I could spit nails

I am so fed up. First I have to tell you a bit about my house. It's kind of like a townhouse but probably more in appearance like a duplex. I don't own the 2 bedroom apartment on the other side of me though it is connected to my home. We also have a common hallway that goes into the basement. The guy from the other side died between Christmas and New Years. He has a 12 year old son who has a male tabby cat and the cat is STILL there alone.

The last 4 weeks they've been telling me someone is coming to get the cat on Saturday. Well 4 saturday's have gone by and the poor cat is still there. He wails (and I mean WAILS!)and scratches at the door and is just going crazy in there. Sometimes I don't see anyone there for over a week. I have a key because the owner who passed away gave me the key years ago. He's been sick for years and I kind of watched out for him. If I heard him banging I'd go over and help him. (He'd fall down or pass out and couldn't get up.)

I went in there the other day and the house smells of cat urine so bad I had to cover my face and leave. I didn't see any food or fresh water except the dirty toilet. It's just gross. I feel bad for the cat and he's going so crazy it's driving my cats nuts. Everytime I contact someone, that's when they tell me they'll be over that Saturday to get the cat.

I'm just at my wits end with this situation. No one is taking care of this cat and I don't understand why they don't take him to the humane society or something. That would be better then leaving him locked up in the house alone with no food or water. Sheesh.

Why can't you take the cat out, notify the local Animal control that you have done so , and then take this cat in until suitable housing can be found?

Or at least take the cat and bring it to your local no kill shelter. Sounds like this cat needs to be rescued.

You've got to get this poor baby out of there as soon as possible!!!,4 weeks is far too long to suffer, are you able to take this poor thing in?.

Please, get this cat out a.s.a.p., it must be so cold and hungry.

Please keep us informed.

Susan

I can not take this cat into my home because of two reasons. One, he sprays so bad and has ruined that other house. I'm not home for 11 hours a day my week on (work) and I can't take the chance of my cats catching that scent and then they begin to do it themselves. And he is not neutered and I can't afford to have him neutered since I just started a new job after being laid off for four months. The second thing is that I talked to my lawyer neighbor and he said I can't remove him from the home because he is a possession and I could be prosecuted for stealing. But I may call animal control and see if they can do something. I just didn't want the boy to loose his cat so I have put off doing anything. My daughter and I have put food down for him many times.

Take the cat and do the right thing, who is going to know?
I wished I lived closer, I would take him,
Clara

The problem is, according to the law it's not the right thing to do. The family of the dead guy will be able to put two and two together. Especially since I've been on them to come and get the cat. And I'm the only other one with a key. So it's pretty obvious. I think my only option is to call animal control. At least here they place them and if not then the cats go to the humane society mall store.

Tamme call Animal Control or a sanctioned cat rescue as quickly as possible. Let them deal with it, but after you make the initial call, continue to call at least once a day to remind them. Sometimes phone calls like this get lost in the shuffle of the day. Poor kitty- I feel so sorry for him.

Thanks Hissy, I'll do that. I feel bad that I can't take him in but at least I've been trying to feed him. I've heard animal control is pretty good about responding here.

Oh my goodness , that poor baby .

Please please if you can , make sure he has food and water so he will not dehidrade (sp)or hunger . You can not go and take the cat it is against the law . I do agree on that . But please make sure he is ok in the mean time . If the local animal control will not pts I would call them so the cat will get out of that missery there . Or you can ask those people if they mind if you take the cat to your local shelter so the cat will find a new home and they would not have to worry about the cat any more . Could you try and ask them maybe ?

Thanks Hedi. We are trying to make sure he has food and water between my daughter and I. He tends to knock over his water bowl though. We didn't even know he was still in there the first week or two. Dave died around the 26th or 27th of December. I have asked them about taking him to the humane society but they claim they want Cody to be able to keep the cat. I'm thinking... "Well take him then you idiots!"

I just wanted to add to this that I thought they had finally taken the cat last Saturday. When I was coming home from work I saw the family there. After I got in my own house and got settled I wanted to go talk to them but they were already gone. I didn't hear the cat until early this morning when I woke up so for 3 days I thought they took him. So I did feed him today.

Tammie, what they are doing is neglect and it is illegal. Check here for what Utah's laws are concerning animal cruelty and neglect: http://straypetadvocacy.org/html/cru...e-wy.html#Utah

IMO there are two things you can do. 1. Next time you contact them, let them know that they are breaking the law by neglecting this poor cat, and if the cat isn't picked up by XXX date, you will contact the authorities. 2. Contact Best Friends Sanctuary at www.bestfriends.org . They are located in Kanab, Utah (I have no idea how close or far that is from you!), and they are a very powerful companion animal welfare group and no kill sanctuary. They would, at the very least, be able to advise you on the best course of action. And if they take on this cat, whether because the "owners" are charged with neglect or cruelty or because they surrender the cat after contact, you know that he will be in a good place for life if need be.

I am very familiar with Best Friends. Kanab is almost to Arizona so it is very far. About a 6 to 8 hour drive depending on the weather. One of my cats was actually there for a short time (before I adopted them). But we have a good animal control and humane society here so I'm calling them. I left a message for the family and told them if I didn't hear from them by early afternoon I was calling animal control because it isn't fair to the animal.

I agree, it is neglect, and although laws in Puerto Rico are almost nonexistent about animals in Utah there are.

You should keep feeding the little guy and in the meanwhile call them and tell them that it is against the law and that if they don't pick him up by a certain date then you will call animal control or the Utah police. Give an easy to agree date, like a weekend. If you have the full name of the deceased person then you will be able to locate the family members who are neglecting him.

If the little guy ends up with Animal Control or such then you may want to try and adopt him... hear that spaying is much cheaper if he is already in a shelter.

Tammie, I'm so sorry you have been "landed" with this cat. I would call an animal shelter and let them deal with it.

Originally posted by yoviher
I agree, it is neglect, and although laws in Puerto Rico are almost nonexistent about animals in Utah there are.

You should keep feeding the little guy and in the meanwhile call them and tell them that it is against the law and that if they don't pick him up by a certain date then you will call animal control or the Utah police. Give an easy to agree date, like a weekend. If you have the full name of the deceased person then you will be able to locate the family members who are neglecting him.

If the little guy ends up with Animal Control or such then you may want to try and adopt him... hear that spaying is much cheaper if he is already in a shelter.

Click to expand...

I'm not giving them anymore time. I told them today to contact me today and get the cat out of there or I am calling this afternoon. Every week they tell me they are coming to get the cat on Saturday and they don't.

As far as the family. There is none except a 12 year old boy. He is staying with a school friend whose mom has temporary custody. The kids mother is in jail (she's always in and out of jail) and never sees him anyway. The grandmother is dead and there just is no other family. I'm telling you all... this is a very hard situation! I was trying not to get into the details but what the heck! You guys don't know them!

I DO NOT want to adopt him! I have 5 cats who don't have a problem with spraying in the house and he does. I don't want to take the chance and I don't want my house to smell. If you walked in my house and couldn't see my cats, you'd never know I have 5 cats! So the best I can do is try to keep him fed until the investigators get out here and they can find the poor fella a home. He's a pretty cat so I'm sure someone will adopt him.

Here in Utah Neutering a male cat is only something like $30 at the humane society. Spaying a female cat is the same price. Half price if you take in a stray. But even though it may sound bad to some of you, I don't want a sprayer and a house that smells like cat urine. I guess I'm not as good a person as some of you are.

Tammie don't feel bad that you can't give this boy a home, you do a lovely job with your cats and one trouble maker would sure change that. Keep up the good work, (((HUGS)))

Thanks, I really do appreciate that. You're right. I've worked really hard with my kitties. Most of them were very needy/special cases except for Jake. I think this boy needs a home where he's a single cat and he can be watched closely and hopefully retrained. I have my hands full keeping Hallie afloat sometimes!

After reading this thread all I can do is give you a big Just because you can't take this kitty yourself does not make you a bad person. You're feeding him and making sure he has enough to drink (which is more than can be said for the people looking after the 12 year old boy!) If you hadn't started looking after him he would surely be dead by now.

I could understand if they said they didn't want to take on the cat as well and arranged a new home for him, but the fact that they keep saying that they will pick him up and then don't is beyond belief. Not only are they neglecting this poor animal but by telling you they are collecting him they are making it more difficult for you to help him (If you think they have him you have no need to put food down) Thank goodness you noticed they had left him there again and have continued to care for him.

Sounds like you have a handful! I am just happy that you aren't letting the baby starve. Hope everything works out ok! Please keep being patient and everything will turn out to be ok!!

Hey, sorry, I did not realize the prices. Here its $15 steady rate, so I thought it was the same there. But then again I always forget that prices here are lower for almost everything.

I agree with everyone here, not being able to give him a home with you does not make you bad, on the contrary the feeding him and being constantly doing all the effort possible to help him makes you the classic cat lover. I know a great deal of people that would not have cared less for the cat.

In fact, if he gets adopted by someone else I think he will be better off than if they pick him up, for if they give him the same care they have shown so far... scary.

Perhaps, if you know someone else in the Salt Lake City area who you know would be willing to adopt him and care for him, you may want to notify him once he gets to the animal shelter. Just a thought.