Cats and neighbors!

We are moving in just a few days and, being the worrier I am, all I can think is the cats will somehow get out into the new neighborhood and get lost. That's largely out of my control, of course, other than taking precautions with the doors and windows.

So, to ease my mind a little bit I'm creating little cards to give to my new neighbors with our names and phone numbers as well as a brief description of the cats. I think it will help if they know there are cats inside the home that shouldn't ever be outside for any reason, and hopefully they'll call us if they see them.

The cards look like this (our identifying info blocked out):


It will also be a good reason to knock on the door, say hello, and get their numbers as well. So I'm hoping it will be a win-win situation!

What is your experience with cats and neighbors? Have they helped you out before? Any of your neighbors hate cats completely?

I think it's a great idea! It's a good way to meet your neighbors, too.

Yes, one of our neighbors hates cats. Remember our Tabby's story? Had we not taken her in, the guy was going to take her for a ride and throw her out the window of his truck.....and he would have done it, too. And she was just a little kitten, fit right in my hand. They've threatened to poison the outdoor cats, who do belong to people, but the people keep them outside.

The woman completely flips out if one of our cats even looks at her the wrong way; she literally starts to shake and cry. I will give her credit, though; when Hydrox had surgery for breast cancer and was wearing a collar, I had trouble with the collar one night. Rick was in Virginia and I was alone and I really hesitated to call her. But she came right over and helped me get the collar back on him. I didn't think she would and I know she didn't want to. But she did. But they don't like cats at all. Period. 

Most of my neighbors are cool..one drunk nut thinks my cats are ALWAYS on her porch and have sprayed her house.   My 2 outside cats are both spay/neutered and have been for years.

Before you go I would suggest going online to see if there is a license needed for cats/cat limit.  Anger someone down road and they have that info you could very well expect a AC visit just cause they are idiots.

I personally would not go out and do this, even if I had just 3.  I think it is like I expect my cats to get out at some point, vs going door to door when they are lost and think someone would be more willing to help in time of need vs expecting them to hold onto that info card.

I would not give my number to any neighbors,  at moment no one here has it except one who found my dog when she took off through the backyard and right to his front door.  He only has it from calling me off her collar info.

The cats I have not had much help on.  The dogs are another story.  My dog has gotten out 2 times.  Broke collar once and slammed body into storm door another.

I have personally helped look for dogs about 6 times.  Difference to me is dogs dart and run cats tend to run for cover, well mine do at least.  2 are mostly outside cats, 1 goes out every few months.  Others are inside only.  In many years only lost 3-one under shed of neighbor, one roamed around but came back in hour and one in a tree. 

My boss today told me about his neighbor coming to his door with a few week old kitten he had found. MY BOSS TURNED THAT LITTLE KITTY OUT. What an idiot! I told him go get it, I will help that kitten. I have nine. But I would never turn away someone that helpless.My nieghbors gave me a note not to let my cats out or they will be taken . My neighbors are bad..

I am in process of trapping a older kitten/cat.  What people around here think is ok to do just makes me so sad. I have found a kitten run over that my husband ran over again.  He was so darn upset thinking he was at fault.  He had NO idea.  He would NEVER EVER hurt a pet.  I had to run to vet to have him euthanized as it was so bad.

I hope your boss is able to get the kitten!  Good Luck
 

There are cats left outside so I take it no one owns these cats.

catsallaround said:

Before you go I would suggest going online to see if there is a license needed for cats/cat limit.  Anger someone down road and they have that info you could very well expect a AC visit just cause they are idiots.

I personally would not go out and do this, even if I had just 3.  I think it is like I expect my cats to get out at some point, vs going door to door when they are lost and think someone would be more willing to help in time of need vs expecting them to hold onto that info card.

I would not give my number to any neighbors,  at moment no one here has it except one who found my dog when she took off through the backyard and right to his front door.  He only has it from calling me off her collar info.

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In the county we are moving to I think the limit is 6. I should be fine in that regard. Again, these animals are staying in at all times.

If I knew they were lost I would certainly go door to door! But at times we may not be home when they get out. I want my neighbors to be aware there are cats in the house that do not belong outside, so if they see them they don't think they are strays or ferals and call the city or take action on their own. The card can go on the fridge, I assume... that's where I'd put it if I received it. They don't have to do anything with it, they can trash it if they want I guess. This isn't a legal contract that says they have to take care of my cats if they get out - just a way to let them know who we are and how to get in touch with us, as well as making them aware of the presence of animals.

I'm curious as to why you wouldn't give your number to neighbors. I am planning to do that anyway even if I didn't tell them about the cats. Neighbors can be good resources - Winchester's helped her put the collar back on when she couldn't get it. Neighbors can let you know if they see someone at your door or in your yard if you're not there, call you to let you know about mail or packages, or otherwise help you out. I personally think it's better to take a friendly approach to neighbors from the start... that way if you need their help you have rapport built up.

A little off-topic but I'm so excited because one of our new neighbors is a woman who I think is in her 70's. Older neighbors are our favorites

Most of my neighbors call me when there's a new cat around!  Only I and three others (out of a street of 14 houses) own cats, to my knowledge.  Only one allows her cats outside and they stick pretty close to her house.  I have seen both of her cats on my patio but when I open the door, they make a beeline home.

Since the renters across the street moved, I know of no one who actually dislikes cats, thank goodness.  That neighbor who moved, however, is the one who adopted two cats - who became our Gracie and Josie.  Gracie came to us at five weeks.  She was so ill, her third eyelid was showing.  The neighbor's daughters decided (after three days!) that they didn't want her anymore, so they asked me to find her a home.  They got Josie a year later.  I do not believe they fed her past 12 weeks or so.  They got her in July (at six weeks) and moved in September.  I was shocked when I found her on my patio in December.  She's been inside ever since and is my lap cat.

Needless to say, I am really glad they moved!

I think this city changed me alot.  I am just saying get a feel for the area first.  We had a neighbor who talked about all he saw/heard all day long/twisted things.  He moved few weeks ago  The ex renter 2 houses over was arrested for breaking into the house next door to them and stealing few electronics.

I found out our city limit is 2 pets total after being here a while.  I have on neighbor ANGRY cause she sees 4.  Now my 2 cats stay on my property minus the hunting they do at night for mice.  My dogs are walked and not let to run free.  Yet this lady has an issue.

I am the LAST to call cops on anyone/thing as unless someone is hurt or property is being hurt I do not care.  You want to smoke pot outside, whatever, your a bit noisy or party is going on strong at 12 am, whatever. 

Yet I have had code enforcement here for a grill in front of house(used it over weekend and were planning to use it early week so left it rather then move it behind house were due to the bushes/trees we can not grill)  and a garbage can not taken in after pickup, yes lol 1 can that was on the small grass section not bothering anyone.

I am one of those people who will try to help.  I have pulled over while driving/while walking to tell someone your lights are on in car or there is a dog in your yard.  I have pulled over to help a couple who had a cat running around and were desperate to get the cat caught as they were on a busy road.

I have gotten oh my THANK YOU!!! and more then a few ok/door slammed or whatever/door slammed.

I think my mentality changed alot as it is a trust no one talk about weather and basics in this place.  Especially as I have many cats to protect and if anything happens it is on me for messing it up.  

My one neighbor is the greatest.  We get along great they loves pets but is "to old for more" so she gets to enjoy mine without the cost/commitment.  They will buy me toys/treats for them and will often bring plates of food over around holidays.  So I know not all are bad! 

Oh yeah and my TNR efforts was passed along as I am stealing cats...I trapped 1 male and held him waiting for someone to say hey you have my cat/or a lost poster to appear.  Nothing so kept him. All others were feral.  Meanwhile before I moved AC picked up a litter every season.  Tires and houses were sprayed.  Fights and injured cats.

Nope. I am a cat stealer is all that caught on.

See Im telling you my city is nuts

There are only three houses at the end of the cul-de-sac where I live.  Both neighbors are dog people but they certainly don't hate cats.  In fact if we're outside talking to our neighbors, a couple of our cats will run up and rub up on their legs, etc.  And my next door neighbor is the one who used to work at the SPCA--she's the one who hooked us up with the three beautiful black kitties we have, so she's "auntie" to them all.  It doesn't get any better than that for a neighbor!  She has two dogs.     Our other neighbors keep to themselves but are not unfriendly and they have one dog.  

Once we had a fire near here and it was looking like we'd have to evacuate. Our next door neighbor was already out of the neighborhood with her dogs so I let her know not to come back until it was clear, but the other neighbor's dog was in their garage and I realized I didn't even have a phone number to contact them about getting their dog out.  I was prepared to break a window in their house to get him out. 

Fortunately the fire was contained and all was well, but when the neighbor came home I went right over, gave them my contact numbers, asked for theirs and told them I hoped we could all watch out for each other's homes and pets. They were so grateful to know I would have made sure their dog was taken out of there (even though it's a nasty little thing, undisciplined and not very friendly!  LOL)  It's good to know we all keep an eye on each other's property and pets. 

I think it's a great idea to contact the new neighbors.  I like the card idea, that's a convenient way for people to keep your contact info on hand.  I hope you find yourself in a friendly (especially cat friendly!) new area!  

I think you should re-think giving out those cards to all of your neighbors until you get to know them a bit.

A better solution would be to keep your 3 cats confined to one room during your moving activities, either in your new or old house. Put their food, litter, etc in the room and keep the door closed when the door leading outside is open. It's not hard to do, I've moved plenty of times with cats. This way, there will be zero need to give out information cards about yourself and your cats to people you do not know yet.

I'd advise that you convey info about your cats naturally during conversations with your neighbors. They will be less likely to think of you as a crazy cat person, and you'll get the opportunity to feel out who you can trust and who you might want to avoid (and there are always one or two neighbors on every block you may want to avoid).

With regard to neighbors and cats, I've had problems with only one--the woman next door to me. I've been taking care of a male feral cat for the past two years and leave dry food out for him during the day. When I feed him wet food during dusk and dawn, I sit with him to chase off any raccoons or opossum who smell the food (there's a bit of woods around my block). Last Spring my neighbor saw a groundhog on my porch and flipped out. She threatened to take action against me if any wildlife approached her propery (what action, I do not know). I was really paranoid for a long time and told the other neighbors about her threats. I  put up a curtain on the side of my porch facing hers so she can't see what's on my porch. We did not speak for a long time. All of our neighbors sided with me (they love animals). Well, Muffin is really socialized now (but won't come into my house and I can't trap him--very long story, don't want to get into it now) and frequently hangs out on her property, and she doesn't mind. He's well-behaved. The few times he's marked territory have gone unnoticed because his scent if very slight (he is a well hydrated cat I guess).  My other neighbor and I have together trapped and fixed and homed (our homes, lol) 5 feral kittens this summer. I have let the woman next door to me and other nieghbors know that Muffin is "my" cat and that I have been trapping his kittens that he brings to me so they know I'm making every effort to keep from having multiple cats on our block. Everyone seems to like Muffin, and the woman next door realizes that I consider him to be mine, so she accepts his presence.

Good luck during your move. I think you're worrying too much. Even if one of your cats got out, since they're indoor only cats, they would not go far. One of my former cats chased a bird right through my second floor window screen several years ago and spent the entire day outside until I got home from work. He stayed close to my house and was a little shaken, but fine.

As I'm known as the crazy cat lady on our street, everyone thinks that every outside cat belongs to us! The funny thing is: ours are never let outside!

Telling people to watch out for your indoor cats can backfire.  Years ago I was having windows changed in my house.  Since the workers needed to get into every single room, there was no place where I could lock the cats. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay home from work either. I shut the cats into the bedroom and advised the workers to watch out for loose cats when they were working in this room. I figured the cats would be so freaked out by the construction noises that they'd just stay hidden under the bed.

When I came home for lunch, the foreman approached me with a sheepish look.  "One of the cats got out, and we couldn't catch him.  We tried; we really did.  We saw him in the backyard.  He ran off towards your neighbors when we went near him." I looked under the bed to check which cat was missing.  All of my cats were present and accounted for.  The poor workmen had been trying to catch my neighbor's cat! I can't imagine the fireworks if one of the guys had actually managed to catch the neighbor's cat and had tossed him in with my lot!

A lot of our neighbors have indoor/outdoor cats, and people try to keep track of who belongs to whom so they know when a stray shows up who needs help. Our last cat managed to get out a couple of times over the years, and twice he was caught by a neighbor. After we got Mogli, I let the immediate neighbors know we had a new indoor cat who shouldn't be outside.

Just a funny story: The teenaged neighbor who'd caught Jamie twice came home from a party late one night and thought he saw Jamie outside again. He'd had a bit too much to drink, and went crashing through the bushes in the dark till he managed to catch "Jamie" and ring our bell in the wee hours. The poor cat was a tuxedo, too, but half Jamie's size! Other neighbors made the same mistake and delivered her to our door. It was probably meant to be - she ended up living with us for a couple of years when her family moved (they took her back when they moved abroad).

If a cat has been hanging outside for a long time,does that mean he/she is fair game and you can take it for yourself ?

dejolane said:

If a cat has been hanging outside for a long time,does that mean he/she is fair game and you can take it for yourself ?

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It could be someone's outdoor cat or a lost cat and the right thing to do is look for the owner before taking anyone's cat.

Yeah you are right Abbysmom