Declawed outdoor neighborhood cat help.

Hello, This is my first post so forgive me if this is not the right place for this question.

There is a cat in my neighborhood that belongs to my neighbor, who lives outside and roams all over the

neighborhood. He is well behaved and very pretty, Russian blue, and before I go on, he IS healthy.

It appears he is fed by everyone and is in good shape, HOWEVER, his front paws been declawed, so needless

to say, being an outdoor cat, I am concerned for his safety. He appears to be 2-3 years old. i cannot tell if he has

been neutered or not, (he has testicles, but they are smaller than usual, pea sized).

I had started letting him inside to hang out and spoil him a little bit with canned cat food and treats occasionally.

He loves the attention. Yesterday the owner was outside and told me not to let him in my house. I started to think

to myself...why not? The owner NEVER lets him inside. It is obvious he USED to be an indoor cat, as I got a litter box

for him to use while he was visiting. I showed him the litterbox ONCE, and he used it right away when he needed to.

He is a smart animal.

So....the question is. Should I allow him to continue life outside with no claws? I am concerned for his safety as I

have seen stray dogs in my neighborhood before and he has no way to defend himself. Why would the owner not

want me to let him inside if he himself NEVER lets the cat inside, even in the winter? What are my rights and

what are his? I live in Tennessee and tried to find some applicable laws but havnt found anything concrete yet.

Thank you in advance!

Hi @Russianblues  Welcome to TCS.

I'm afraid that, tempting as it might be, you can't really encourage this cat to come into your house if he belongs to your neighbour. I agree that cats shouldn't be allowed to roam around outdoors, particularly if they have been declawed, but unless there are local by-laws that prohibit cats being outside your neighbour is within his rights to leave the cat outside.

You could try talking to your neighbour and explaining why you are worried about the cat. Let him know your concerns about stray dogs and the cats inability to climb or defend himself. 

If your neighbour no longer wants the cat could you offer him a permanent home? If your neighbour would be willing to surrender the cat to you you could keep him indoors and make sure he is safe.

How does your neighbour feel about the cat going to visit other people and being fed by them?

The reason why the owner doesnt wants him you let him inside is easy.  The cat will choose your place to stay on.  And or, will insist to try and come inside into the owners home...   Its one of the variants of why we usually dont recommend to give wandering cats food as long as you know / think they do belong to somebody.    It may be a "sure" way to get an owned cat into a homeless cat...  There are of course exceptions.  This here is one of them.

I wont discuss much rights and legalities, as Im not living i USA.  Although you could probably talk with the city authorities about neglect and so.  You surely have some sort of Animal control, perhaps even Animal Police, alike on the TV shows?

I understand you are prepared to give this cat a home, to adopt it, if need be?

Anyway, the easiest and best is if you can simply buy the cat from this neighbour.  If its feasible for you, it would be the quickest.  If he really wants to get rid of the cat, he will agree.  The only problem is the risk, when he sees an eager buyer, he may raise up the price...

That's nice of you to be looking out for the neighbor's Declawed cat,

great way to lose a Cat period. 

Sad he's maintaining it as an outdoor only cat as you say.

So it's his property but isn't being responsible by keeping it contained.

Anyone can take this cat into their home, he can threaten

all he wants. Someone can take it to the pound / Spca as well. This cat can roam Freely

through anyone's open door or window for a snack  it's free to do so.

Tattoo in ear if he's fixed (assuming it would be)

Rescues normally include strict rules when rehoming a declawed cat that

it must be kept indoors..breeders don't allow amputations period.

Don't know what legal rights would be, but think the bottom line is you feel

he doesn't provide a good enough home then you need to prove it.

Thank you all for the answers! I believe I have enough information to make an informed decision. Since the cat is healthy I can't really see keeping him away from the owner, however, if I see that he is in imminent danger I will warn him about it and take the cat inside. I don't think he wants to get rid of the cat but I also don't know the guy very well and don't want to second guess his motives.

Once again Thank you for the answers!