Although I like every single neighbourhood cat - and it does seem that lost kitties manage to find my door (Sometimes, I think there is some invisble sign indicating "Cat Spoken Here" with the vacancy in neon, placed by previous guests or else cats have this network we not know about and their feline equivilant of the AAA Guidebook has 5 stars next to my address
)
That said, one of my neighbours - who I also consider a friend - allows her three cats to roam outdoors. We have had lengthly discussions about the dangers to outdoor kitties - covering every variable - and I certainly can't point out the incredible differences in lifespan given that 2 of hers are (her family's I should say, her husband and daughter and son who away in university) already approaching 17 years of age! The older kitties have been a joy and I care for them when the family is away. I worry about the younger cat however. Their daughter returned home after some marriage problems and brought her kitty with her and this is the newcomer. He is not neutered and is at the age where he is roaming everywhere. I am not worried so much about my own property and it is a very cat friendly neighbourhood but there are sme seniors who may not always see him when backing out of their driveway or check their cars when the winter comes (You kow how cats are drawn to heat!). I worry about him hurting himself - he is not a show cat and really should be neutered and I asked the daughter when she plans to neuter him and she indicated when she can afford to. I explained to her how it might be more costly later when he comes home injured or develops a disease like cystitis. I also envision some of the more sedate neighbours being upset by his caterwalling when the season is on - and as you know, there are not many breaks in that season!! She used to take him out on a leash but she grew rather impatient with that idea and patience is an essential element in teaching a kitten to walk on a leash! Now though, she has opted to just let hm roam anywhere he wants with the excuse that he needs to explore. Although it is not my place to say, I do think it would help her immensely to walk with him. But she has decided she would rather spend time indoors - tho she is searching for work.
Now, what concerns me is that her parents can well afford to help her neuter him - and they do love cats and had their own two neutered and spayed at the appropriate time.
Do you think I should offer to loan her money for the procedure? I have already spoken to both parents and they say she needs to learn how to budget her own money and take responsibility. She is actually quite good with her financial situation - completed university with no loans thx to her parents tho she is also saving to take another course. I WAS thinking since she has good (but not great) web development skills that I might hire her for a few days to help my office manager (and A, my manager says she could find sometrhing for her, we always have lots to do!) with some of the web sites we have with our research and other activities. ( I also chair our hospital's web site committee). I think I could even obtain a grant from the Medical Society to help with a database being created regionally and have her do some of that work. And the caveat would be that she should use some of that money to neuter her cat. I do know however that I would not hire her fulltime.(I like her but she needs to learn how to be more professional, she dresses inappropriately (she prob would wear capris and a low cut T shirt that shows her belly button, sigh!), her grammar is atrocious and on a work term I had helped her obtain a few yrs ago, she spent a lot of time using the internet at work inappropriately (ie chatting, etc) and she was not offered a permanent job at the end of her degree for many of those reasons. (Her response when she was informed by her supervisor was to shrug her off as being "old fashioned" and not very kewl.) I almost think her parents - while they helped her financially - spoiled her and since they are well off, she assumes she can do whatever she wants, which even in a kind hearted person like her is NOT a recipe for success!! Her father is well connected in the political world and also obtained a position for her one summer in a good govt dept and she left the same impression with the people there and he says these evaluations should teach her something but they have not!!! (Anyway, this is a more offside comment and I digress) Her ex husband had a great position but he does not want to support her financially and has taken a lesser paying job quite deliberately. Her mother thinks he should support her and that she (the daughter) can neuter the cat when she gets the money he owes her - to which I thought, "yeah but what about her? Can she not support herself?) I think my office manager could teach her some excellent skills at the same time as she earns money to pay for the surgery - and in the meantime, this job would not mean any significant public role so we need not worry about how she dresses. (Nova Scotia can be quite conservative that way and I guess I think along those lines myself)
What do you think? Am I trying to micromanage this poor girl's life to help her cat or is this any of my business? To be honest, while I do not think she means to, she is neglecting this cat by allowing him to run everywhere and anywhere without the close supervision he was used to. He is like a wild teenager - discovering his hormones and following their lead!
Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
That said, one of my neighbours - who I also consider a friend - allows her three cats to roam outdoors. We have had lengthly discussions about the dangers to outdoor kitties - covering every variable - and I certainly can't point out the incredible differences in lifespan given that 2 of hers are (her family's I should say, her husband and daughter and son who away in university) already approaching 17 years of age! The older kitties have been a joy and I care for them when the family is away. I worry about the younger cat however. Their daughter returned home after some marriage problems and brought her kitty with her and this is the newcomer. He is not neutered and is at the age where he is roaming everywhere. I am not worried so much about my own property and it is a very cat friendly neighbourhood but there are sme seniors who may not always see him when backing out of their driveway or check their cars when the winter comes (You kow how cats are drawn to heat!). I worry about him hurting himself - he is not a show cat and really should be neutered and I asked the daughter when she plans to neuter him and she indicated when she can afford to. I explained to her how it might be more costly later when he comes home injured or develops a disease like cystitis. I also envision some of the more sedate neighbours being upset by his caterwalling when the season is on - and as you know, there are not many breaks in that season!! She used to take him out on a leash but she grew rather impatient with that idea and patience is an essential element in teaching a kitten to walk on a leash! Now though, she has opted to just let hm roam anywhere he wants with the excuse that he needs to explore. Although it is not my place to say, I do think it would help her immensely to walk with him. But she has decided she would rather spend time indoors - tho she is searching for work.
Now, what concerns me is that her parents can well afford to help her neuter him - and they do love cats and had their own two neutered and spayed at the appropriate time.
Do you think I should offer to loan her money for the procedure? I have already spoken to both parents and they say she needs to learn how to budget her own money and take responsibility. She is actually quite good with her financial situation - completed university with no loans thx to her parents tho she is also saving to take another course. I WAS thinking since she has good (but not great) web development skills that I might hire her for a few days to help my office manager (and A, my manager says she could find sometrhing for her, we always have lots to do!) with some of the web sites we have with our research and other activities. ( I also chair our hospital's web site committee). I think I could even obtain a grant from the Medical Society to help with a database being created regionally and have her do some of that work. And the caveat would be that she should use some of that money to neuter her cat. I do know however that I would not hire her fulltime.(I like her but she needs to learn how to be more professional, she dresses inappropriately (she prob would wear capris and a low cut T shirt that shows her belly button, sigh!), her grammar is atrocious and on a work term I had helped her obtain a few yrs ago, she spent a lot of time using the internet at work inappropriately (ie chatting, etc) and she was not offered a permanent job at the end of her degree for many of those reasons. (Her response when she was informed by her supervisor was to shrug her off as being "old fashioned" and not very kewl.) I almost think her parents - while they helped her financially - spoiled her and since they are well off, she assumes she can do whatever she wants, which even in a kind hearted person like her is NOT a recipe for success!! Her father is well connected in the political world and also obtained a position for her one summer in a good govt dept and she left the same impression with the people there and he says these evaluations should teach her something but they have not!!! (Anyway, this is a more offside comment and I digress) Her ex husband had a great position but he does not want to support her financially and has taken a lesser paying job quite deliberately. Her mother thinks he should support her and that she (the daughter) can neuter the cat when she gets the money he owes her - to which I thought, "yeah but what about her? Can she not support herself?) I think my office manager could teach her some excellent skills at the same time as she earns money to pay for the surgery - and in the meantime, this job would not mean any significant public role so we need not worry about how she dresses. (Nova Scotia can be quite conservative that way and I guess I think along those lines myself)
What do you think? Am I trying to micromanage this poor girl's life to help her cat or is this any of my business? To be honest, while I do not think she means to, she is neglecting this cat by allowing him to run everywhere and anywhere without the close supervision he was used to. He is like a wild teenager - discovering his hormones and following their lead!
Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
