Hi,
I share a house with a married couple who has a misbehaving cat. The wife leaves her care up to the husband, who does as little as possible for her.
Because the cat won't pee in the box all the time (this mostly is due to his not keeping it, however, she does do this regardless, at times too.) I think they relegated her to the basement, which was a construction zone complete with insulation fibers and all kind of other junk for almost two years. We have no reached two and a half years here and the basement now has a room and bath but the area between the new room and the laundry machines (which is a hallway and a stairway which is still a construction zone) is where the cat is allowed. She has peed in several areas and no one has cleaned it up for months. She vomited on the stairs several times and no one has cleaned it for the same amount of time. Occasionally, she gets the dust brushed off of her because I will do it, and she is often fed (or at least given a few handfuls to tide her over until SOMEONE hopefully cares for her) but that doesn't usually happen so I eventually just fill up a big bowl for her and frequently change her water - no one does that either, and there's always filth in it.
I normally wouldn't hesitate to just feed and water her (even scoop her box) without waiting on them except that they have asked me not to care for her by the husband "because it hurts (the wife's) feelings. It turns (the cats') heart away from (the wife)." and that "(the wife's) feelings are more important". Yet, her "love" for her animal doesn't spur her on to care for the cat, it just spurs her on to keep relegating the duties to her neglectful (and I am convinced, due to other observed issues in the house, abusive) husband. Most recently, no one cared for her for a week, in which I kept changing her water and throwing handfuls of food into the bowl. Finally, I told the wife that if I see this go one for days and days I am just going to feed her, and that I am not doing it to be offensive to her, but I am just going to do it. The cat's bowls? They are also from me, as the husband broke her water bowl and didn't see fir to replace it - with anything. On day three when I noticed they never gave her any more water (or a bowl) I went and bought two new ones and gifted them to them.
Normally, I would not tip toe around this at all but I rent here and if I rip their heads off I will be out on the street, too. But my concern is, when I do move (which I am actively looking to do) what will happen to her? Then NO ONE will care for her, just like it would have been if I wasn't down here.
Her bed is always filthy, too. When they aren't home, I wash that, too.
I want to offer re-homing but due to the wife's weird attachment (that doesn't manifest in actual love or care) I doubt she'll do it. Also, the fact that the cat pees all over will not make re-homing easy if possible at all. Is this the best she can hope for? My little daydream was to buy some property and take her with me, but my funds are limited so I am not sure that will happen when we need it to. But honestly, even if I did, I doubt she'd give the cat to me. In her mind, it'd be saying I am better than her in some way, and she definitely couldn't handle that - and that would be more important that he pet's well being.
Advice? I really want to call animal control on them, but like I said, the guy is a moron, and I still live here. I wouldn't want him to hurt the cat because there's no longer an audience once I leave...
I share a house with a married couple who has a misbehaving cat. The wife leaves her care up to the husband, who does as little as possible for her.
Because the cat won't pee in the box all the time (this mostly is due to his not keeping it, however, she does do this regardless, at times too.) I think they relegated her to the basement, which was a construction zone complete with insulation fibers and all kind of other junk for almost two years. We have no reached two and a half years here and the basement now has a room and bath but the area between the new room and the laundry machines (which is a hallway and a stairway which is still a construction zone) is where the cat is allowed. She has peed in several areas and no one has cleaned it up for months. She vomited on the stairs several times and no one has cleaned it for the same amount of time. Occasionally, she gets the dust brushed off of her because I will do it, and she is often fed (or at least given a few handfuls to tide her over until SOMEONE hopefully cares for her) but that doesn't usually happen so I eventually just fill up a big bowl for her and frequently change her water - no one does that either, and there's always filth in it.
I normally wouldn't hesitate to just feed and water her (even scoop her box) without waiting on them except that they have asked me not to care for her by the husband "because it hurts (the wife's) feelings. It turns (the cats') heart away from (the wife)." and that "(the wife's) feelings are more important". Yet, her "love" for her animal doesn't spur her on to care for the cat, it just spurs her on to keep relegating the duties to her neglectful (and I am convinced, due to other observed issues in the house, abusive) husband. Most recently, no one cared for her for a week, in which I kept changing her water and throwing handfuls of food into the bowl. Finally, I told the wife that if I see this go one for days and days I am just going to feed her, and that I am not doing it to be offensive to her, but I am just going to do it. The cat's bowls? They are also from me, as the husband broke her water bowl and didn't see fir to replace it - with anything. On day three when I noticed they never gave her any more water (or a bowl) I went and bought two new ones and gifted them to them.
Normally, I would not tip toe around this at all but I rent here and if I rip their heads off I will be out on the street, too. But my concern is, when I do move (which I am actively looking to do) what will happen to her? Then NO ONE will care for her, just like it would have been if I wasn't down here.
Her bed is always filthy, too. When they aren't home, I wash that, too.
I want to offer re-homing but due to the wife's weird attachment (that doesn't manifest in actual love or care) I doubt she'll do it. Also, the fact that the cat pees all over will not make re-homing easy if possible at all. Is this the best she can hope for? My little daydream was to buy some property and take her with me, but my funds are limited so I am not sure that will happen when we need it to. But honestly, even if I did, I doubt she'd give the cat to me. In her mind, it'd be saying I am better than her in some way, and she definitely couldn't handle that - and that would be more important that he pet's well being.
Advice? I really want to call animal control on them, but like I said, the guy is a moron, and I still live here. I wouldn't want him to hurt the cat because there's no longer an audience once I leave...