Neighbors Throwing Cigarette's In Cats Water

[surya]

My neighbors keep putting their cigarette butts in the cats water. I am scared for my babies. I know if I say anything they will just deny it. They don't speak much English. I feel sick knowing some of my babies drank this water.

 

[Willowy]

Maybe try putting a bucket of sand nearby? They're probably doing it to extinguish their cigarettes, not purposely to hurt the cats. Hopefully :/.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ If the water bowl is on your property the neighbors are committing a tresspass . Do your local police respond to these type of problems ? If so start with them. An attorney letter warning the neighbor/tenant/landlord works well . It puts everyone on notice that the next step will be more serious - and in front of a judge or arbitrator .
Some neighbors will poison people's pets ! Be careful ...

 

[surya]

I am assuming the worst. The neighbors are friends with this lady who teaches her kids to chase them with sticks. And I have had words with her. Some of the cats have gotten injuries that are not from cat fights. I did not see who did it though. This is bad place to live if you are a cat. I will move the water bowl and see if that helps.

 

[surya]

~ If the water bowl is on your property the neighbors are committing a tresspass . Do your local police respond to these type of problems ? If so start with them. An attorney letter warning the neighbor/tenant/landlord works well . It puts everyone on notice that the next step will be more serious - and in front of a judge or arbitrator .
Some neighbors will poison people's pets ! Be careful ...

It's an apartment complex, so it's not trespassing. The police would not do anything. You can report animal abuse, but I know it won't do any good without proof of wrong doing. I don't want to escalate the situation. I will just try and watch their water bowl. The landlord doesn't want people feeding the cats, so I don't like to create any drama around them and draw attention to them.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Sounds like your neighbors bring their country culture to ours. They obviously are not assimilating . As you know animal cruelty is common in many cultures. In the United States it is illegal.
Good luck to you ...

 

[1 bruce 1]

I am assuming the worst. The neighbors are friends with this lady who teaches her kids to chase them with sticks. And I have had words with her. Some of the cats have gotten injuries that are not from cat fights. I did not see who did it though. This is bad place to live if you are a cat. I will move the water bowl and see if that helps.

What a terrible lady.
You might report her to animal control as this is NOT OK.
Hopefully she enjoys visiting her little hellions in prison in 10-15 years, as this won't stop with neighborhood stray cats.
Yeah, forget the "might." Report her.

 

[surya]

~ Sounds like your neighbors bring their country culture to ours. They obviously are not assimilating . As you know animal cruelty is common in many cultures. In the United States it is illegal.
Good luck to you ...

Most of the people are recent immigrants with third world attitudes about animals. They are not all abusive to them, but many of them are.

 

[surya]

What a terrible lady.
You might report her to animal control as this is NOT OK.
Hopefully she enjoys visiting her little hellions in prison in 10-15 years, as this won't stop with neighborhood stray cats.
Yeah, forget the "might." Report her.

The kids haven't done it for awhile. If I catch them again, I will. I almost did before, I talked to a guy about it and he said they could come out and talk to her, but they could not guarantee they could send somebody out who could speak Spanish, which is dumb.

 

[1 bruce 1]

The kids haven't done it for awhile. If I catch them again, I will. I almost did before, I talked to a guy about it and he said they could come out and talk to her, but they could not guarantee they could send somebody out who could speak Spanish, which is dumb.

I give you credit for being patient and trying to find a responsible, adult solution to this, despite your frustrations.
I hope everything turns out well, meanwhile I feel for your situation. =(

 

[surya]

I give you credit for being patient and trying to find a responsible, adult solution to this, despite your frustrations.
I hope everything turns out well, meanwhile I feel for your situation. =(

Thanks, I'm not feeling very adult. It really upset me. But like Willowy said, maybe they didn't consider that it could hurt the cats and they just thought it was a handy place to put out their cigarettes. I have had so many problems trying to help the cats. So many people hate cats. And I love them so much, I don't understand it. But getting upset does not help. I just needed to rant about it. Thanks.

 

[astrael]

I've dealt with troublesome neighbors on a number of issues. (Thankfully, here the cats are very welcome. Most are animal lovers in general, or at least of the live and let live variety)

How bad is the language barrier? If they can read English, a fact sheet describing them as working cats can help. Explain they are natural pest control, fixed and vaccinated, allowed by the landlord, and all you ask is that they ignore them and leave them be. That often changes attitudes quickly. Even those that don't like cats usually dislike rodents and pest species more.

As for the cigarettes, maybe a sign asking that the water be left alone (not even a reason, just simply the request) might help. If they ask, perhaps mention that wet cigarettes smell particularly foul, and provide a bucket of sand/other outdoor ashtray. (My mom sadly still smokes, and the smell of wet cigarettes makes me nauseous.)

A surprising amount of feral care comes with public relations. Explaining things in the most positive way possible can mean a huge difference in their quality of life. Simply telling people the cats deter pests, they are fixed and vaccinated, they don't cause trouble like unfixed cats or rodents can, and you're available to answer questions and work out issues they may have. (One neighbor asked me if I could feed in back instead of the side of the house, which was fine with me. Stuff like that) I know it's not a lot of fun, but you're the cats' PR right now, and you honestly do have the power to change their minds, however tough it may feel right now. (And a number of us have been there) "Killing them with kindness" may help too. Giving the fact sheet with cookies or something might do wonders.

All else fails, putting a camera up at their feeding area/shelters (even if it doesn't actually work) could prove a powerful deterrent with a not-so-subtle reminder that animal abuse is a FELONY.

Hopefully it won't come to threats and such, because that will cause rifts and likely grudges. Better the smoother path whenever possible. Good luck!

 

[surya]

The people who I have seen abusing the cats do not speak enough English to have a conversation, so I can not talk with them. I appreciate the suggestions, but things with the people here are way more than one person can deal with.

I have rescued many kittens across the street. While I have not witnessed it, I have heard from children across the street of kittens being tossed around like a football, being thrown off of the second floor and killed. One being thrown in a swimming pool and drowned. People throw unwanted kittens in the garbage. I rescued one kitten from a dumpster. I have heard of someone killing a cat by the dumpster I feed at. One cat I trapped had a broken ear drum from abuse, another had to have it's leg amputated, it was shattered and the vet thought it probably was from abuse. People have all kinds of idea's about how I should be fixing things. I have been threatened, spit at and intimidated for helping the cats. I have been out at night trapping kittens in dangerous alley. I have put myself in very risky situations to help cats. But I can not fix this, it is more than one person can do. I know everyone has good intentions with their advice. It is not bad advice, but I am already doing all I can for the cats and this is not some nice suburban neighborhood. I don't have the money to put up a camera or I would.

 

[trudy1]

Sorry you have to put up with this. But if you could find a cat rescue group or person? Call local vets or shelters ( they know who local cat people are). Try to contact them and explain what you are dealing with. They may be able to trap, spay/neuter and relocate your cat babies.

Another suggestion might be to see if there is a local church in the area which represents their culture. Talk to the pastor about your situation...sometimes you’d be surprised what can be done by people they respect and speak the language.

Sounds like directly confrontation yourself might not be a wise idea so you need an advocate.

Thanks for trying to help . Many times little defenseless animals such as cats need a protector....

Please be careful and keep us posted

 

[surya]

Thanks Trudy1, I am working with a rescue. I fixed most of the cats at my complex. I have a small colony across the street who are almost all fixed too. I still have some who come over from the apartments next door who I will trap. I do feel like the only solution is to relocate them. But there is no place to relocate them. I did find someone who said they had a cat sanctuary in Texas who would take some of them. But the rescue lady I work with was concerned because some of the so called sanctuaries are death traps. It was a little fishy that their was no shelter available for the feral cats, so I think she made the right call. There is no place to take them. Some of them were tame and we got those adopted. Some of them could be adoptable with some work. But I can't take them in, I already have four cats, too many for such a small apartment. The cat problem is very big here in Houston, and the rescue groups are all at their limits.

I got someone from the rescue group to have a man who speaks Spanish to talk to one of the residents about TNR'ing the cats he feeds. That didn't go well, he would not talk to me after that. My main objective last year was getting as many kittens to safety, away from the abusive children and fixing as many girl cats as I could. Trying to change people attitudes and behaviors towards the cats is too big a job for me to tackle.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - Colorado is, although a long drive, fairly famous for taking animals of all stripes, colors, types and varieties from an amazing number of other states including AZ, TX, et al.
If you call Denver Dumb Friends League 303-751-5772 (I'm not seeing a toll free number), they may be able to point you in a direction that helps, and if the drive is not possible for you-all, there's pilotsnpaws . org as a possibility.
Or google TNR groups in other states including Colorado, somebody, I'm hoping and praying, will be able to help.

 

[surya]

Hi - Colorado is, although a long drive, fairly famous for taking animals of all stripes, colors, types and varieties from an amazing number of other states including AZ, TX, et al.
If you call Denver Dumb Friends League 303-751-5772 (I'm not seeing a toll free number), they may be able to point you in a direction that helps, and if the drive is not possible for you-all, there's pilotsnpaws . org as a possibility.
Or google TNR groups in other states including Colorado, somebody, I'm hoping and praying, will be able to help.

Thank you Furballsmom. I do not have a car, or money to transport them. I will call and see if they can help.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thanks, I'm not feeling very adult. It really upset me. But like Willowy said, maybe they didn't consider that it could hurt the cats and they just thought it was a handy place to put out their cigarettes. I have had so many problems trying to help the cats. So many people hate cats. And I love them so much, I don't understand it. But getting upset does not help. I just needed to rant about it. Thanks.

You're right, so many people hate cats. It wouldn't bug me if they just ignored them, but they go out of their way to injure them or worse.
Keep loving them. They know.