Sheesh, some people need education...

dauntingfire

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Well there are always consequences to doing stray feeding in apartment complexes. :/

I have a sweet girl here named Honey. She's a sweet stray that I tried to rehabilitate since she was a darling outside. Inside over the course of four months she became reclusive, despondent and dropped about 2 pounds. She made no progress in the span of 4 months. I made the difficult decision to release her back into the complex, micro-chipped and with her shots (she was already fixed). She's already been there happily for five years and I feed her so it's fine, I think to let her back out. (that and the complex is set far back into the woods away from the street)

So I spoke with the complex and they were hesitant but eventually agreed to let me feed & water her as long as I didn't leave it out. SO I only feed her when I see her and I pick up when she's done.

As I was feeding Honey today a woman was on her way out from her apartment and the discussion went as follows:

"You're not supposed to feed the strays."
"She's not really a stray..."
"If she's yours then don't let her run loose."
"I had her inside for four months-"
"You can't do that, cats ruin cars! They claw up cars!"
"What?"
"They claw on cars and damage them!"
"I've had cats for almost 29 years, they have never clawed any of our cars."
"Well you can't do that, the apartment complex won't let you."
"I already spoke to them, they know about it. As long as I sit while she eats and clean up then I can do it. Feel free to ask them, Daniella said it was okay."
"I will, you can't do that!" She then stormed off to go call them.

CLAWS UP the paint on CARS?? I have never heard that one in a million years! Anyways, can anyone direct me to educational info that I can print up and give to the apartment complex? Like...the benefit of having fixed strays in your complex?

Lol, anyways, I just had to share.
 

callista

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Eee! Can you imagine putting your claws on a car?! That would feel horrible!! Of course the cats don't claw cars. It'd be like clawing a blackboard!
 

tarasgirl06

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There's no way you can adopt Honey and keep her indoors-only? That would by far be safer for her. This woman sounds like a nut case! I'd want to keep Honey far away from her.
 
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dauntingfire

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Originally Posted by Tarasgirl06

There's no way you can adopt Honey and keep her indoors-only? That would by far be safer for her. This woman sounds like a nut case! I'd want to keep Honey far away from her.
Oh man, seriously, I wish I could keep her indoors. I tried for four months to keep her indoors, I did everything that was suggested to me by the vet & cat behaviorist over the course of those four months. Even they were shocked at how utterly stubborn and resistant she was to my working with her.

When I first brought her inside she was in great health! The vet was really impressed. By the end of four months she had dropped two pounds and she was already a tiny cat. Her coat went very dry and unkempt. She was just really stubborn and scared indoors, she would always hide and never let me close to her.
I figured that since she lived outside for five years already and was clearly happy and healthy then, that she could live outside again. I'd rather than then watch her waste away like she was.

Ultimately I want to find her a home in the country where she can live happily and more safely. But I think she's been outside too long to be happy indoors.
I promise though, I tried very hard to turn her into an indoor cat. I'm a huge advocate of keeping cats indoors!
 
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dauntingfire

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Originally Posted by Callista

Eee! Can you imagine putting your claws on a car?! That would feel horrible!! Of course the cats don't claw cars. It'd be like clawing a blackboard!
I KNOW, thats what my brother said too! D: Can you imagine? I mean, I don't even think cats can claw that hard onto a car's surface....


Originally Posted by catcaregiver

You may find something at www.alleycat.org
Thank you! I love that link.
I'll see if they have good links for info to share...
 

sham

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Yes cats can leave scratches on cars. Not purposely using them as scratching posts but jumping up on hoods or even the roof and down again. Usually only when something scares them and they do a mad scramble leap to get down quickly but we had 1 cat that frequently left scratches on the hood of my stepdad's truck for some reason. My stepdad completely flipped out about it and after trying to convince my mom to get rid of the cats started parking his truck in a seperate building where he didn't allow the cats. Good thing we have two 2 car garages and 3 sheds on the property. Some people also like to keep their vehicle really clean and get quite upset when a set of dirty cat footprints goes from the end of the hood up over the windshield.

The apartments my mom manages don't allow feeding of any outdoor cats or other animals besides bird feeders. I get sent to trap anything that anyone is feeding and release elsewhere or rehome if possible and have the vet PTS if it's not possible. It's how we have to do things to prevent arguments, angry phone calls from tenants, and critters hanging around destroying things while looking for food. We have to deal with some raccoons next week because someone was feeding a cat and kept spilling small bits of wet food or a piece of dry here and there and the coons found it. They keep coming around every night now and destroying stuff. There's also the people who feed the birds and call to scream about cats scaring them off, the people who throw a huge fit over any type of animal waste in their yard, and the people who just plain don't like cats and call to complain about a cat walking across the yard doing nothing.
 

ipw533

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A cat clawed the paint on the hood of my car once, and I got so mad I had him followed by a private investigator. Turned out he was part of a gang of hooligan felines that was paid on a commission basis by the owner of a sleazy and crooked paint and body shop; he also paid down-and-out deer to run in front of vehicles. Something to do with him having to pay off Vinnie after some ill-advised Superbowl bets involving the Eagles.

Ennyhoo, the real tragedy was that the cat blew his wad on catnip and kitty porn; a week later he disappeared after last being seen behind a Chinese restaurant....

Sheesh! The things some people will believe....
 

liza24

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it IS true tho.

cants CAN scratch car paint, especially newer cars, with the thinner clearcoats. I have a few scratches in the hood of my truck to show for the stray that likes to sleep in my shed.
 

happy cat

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it is true that cats can scratch the paint on cars. It's cause they can't get a firm footing, so they extend their claws, and that leaves hairline scratches in the clearcoat or wax.

it's not a myth.

would trimming her nails, (if she'll let you) help? or maybe offer to buy the _itch a car cover...
 

catzrule40

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Its really is none of her business as long as you have permisson to do so, she needs mind her business, and get a life sheesh what a nasty lady!!! what did those cats ever do to her??
 
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