Cat Crisis

Hello,

The problem im having is my neighbor feeding my cat to the point where hes not coming home. Hes been with me for 8 years but now shes housing him and locking him in. Theres nothing i can really do apart from hoping i can catch him on the street. Hes not gone to her because were neglecting him, shes just giving him wet food instead of the recommended dry food for his diet. Unfortunately my neighbors wont answer the door to talk about this reasonably and keeps saying hes "chosen them"

Can somebody please give me some advice on what i should do?

I'm pretty sure you could involve the police if you want, or else I would just keep going over, I mean a lot. You may have to keep him indoors though once you get him

A few people have told me to go to the police or contact the RSPCA. At the moment, im going over there at least twice times a day. Anytime we get him in, the family are careless and he accidentally gets out. I posted this online to see if it was actually possible to get the police involved, these people currently house 4 cats, 2 of which belonged to someone else and and were drawn away from their owners the same way as my cat has been

Which country do you live in ? Every country has its own rules with things like this.

I'm curious to know why you cannot feed him wet food instead of dry food ?

We live in England, and we were just told by the pet shop 8 years ago that wet food upsets his stomach at times and once he starts eating wet food, he wont go back to eating dry food

Well I'm from England too. The good news is in the UK cats are classed as property of their owner. The theft of a cat is considered an offence under the Theft Act 1968 and could technically be prosecuted in the same way as the theft of any other item of property. If the cat is microchipped and registered in your name, then you have proof of ownership and that cannot be contested in a court of law. Also vet records would also provide additional proof of ownership.

Thank you! Thats good news, i will definitely consider this if my neighbors refuse to cooperate. The only thing is, couldnt my neighbors say 'The cat has come to us and we've been housing him' its not like theyre abusing him, its more the fact that for the past few months hes been staying there. Also, i hope she hasnt gone and microchipped him in these past months

Well if you have vet records pre dating this you will have the upper hand......also just the treat of involving the police may be enough to get him back.......

Does she let him out? What about louring him home with wet food or meat? Wet food Is good for cats, and they will eat dry too

Hes allowed out, i've gone to collect him a few times. I havent seen him around recently and when we do we'll be feeding him wet food, hoping that will work but i havent seen him around lately. Hes gotten into fights with her other cats and i've seen him badly hurt sometimes, then she expects us to take him to the vet so she doesnt have to pay the bills

Lyrical-Lottie said:

Thank you! Thats good news, i will definitely consider this if my neighbors refuse to cooperate. The only thing is, couldnt my neighbors say 'The cat has come to us and we've been housing him' its not like theyre abusing him, its more the fact that for the past few months hes been staying there. Also, i hope she hasnt gone and microchipped him in these past months

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They could say what they want but the fact of the matter is. They stole your cat !

It's like say you have a car that sits on your drive and you haven't used it in 2 years. That doesn't give anybody the right to just take it and start using it. They couldn't turn round and say well they were not using it so I took it. That would be theft If you didn't give your permission !

Thats True! The worst thing is shes done it before. But, tomorrow i'll knock on the door and if they dont answer (when i can hear them in the house) then i will give them a letter saying that we want Archie back in a week or we'll go to the police (I dont know if i can do that) but they're in the wrong. Who knows, we might not need to get the police involved, they might just be sacred about the fact the police will be involved

Why don't you if you get him back just turn him into a indoor cat. I did this with three cats that were outdoor cats. It takes them a few weeks to adjust and stop trying to get out. But they do settle down and the idea of going out no longer appeals to them

Thats exactly what we will be doing once we get him back, heres hoping that he'll adjust to it alright

Good luck Oh and make sure you get him microchipped just in case

Hes already been microchipped but we'll make sure she hasnt done something. Thank You for your help, i really appreciate it 

If he has been microchipped by you you can call the police and retrieve the cat that way.  As said above that's definite proof of ownership.  You said above you how they haven't microchipped your cat but no one will insert a second mircorchip if one is already in place.  It is a very safe bet they haven't taken the cat to the vet and asked for a microchip as if they had the vet would have found the previous one and contacted you.

Otherwise I just agree with advice already given.  Get the cat back and keep the cat inside.