I don't know what to do....

silkywhiskers

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I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot.

The neighborhood we live in has so many cats. I think there may be more cats than squirrels, LOL. When we moved into our house, we were "adopted" by the silliest and sweetest cat. At first, we would find her outside everyday, in a new spot. It was always a joy to see where she was that day. When we started feeding her, she really warmed up, and started letting us pet her and she loved that. We later learned that she had lived in our house, but her owners left her behind. That explains why she stays at the house.

I love this cat so much. It is a joy to see her everyday, and go out to say hi and pet her. Now we are moving, and have run into a problem. The owner of the house, who will be moving in after us, has a very hateful heart. He told us that he will poison any cats that come on his property, as they are pests.

We originally planned on taking her with us when we moved, as we thought we were going to buy our own patch of land. But we have run into a small stop, and will not be moving to land right away. The place we will temporarily be living isn't going to be a safe place for her. It is an HOA, there are no other cats there. Our friends who live there had a cat who they let outside at night, and he vanished.

The option that I thought would work, is there is a neighborhood where a family member lives, that is populated with cats as well. There is a guy there who takes care of all the cats, and I thought that we could place her there until we did get the land. But we were told that there is one cat there who beats the other cats up. One of the poor other cats is limping from the cat that beat her up.

I don't know what to do.

I would be so worried to leave her, because I think the owner is totally serious when he says he will poison them. Our neighbor takes care of the cats, but he cant stop her from coming to the house. That is where she has always hung out.

I wish I could just bring her inside with us until we have an ideal outdoor arrangement for her, but I am a minor, and not in charge. My parents love her too, but will NOT let her inside.

Should I just take her to the family member's neighborhood, even with the mean cat? That is really the only option other than leaving her there....

This is so stressing me out. :(
 

Kieka

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I would urge you to talk your parents into letting her come with you to the new house. Even if it is just living in the garage or bringing her into the garage at night. Barring that then talk with the neighbor at the existing house and see if they are willing to let her live in the garage for a period of time until you are at the new place. The problem with moving her to the safer outdoor spot is she is unlikely to stay. Most cats who live outside know their area and won't be comfortable in a new spot; cats are very territorial. If there is an established colony being fed at the other spot she has probably a 50/50 chance of sticking around. 

Even when you move to the final spot with outdoor space for her you have to be careful. She won't know the territory and is likely to wander off. You'd want to keep her in a garage (house is better but with parents feelings a garage would work) for a few weeks to adjust. During that time you'd work on getting her used to coming to her name or a sounds (i.e.shaking a treat jar). Once she comes reliably you start letting her out again during the day but continue to call her in at night time for her safety. My cats are all indoor/outdoor and if we were to move to another area where it was safe enough to let them outside; it would be probably a few months before I did more than supervised outdoor excursions.

If none of these sound like a good option your best option, for her sake, would be to find someone willing to take  her in as an indoor cat.  I know it is a sad answer but if you can't provide her safety and you are worried about her safety when you leave finding her a new home is likely for the best.
 

arouetta

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Is it even legal to poison cats?  I wonder if calling the police non-emergency number would do anything.  After all, the new owner can't guarantee he'd only poison the ferals and not companion cats (which could result in him being sued his rear off by an angry owner), and I'm betting that there's gotta be an animal cruelty law he's breaking even with the ferals.
 

yogakitty

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Feral colonies in my city are registered and it is illegal to touch them, so to speak. The cats have more rights than neighbourhood residents. Check the bylaws in your city just so you know for your own information. I would talk to my parents and try to take the kitty with you and keep her in the garage temporarily. It's not the best situation since there are usually no windows in a garage and you have to be very careful about any auto spills or fumes that may poison the cat. It would have to be an empty garage that's not being used for parking. And it would only be a temporary place.

Have you tried talking to this person who threatens to poison? Maybe explaining the situation? Saying you would eventually take the cat?
 

arouetta

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People who poison cannot be talked to rationally.  They hate, they hate enough to pick a cruel way to kill and that's that.

It's possible to turn a cat hater into indifference, but rarely turn a cat hater into a cat lover (my mom managed to do that with my dad).  However once someone has crossed the line into violence against animals and brags about it, the only hope is to find a law that protects the animals and hope to find a sympathetic cop who can put a legal scare into the person. 
 
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