Fatty catty - neightbours leaving food out

sean & ann

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Hi all, first post so be nice. Im sean 24, and my partner Ann is 27.

We have two cats, both boys, holly and dave. both 15 months old. very loving and cuddly.

Holly has starting putting on wieght recently. Gettin a little overwieght for such a young active cat. I have just found out why.

The bungalow over the road from us puts out some biscuits. When i say some i mean two huge bowl mountains. enough for at least 2-3 weeks worth of daily food!

Holly and sometimes Dave, comes back after a long day out totally not hungry. this happens more n more. So one day i follow holly and see him eating these biscuits. Ive now seem him on several occasions as well as Dave eating there.

So i decide to talk to the owners of the very small and run down bungalow. A couple around 60ish. Both very dirty and i could smell them or the house at the front door. Not pleasant. I asked them about the food and about the cats they keep.

They basically in short said that they have several cats, 5-6-7 maybe more and one of them has just had kittens. They dont let any of them out at all. Never.

I asked why the food out the back. they say its for strays!

Now while thats fine to look after strays there are none round by us, all cats have collars that ive seen. the food will attract vermin and therefore disease! Not somehting i want my cats to eat. i asked if they would consider not putting it out but they just dismissed the idea and werent bothered about the health of my cats.

What can i do. Ive kept my cats in today and i dont want them to be locked away, its natural for them to be outside. im worried about the cats in this bungalow and im thinking of calling the Rspca about it. plus the rats etc that the food will attract. or quite possible already is!

help?
 

missymotus

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you can't really stop them from feeding strays, if you don't want to keep your cats indoors how about building them an enclosure? This can be done fairly cheaply using a 2nd hand aviary.
Or harness and lead train them.
 
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sean & ann

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i dont want to be dismissive of ideas as such but i dont want to restrict them. They are perfectly happy outside and are otherwise good cats.

My point is that there are no strays and that this food will attract rats! surely thats not a good thing?
 

rosiemac

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I'll move this to care and grooming for you


To some it may seem odd that people keep their cats indoors, but it's becoming the norm now, and i keep my three as indoor cats
Have you explained that your cats are not eating their food as their eating what they put out?.

The thing is the RSPCA can't do anything really if the cats are being well looked after, but if theres definitely no strays around where you are and your worried about vermin i would contact your local councils environmental health department.
 
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sean & ann

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

I'll move this to care and grooming for you


To some it may seem odd that people keep their cats indoors, but it's becoming the norm now, and i keep my three as indoor cats
Have you explained that your cats are not eating their food as their eating what they put out?.

The thing is the RSPCA can't do anything really if the cats are being well looked after, but if theres definitely no strays around where you are and your worried about vermin i would contact your local councils environmental health department.
Sorry i wasnt sure what section to use. thanks.

It doesnt seem odd that some keep cats inside, i can fully apprecaite that. and have thought about it myself. But in such a small environment having so many isnt good for them. I think that if the place didnt smell as bad as it did i would be less worried.

But i think i will contact the council about the food outside. i dont think its safe to be feeding anything that will be eating it. Thanks.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by Sean & Ann

But in such a small environment having so many isnt good for them. I think that if the place didnt smell as bad as it did i would be less worried.
It's nothing to do with how small the place is really, it's how often they scoup out the litterboxes. I scoup mine twice a day, sometimes three and my house doesn't smell


I remember years ago when i was young and still living with my parents. The neighbours nextdoor had one indoor cat and their house use to smell awful. They never had things like clumping litter back then, so they used to use the ashes from the coal fire as litter
Thankfully weve come a long way!


What state is their actual house in, do you know?. Because if it's a mess and litter isn't getting changed then you probably have a good cause to have a word with the RSPCA.
 
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sean & ann

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thats what im thinking. Ive not got a vendetta against these people. i just want my cats to be healthy and if the cats they keep are not being kept properly then something should be done. If they are ok then no harm done.

I think its ok for me to call the rspca. just as a precaution really.
 

rosiemac

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Have you seen how the cats are though and the conditions their living in before you get in touch with them?. I think what i'm also wanting to point out is that if someone reported me without knowing the condition of my cats and how clean their litterboxes were it would not only annoy me, but it would really upset me.

I think the RSPCA would ask if you had evidence first before they started making house calls
 

katgoddess

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You really can't do anything about them leaving food out on their own property for strays, whether they exist in your area or not. It is on their property, afterall, and they're not infringing into anyone else's business. In fact, here where I am, the owners of roaming/outside cats can get fined for not containing their cats and allowing them to roam free.

The only way you can take control of the situation is if you restrict your own cats. My cat lives inside and he's perfectly happy -- many people nowadays keep indoor cats. But since you already said your cats are happy outside and you have no intentions of making them inside only, then there's little you can do.

Personally, I leave a bowl of cat food out for the strays around here and I won't stop leaving it out because there is at least one stray cat. If an owner had an issue with his/her cat coming to eat my food and gaining weight, I think that would be a lost cause for him/her because I can't control which cat will find his way to my door and which ones won't.
 

althekitty

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The one down side to this site is that a lot of people on here don't agree with outside cats and think that indoor is best. I live in the u.k where we have no rabies or animals out to get them. There is the car arguement, i have heard them all!!! Anyway, my cat is an outdoor cat and he loves it and is healthy and well! I would suggest a collar, you can get them on the net which either says 'please do not feed' or 'diet controlled', 'has allergies', basically they make others aware that they should not feed your cat!! I know how annoying that can be! Also, if they are used to going somewhere, do keep them in for a few days, that way your cat will hopefully forget the food source and the 'feeder' will notice that kitty is not coming round and will hopefully stop feeding. The collar is a good one though, good luck!
 

jack31

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I agree. You can't do a whole lot about what they do on their property. It is your choice to allow your cat to roam and thus may have to suffer the consequences.

In our city, if a cat comes onto my property I have the legal right to kill it--now I wouldn't dream of doing that but I could legally do it.

Leslie
 

emmylou

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Don't call the RSPCA on the neighbors. Leaving food out isn't animal cruelty.

With regards to your cats, there are a couple of things I would try. First, experiment to find a filling, low-calorie food that your own cats really like; then they will be less tempted by the outside food. Then, only let them outside when they have just eaten a lot at your house and are full. Bring them back inside at the times of day when you think they're most likely to be hungry.
 

addiebee

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I would be concerned not only about the well-being of this elderly couple's cats, but the people themselves. Are they able to care for themselves? Could they be hoarders and have more than the 6-7 they've admitted to? Hoarding is a mental illness. if the RSPCA comes out to check, maybe not a bad idea to put this elderly couple on the local social service radar.
 

emmylou

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I think that would be inappropriate as well. And that's not even considering the fact that this couple is only 60. Calling Social Services and animal welfare on a couple for leaving dry food out (which is a pretty common practice in some neighborhoods)? No.
 

althekitty

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I agree with feeding before you let them out, I do that with my kitty. I have to agree that calling the RSPCA or Social Services without any due cause would not be appropriate, unless of course you have seen any suffering.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Althekitty

The one down side to this site is that a lot of people on here don't agree with outside cats and think that indoor is best. I live in the u.k where we have no rabies or animals out to get them. There is the car arguement, i have heard them all!!! Anyway, my cat is an outdoor cat and he loves it and is healthy and well! I would suggest a collar, you can get them on the net which either says 'please do not feed' or 'diet controlled', 'has allergies', basically they make others aware that they should not feed your cat!! I know how annoying that can be! Also, if they are used to going somewhere, do keep them in for a few days, that way your cat will hopefully forget the food source and the 'feeder' will notice that kitty is not coming round and will hopefully stop feeding. The collar is a good one though, good luck!
From what he has said about the neighbours, I doubt they would pay much attention to a collar asking them not to feed their cats.

Originally Posted by emmylou

Don't call the RSPCA on the neighbors. Leaving food out isn't animal cruelty.

With regards to your cats, there are a couple of things I would try. First, experiment to find a filling, low-calorie food that your own cats really like; then they will be less tempted by the outside food. Then, only let them outside when they have just eaten a lot at your house and are full. Bring them back inside at the times of day when you think they're most likely to be hungry.
This makes the most sense so far. I honestly don't think that their leaving food out for strays (whether there are any or not) would be considered animal cruelty.

If you wish to allow your cats out without an enclosure then you will have to live with them roaming onto your neighbour's property and eating the food they leave out. I personally would be more concerned with what food they are leaving out and the quality of it.
 

sakura

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If you are letting your cat outside, you don't get to control what the cat is eating. In addition to food left out for strays, it's probably also eating mice and birds.

Outdoor cats do not live as long as indoor cats. It's definitely not an ideal situation for a pet cat. They are safer inside, away from other animals, cars, people, disease, etc. Your cat is exposed to neighbors' cats and strays that all could potentially get your cat sick, even when up to date on vaccines. You would not be depriving them by keeping them inside.
 

addiebee

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BTW - I didn't suggest that the OP call the local social services. However, if things are bad there - she said the people smell - or maybe the house smells -- maybe they aren't taking care of themselves or their animals properly and are in need of assistance.
 

althekitty

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People are probably safer inside but that doesn't mean we stay inside due to the fact that it would limit our quality of life. I live in a very rural area we have no neighbours and no cars and we do not have rabies or animals that are predatory to cats and we also don't have people who keep guns for the sake of it who shoot willy nilly. I always feed my cat before he goes out and am a very repsponsible pet owner. I fear this site will lose credibitily with the many thousands of pet owners who allow there cats outside and yet get preached at about it as though they are irresponsible. I have felt for some time I aught to find a u.k based site that would be alot more aware than this one. What a shame.
 
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