everyone that you found this poor sick kitty today. That should get her attention.