Um, locking the cat inside the house isn't the same as letting it decide where it wants to live! And not telling the family who want to keep her and who are feeding her where she is simply isn't OK
regards,
Christine
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Problem with cat that I want to keep!
- Thread starter edielou
- Start Date
regards,
Christine
Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. If that family wants to keep the kitty, then they need to get it a collar and nametag, and microchip it. If they don't want to invest that little bit of money, they will never care for it properly with vet care, etc. It was a stray and is STILL A STRAY even if they are feeding it outside until they claim proper ownership in a way that is visable. And that's my final word on the subject!Originally Posted by cjh27
Um, locking the cat inside the house isn't the same as letting it decide where it wants to live! And not telling the family who want to keep her and who are feeding her where she is simply isn't OK
regards,
Christine
Well, no.
A neighbor saw the poster and told edielou that she thought another family was taking care of the cat, too. Edielou went and checked with the family, and they said they were taking care of her...sort of. Maybe they made a bigger effort for a couple of days, but then the cat reappeared at our member's house.
An outdoor cat without ID and with a predilection for staying somewhere belongs to the person the cat chooses. Don't like that? Keep your cat indoors, and avoid all the problems.
... so why bother with putting up posters looking for the cats owners if you then don't respect their wish to keep the cat they're caring for?
The bit that really bothers me is that this family will be worried about what might of happened to the cat
Yes, we'll have to disagree on this one. I do hope for you that nobody decides to simply keep Dusty one day without telling you about it.
regards,
Christine
The bit that really bothers me is that this family will be worried about what might of happened to the cat
Yes, we'll have to disagree on this one. I do hope for you that nobody decides to simply keep Dusty one day without telling you about it.
regards,
Christine
Not likely since she is collared, chipped and tagged. And she KNOWS where her home is. If that family really cared, they would at least do the tag and collar. If not, then they don't deserve the kitty. Period.Originally Posted by cjh27
... so why bother with putting up posters looking for the cats owners if you then don't respect their wish to keep the cat they're caring for?
The bit that really bothers me is that this family will be worried about what might of happened to the cat
Yes, we'll have to disagree on this one. I do hope for you that nobody decides to simply keep Dusty one day without telling you about it.
regards,
Christine
... only if that person respects your collar, chip and tag. If not then those won't help you.
With the cat in this thread edielou knows this family would like to keep the cat- ignoring this is like ignoring a chip or a collar and tag.
regards,
Christine
From what I have read this other family are not actually the original owners of the cat and have just been feeding it and also decided that they want to keep it so edielou has done nothing wrong apart from feed this cat and she was unaware that someone else had been feeding it at the same time. In my opinion then I think this kitty much prefers edielou and obviously spends more time with her and if she has more time to give this kitty than the other family then it will benefit the cat more. I would go and see the other family and explain that the cat is always at her house and that she is fully prepared to take the cat on and pay vets fees- thing is alot of people want to keep a cat but are they prepared to pay vets fees when they need it? and they can be costly, feeding is the easy bit, there is a lot more to cat care. I would definetely get the cat checked for a microchip and then see the other family.x
Yes, I fully agree with you.
I was bothered by people here saying she should simply keep the cat indoors with no regards to the family who are feeding her and without talking to them.
regards,
Christine
Saying they want to keep her and really truly looking after her are not the same things. I think that is what the other posters are trying to say. I have worked in rescue long enough to know that people TALK the TALK, but often don't WALK the WALK. And often people are full ofOriginally Posted by cjh27
Um, locking the cat inside the house isn't the same as letting it decide where it wants to live! And not telling the family who want to keep her and who are feeding her where she is simply isn't OK
regards,
Christine
What steps has this other family taken to really look after this little girl? EdieLou should find out if the cat is chipped, has the other family taken her to the vet for shots and a routine check up? Do they have a place set up in their household for her. I get the sense that they may have good intentions but haven't done right by this cat. Too busy, too distracted. And the cat seems to prefer Edie.
As for reporting stays - yes - there are laws here, too. The state of Michigan requires a stray be turned in to local animal control and placed on a four-day hold. Many, many people do not know this... and lots and lots of people have broken this law.
Edie - can someone come by and feed this little cat while you are gone?
Two separate families feeding the same stray cat that has no home. Although one family SAYS they are keeping it......from the fact that the cat shows up and stays at our member's home implies that they made NO EFFORT to keep the cat.
I am hoping that the stray gets to come inside somewhere as it has been stated that the area is not safe for outside cats. All the best to you, edielou in getting her safe.
... you're simply assuming this family isn't taking care of the cat. What I'm saying is that EdieLou should go and talk to them and find out.Originally Posted by AddieBee
Saying they want to keep her and really truly looking after her are not the same things. I think that is what the other posters are trying to say. I have worked in rescue long enough to know that people TALK the TALK, but often don't WALK the WALK. And often people are full of
What steps has this other family taken to really look after this little girl? EdieLou should find out if the cat is chipped, has the other family taken her to the vet for shots and a routine check up? Do they have a place set up in their household for her. I get the sense that they may have good intentions but haven't done right by this cat. Too busy, too distracted. And the cat seems to prefer Edie. ?
Your main arguments seem to be that the cat is an outdoor cat and that EdieLou has more time for it. The first issue is a personal choice, every one should keep their cat the way they want to- and some peple prefer to keep their outdoors. You might not like that- but I don't think you should judge it either.
The secons seems to be quite unfair in my eyes- so this family has to go to school and work and hasn't got all day to take care of the cat. Does this mean that only stay at home moms or retired people should keep a cat?
Oh boy- four days? That's not exactly a long time if someone is looking for their cat!Originally Posted by AddieBee
As for reporting stays - yes - there are laws here, too. The state of Michigan requires a stray be turned in to local animal control and placed on a four-day hold. Many, many people do not know this... and lots and lots of people have broken this law.
Edie - can someone come by and feed this little cat while you are gone?
regards,
Christine
The cat has been around for 6 weeks as a stray. Two families appear to be feeding the stray, although the other family may very well NOT be feeding her because she is sleeping and eating at edielou's.
Lets try to help her with her post. She has done all the right things in trying to find an owner and in talking to and respecting others that claim to be feeding her.
My thought would be to consider talking to the other family that claimed to be feeding her again and let them know the cat is always at your house. They may have changed their mind and are not feeding her anymore.
All the best to you for trying to help this stray calico.
I am not looking for a fight. Yes... she should talk to them... but it appears.. repeat... appears that they are not really looking after the cat. Why else would it be at the OP's all of the time looking for food, shelter and love?? First - Edie needs to check for a chip, then talk to the other family....
Has the other family bothered to take her tot he vet and have her scanned for a chip? do they plan to? They laid claim without even suggesting that they would have her scanned for a chip. They can't even get her to come inside but the OP can.
The cat has been around for six weeks with both feeding her (we'll assume for the sake of argument that the other family is indeed still putting out food), why is okay for them to say they are going to keep her and not the OP. She is a stray cat. If the other family truly wants her to be theirs, then they need to get her to the vet, have her scanned for a chip, have her checked out to make sure there are no underlying problems and because she has been known as a stray in the neighborhood for 6 weeks, put some ID on her so that others in the neighbor know she now has a home. Also if they wanted the kitty to be theirs so bad, why weren't they the ones to answer the lost poster. One of the OP's neighbors told her that they thought another family was feeding the cat as well. If the other family wanted the kitty so bad, why didn't they answer the lost poster?
The cat has been around for six weeks with both feeding her (we'll assume for the sake of argument that the other family is indeed still putting out food), why is okay for them to say they are going to keep her and not the OP. She is a stray cat. If the other family truly wants her to be theirs, then they need to get her to the vet, have her scanned for a chip, have her checked out to make sure there are no underlying problems and because she has been known as a stray in the neighborhood for 6 weeks, put some ID on her so that others in the neighbor know she now has a home. Also if they wanted the kitty to be theirs so bad, why weren't they the ones to answer the lost poster. One of the OP's neighbors told her that they thought another family was feeding the cat as well. If the other family wanted the kitty so bad, why didn't they answer the lost poster?
.. the only way to find out is if the OP goes and asks them.
The OP has been feeding this cat for 6 weeks- we don't know for how long the other family has been doing this.
When the OP first talked to the other family she agreed not to feed the cat anymore- this sounds like the OP agreed to letting the other family have the cat- she has now changed her mind.
Again- we do not know what this family has or hasn't done. You're simply assuming they have done none of this.
Maybe they didn't see the posters?
What counts here is that this family definately said they wanted to keep the cat.
We have two people here who would like to keep the cat. The OP here sounds like a really nice person
Both the Op and the family have to sit down and try to come to an agreement about this cat and who will be taking care of it in the future and the cat has to be checked for a chip if this hasn't already been done by the family- simply keeping the cat indoors without telling anyone would be cat napping.
regards,
Christine
I have teken in many strays and ferals in the past and the one thing they all had in common was that as long as there was food out for them and sheltered, safe place to sleep (a shed they could come and go from whenever they felt like it is what I had but any good shelter will work) that they were always around. From what I know of strays of ferals, if the other family was offering her food and safe shelter (even if it is not in the house) she would have stayed there. Not keep coming back to the OP even when she wasn't putting food out and now coming back to sleep in carrier on the deck.
Is it possible they are putting out food, offering safe shelter and attention, yes it is. But considering the cat's behavior, I doubt it. And since the cat has been spending so much of its time at the OPs, why hasn't the other family come looking for her?
Is it possible they are putting out food, offering safe shelter and attention, yes it is. But considering the cat's behavior, I doubt it. And since the cat has been spending so much of its time at the OPs, why hasn't the other family come looking for her?
You took the words right out of my mouth, I agree 100%, my cat Billy was a "stray" he must have belonged to someone as he is a pedigree British Blue, he kept coming here for food, I put posters up and contacted all the right people but no-one responded, how do I know nobody else was feeding him while I was? He obviously preferred to live with me
I agree. I say the OP should keep the kitty and make her an inside kitty. If the other family truly wants her and cares for her, then they put up posters and come looking for her. Then the Op and the other family could talk. If they don't come looking then they only thought they wanted her but really didn't want to have to do anything.
I've been following this thread from the beginning and I feel that it's gotten a little off-topic. The OP told us about the current situation and asked for suggestions. She got several replies giving various (sometimes opposing) options, which she is taking into consideration. I don't think it's fair to blast away at the OP for things that she hasn't done and hasn't said she is going to do.
The OP did NOT say that she is going to keep the cat no matter what. She DID say that she checked with the other people to find out if they actually owned the cat. They told her no, it was a stray that they planned to keep. The fact that the other people were feeding the cat at the same time as the OP does not give them a prior claim. The OP could have said that she planned to keep the cat and her claim would have been just as valid.
The OP said that the other family told her the cat didn't want to come inside and was afraid of their dogs. She said the cat seems to want to come into her house and is not afraid of her dog. She did NOT say that she intends to snatch the cat and force it to become an indoor cat.
The OP also said that she will be away for a week and that if the cat is still around her house when she gets home, she will take it to the vet to have it scanned for a microchip. She said if the cat is not microchipped and she ends up keeping it, she will have it microchipped and put a collar on it. She did NOT say that she is going to do all this without telling the other family. She did NOT say she is going to keep the cat from its rightful owners if she finds them.
Edielou, I hope you haven't given up on us. This is a site dedicated to the wellbeing of cats and people get very emotional at times. I do have one question about your original post. You mentioned another cat who tries to fight with the one you've been feeding and that it has several sores on it. Which cat has the sores? If it's your rescue cat, that's something the vet needs to check out when you take her, just to make sure she doesn't have an infection and need medication.
The OP did NOT say that she is going to keep the cat no matter what. She DID say that she checked with the other people to find out if they actually owned the cat. They told her no, it was a stray that they planned to keep. The fact that the other people were feeding the cat at the same time as the OP does not give them a prior claim. The OP could have said that she planned to keep the cat and her claim would have been just as valid.
The OP said that the other family told her the cat didn't want to come inside and was afraid of their dogs. She said the cat seems to want to come into her house and is not afraid of her dog. She did NOT say that she intends to snatch the cat and force it to become an indoor cat.
The OP also said that she will be away for a week and that if the cat is still around her house when she gets home, she will take it to the vet to have it scanned for a microchip. She said if the cat is not microchipped and she ends up keeping it, she will have it microchipped and put a collar on it. She did NOT say that she is going to do all this without telling the other family. She did NOT say she is going to keep the cat from its rightful owners if she finds them.
Edielou, I hope you haven't given up on us. This is a site dedicated to the wellbeing of cats and people get very emotional at times. I do have one question about your original post. You mentioned another cat who tries to fight with the one you've been feeding and that it has several sores on it. Which cat has the sores? If it's your rescue cat, that's something the vet needs to check out when you take her, just to make sure she doesn't have an infection and need medication.
Thank you for your voice of reason GoldyCat. I agree with everything you've said.
