I think I'm about to make another enemy out of my other neighbor

Guys....I'm still not 100% sure what I should do. I DO have to think about the fact that I have to live next to these people...well, 2 houses over. I know I don't live there now, but eventually I will. My gut feeling tells me that he was locked in there on purpose. One of 3 things happened. 1 - He was locked in there on purpose. 2 - Someone went in there, he followed them in, and they closed & locked the door without realizing he was in there. 3 - SOMEHOW, Foster got in there on his own. I did notice there was a spot at the front that looked like some digging had taken place. BUT...the previous owners of this house....they are the ones who put up this shed. It was not this past October, but the October before...in 2005. I went over and introduced myself. They were building the deck at that time...that's why I went over, because I saw them out in their back yard. It is a wood deck, and the shed sits on top of it. I almost doubt that there is already a hole in the wood deck after just over a year, but who knows. If he WAS locked in there on purpose, the thing that blows my mind about it all is that they HAVE a cat themselves. Why would they do this? If he has a problem with Foster being over there all the time, which I know he is, why didn't he just talk to me about it?!

Difficult, but I think I would assume, at least in front of them, that it happened by accident. And you can say that somehow Foster got in there and you saw him trying to get out or heard him and then saw him. And ask if they will let him out and if they would check to be sure that he cannot get in again. That gives face saving all round and ensures that they know you will be checking. And you can try and judge whether they really are surprised and concerned or if they know about it. If they know, then you will have to be very careful in case they try something else to get rid of him - maybe they don't like him for some reason. I don't know what you can do as you are not living there yet, but you may have to find a way to keep him safe.

personally I'd get a pair of those lock cutter things and get him the hell out of there! if he comes to you and asks if you did that, say no, if your kitty wasn't supposed to be in there than he hasn't a leg to stand on

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I would do this but I would tell them and buy them a new lock and assume it was an honest mistake. HE didn't know that the wife opened the shed or something. He will be finding cat poop and pee, so there will be evidence the cat was there.

I wouldn't trust this guy, and would be leary about letting the cat out until you move into the property. can't you take him where you live?

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

I would do this but I would tell them and buy them a new lock and assume it was an honest mistake. HE didn't know that the wife opened the shed or something. He will be finding cat poop and pee, so there will be evidence the cat was there.

I wouldn't trust this guy, and would be leary about letting the cat out until you move into the property. can't you take him where you live?

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Unfortunately Gail I can not take him where I am right now. I am staying with my parents until my house is move-in ready. I have 3 cats myself (indoor only) and my mom has 1 cat. We also have my grandmothers dog.

My opinion: Call the neighbor back this morning and tell him that you have seen your cat locked in his shed. Ask him when he will be back in town to let him out. If it is beyond today, let him know that you will have the lock cut and offer to buy him a new lock.

And if asked how you saw him inside a closed shed? He was missing for a few days and you were looking for him. You heard a cry coming from his back yard and you knocked on his door to ask for access. Since they weren't home, you felt it important enough to investigate.

If this is an honest mistake on their part, they won't care and will more than glad to help. If they locked him in their maliciously, who cares what they think - they're evil people.

Get the cat out today one way or the other.

If it were me, I would have cut the lock off the day I found him without asking their permission.

Be wary of the Police helping you've tried that once before and they didnt take it seriously,http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...s/confused.gif. Is your animal control any good? some are some arent. If I were you I would try animal control and see where that leads. If not then you might have to take legal action, sence this cat has spraying issues and is unable to live with you. Call a feral,stray rescue group in your area and have him put into a farm suitation. He wount be procreating and might make a good mouser for the people who want him, you'd be helping the farmers and the cat( sorry forgot his name).

OMG that last photo just struck me like a knife

Like others have already mentioned cant the Animal Control people do anything ?

Of course, he does need letting out but at least you managed to get some food & water to him AND you do know where he is...............thats what I would focus on for now

and a big fat to that neighbour - they can just go

ps. keep us posted

Originally Posted by neetanddave

I'll come down and help you smack the guy, Sophie.

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Aw, that cat is soooooo cute

Just checking to see if there is any news on Foster. Hope you were able to get him out today, poor little guy! Please keep us posted. I've been thinking about him all day.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

My opinion: Call the neighbor back this morning and tell him that you have seen your cat locked in his shed. Ask him when he will be back in town to let him out. If it is beyond today, let him know that you will have the lock cut and offer to buy him a new lock

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That's what i would do, but i would have already done it by now

I don't know...since you have the photos as evidence of your cat being locked up, I would be tempted to leave SOME trace that I knew about it. I know its risking trespassing charges, but if there are any laws against keeping animals in locked sheds in LA, then you have just as equal a case as him against your for trespassing.

Then if he brings it up, at least you know you can trust him, otherwise if he doesn't mention about finding Foster in his shed, then you KNOW not to trust him.

OK here is my opinion. Your neighbor just might be telling the truth, namely that he was convinced that Foster was not in his shed. Who knows, maybe Foster found some ingenious way to sneak in there. Maybe the neighbor had gotten his lawnmower (or whatever) out, Foster snuck in an then got trapped. Maybe if your neighbor sounded huffy when you called his cell it had a totally different reason. Who knows why they are out of town, maybe it has some bearing on his sounding annoyed, maybe he was in the middle of something. I mean, if one of my neighbors were to call me on my cell phone while I was out of town and insist that one of their pets was trapped in our shed (maybe while I was at my mother-in-law's or something like that) I might get annoyed too. I say try not to assume the worst. If they guy is telling the truth then you have made an enemy when you did not need to.

I think momofmany's advice was right on.

Good luck.

Any news?

Any word on Foster? Is he out?

well, what happened????

Good grief....
That kitty needs help.....now!

Poor Foster. He must be so scared locked in there. As for what I'd do right now, I think I'd wait till the people get home. Give them the benefit of the doubt that it was just an accident and they didn't know he was in there. If they come home and still lie about it once they see, or give you problems, then I would confront them and see what's going on. You really don't want to make an enemy unless you really, really have to.

I have been in a situation like this before concerning neighbors, and these are neighbors that I have known for 27 years.

Back last year the lady died, well her son and his girlfriend and someone else moved in the house to help take care of the dad.

Anyways they brought two little weenie dogs with them. These dogs had no shelter of any kind. I kept a eye on the little weenie dogs. Well one day is was raining and cold, and I just had a feeling about the little dogs. Well I got in the truck and went on the back street, the little brown weenie dog was just standing there, and he was looking at me like "please help me". I was so mad

I came home and told my husband, I was so mad I was shaking. So I went to the animal control. They came out and told my neighbors that they had to get a shelter or something for these dogs.

Last Monday, I kept hearing a crying coming from these same neighbors house, I walked over there to see if I could see anything. But I couldn't see nothing. Tuesday at lunch I kept hearing the crying again, so I went to the animal control again, they came out and didn't see anything, but they stopped by my house to tell me that, and they told me if I heard it again to call them. They were not gone 5 minutes when I heard it again. And this crying just broke your heart, it sounded like they were hurt or something.

Anyways I called them up and told them just to come to my house to see if they could hear it, they came back and heard the crying so they went back over there. And guess what they found, a little puppy shut up in one of those pet taxi's. The puppy had no food or water in there either, animal control took the dog with them. They told me not to tell the neighbors that they had come and got it, but if they found out where it was, they could get them for inhumane treatment.

I talked to another neighbor yesterday who told me that the other people were real mad. They went over to another neighbors house and said that they were upset for them calling the animal control. The one neighbors said that they didn't do it. I didn't call animal control either, I went up there

But if I pissed the neighbors off, then so be it. I can live with myself, but I couldn't if I sat back and did nothing. I had no idea that the little puppy was shut up.

Someone has to be a voice somewheres.

I would have called either the police or animal control immediately.

Or depending how mad I was, I might would have cut the lock off myself.

I woulda done something though.

OK everyone....sorry it's taken me so long to post this news.....FOSTER is FREE! If you'd like to know how the events unfolded, read on. This IS LONG!

I left at 9:00 am for an eye doctor appt. When I was on my way there, I decided to call this guy again on his cell phone. They didn't answer, so I left a message. It went something like this......"hi Alex, this is Sophie again. Sorry to keep bothering you with this. I was just wondering what time you were coming home today. I ask because before I left last night, I went to the other side of your property, to the police union hall, and looked over your fence from that side....and unfortunatlely, my cat IS in your shed. There is a crack in the door and I can see him in it when I call his name. Maybe once he gets out, you can check and see if there is a way he got in there on his own and we can block it off....that way, this won't happen again. Anway, you can reach me at my home number at xxx-xxxx or my cell at xxx-xxxx. Thanks and bye."

When I got to my house, I called Kathleen, a volunteer I know with Lafayette Animal Aid and talked to her about it. She said her son is a locksmith and he would gladly come over and get my cat out. She said he would cut the lock and then he could sell me a new one to replace it. But, she thought it might be better if I went through the proper channels so to speak...and call the cops who could get me in touch with animal control and they would come get it out. So I called the police department (not 911) but no one answered. So I did call 911...guess what? No one answered. I let it ring between 10 & 15 times. How messed up is that?!! So I called the desk sargeant and he put me in touch with the dispatcher. I told her what was going on and that I wanted her to put me through to animal control. She said she would just send an officer out. In the meantime, while waiting for the officer to get here, I went to make sure that he was still in there....that he hadn't been let out yet. From my house, I can't see if the neighbor's car is under their carport. So, it's raining out, but I ran over to the police union hall side and climbed up on the fence...I called his name out, but he never would come in view of the crack in the doors. If he was meowing, I couldn't hear him because it was raining on a metal building. So, I went around to the house that is for sale between us. The house was being shown and there were 5 cars there with all the people under the carport. I just went about my business. Just as I reached the shed, my cell phone rang. It was Kathleen's son. We talked for a bit and he told me he could come and get the cat out without damaging their lock and they would never know. I told him we couldn't do that now since I had called the guy and told him that I SAW my cat in his shed. If he came home and Foster wasn't in there anymore and his lock was intact, he'd probably question how I got him out. Plus I told him the police were on the way, so I'd just have to wait and see what happens. So I went back home and waited for the cop on my front porch. He showed up about 5 minutes later. I told him what was going on and he said there was nothing he could do. I asked him about animal control and he told me they would not come out for something like this on a weekend. They only come out if it's a rabid animal or some other reason I can't remember right now. So I asked him what do I do. He said you can do 2 things....you can wait for the homeowners to come home and let the cat out...or if that doesn't happen, you can wait unitl Monday to call animal control. Calling animal control, he told me, might result in me getting a ticket because my cat was out roaming and not contained. So we talked a bit more and I asked him, "so what can I do?" And he said, just what I told you awhile ago......and I said, "no, what can I do?" empahsizing on the "I"....and then he realized what I meant and he said I couldn't go in their yard to get the cat out myself. He said if I did that, it would be considered burglary. I think he meant breaking and entering. So as this point, all I could do was wait on the homeowners. So I went back inside and continued the major cleaning I was doing in some rooms in my house. The rooms I was working on happen to be on the side of the house that looks out towards this neighbors house...so I had all the blinds open and I spent soooo much time looking out those windows waiting to see them drive up. Finally, at 4:00 in the afternoon, I started to worry that it would be really late when they came in and I might be gone back home already. So I decided to go get some more food to Foster. I was weary of trying that earlier for fear that they would drive up and catch me in their yard. So I got some food, a small cup, and rolled up a piece of paper and taped it...basically made a tube out of it. I went and knocked on their door first to make sure no one was home....no one was. I went around and jumped the fence...as soon as Foster heard that, he started meowing. I went around put the food in the cup, put the tube through the crack, and poured the food into and let it fall on the floor. He started eating right away.....then I hauled it out of there and went back home. I went back inside and proceeded to scrub my bathroom floor....on my hands and knees. When I finished, it was 4:30....I looked outside and realized they had gotten home. I was happy, but at the same time, I panicked a little bit. I was afraid that Foster maybe had not eaten all of the food and they would see it when they opened it up and know that I was in their yard. Oh well. I went to a room at the back on my house where I had a good view of the shed. I sat on the floor and pushed up one of the blind slats and sat there and watched. I was wanting to see them go and unlock the shed. Well, lo and behold, while I was watching, Foster comes walking out from under their house. They had already let him out. So I went outside and called for him. I didn't do it very loud as I didn't want them to hear me....don't ask me why, I just didn't. So, it took about 10 minutes before he showed up.......so he's home now. Unfortunately for him, he is now locked up in my garage with his food and water, a litter box, and his little rigid foamboard house filled with hay that I made for him once it got cold. Oddly enough, the neighbors never made any attempt to contact me. I'm not sure what to think about that.