What would you do? - next doors cat!

We recently had new people move in next door to us and they have a cat.

The cat sleeps in our sunny front garden during the day which we do not mind we are at work.

Upon coming home it has even come up for a pat a few times and I have petted it, I noticed though the cat is extremely skinny and boney and frail.

Last Friday afternoon I came home and when I went to go inside she tried to come in with me and then proceeded to meow at my front door step for some time, the nieghbour was out washing his car so I armed with a small amount of left over ham asked him if I culd give it to her, I didn't want to feed without asking, this then opened up a small conversation how the cats name was Bella and some small talk, she almost ripped the ham out of my hand wanting to eat it I had to put it on the ground and she ate it quickly.

I know feeding her was a bad idea as every day since she has practically not left out front door step she is there in the morning and afternoons meows waiting for something to eat. Even this afternoon with the rain she was curled up in a small patch of teh garden protecting her from the rain and jumped at the door step as soon as she saw me.

DH doesn't want me to encourage her by feeding her as we have two dogs who really go crazy over cats so if she walks down our driveway they bark obssesively. He also says it is not our problem and gets a bit cranky about the meowing cat at our door step.

While I know all of this I feel so extremely sorry for her as she is clearly underwieght and underfed. I don't want to feed her against DH's wishes as I understand and agree with his points, but I just feel so bad for the poor cat, I barely know the nieghbours and do not want to accuse them of not feeding thier cat but I do not like seeing an animal so clearly neglected, it's not just being underweight, she has long hair which has been left straggly and dirty with knots.

What should I do??? Is there anyone I can contact about it?

Hard call I can see you and your DH points. You also have to think may have fleas or worms too.

I would call RSPCA and let them know. Good luck

Tricky situation.

Me being me, I'd probably treat her for fleas with one of those squeezey easy things - not sure if there is the same type of product on the market that does worms as well but if she was stayingaround my place and I had a cat, I'd be inclined to give her a dose of something to help prevent anything spreading to my cat.

I'd also throw her a cup of dry food too but I am a sucker for neglected animals. Then I would be on the phone to the local RSPCA or pound.

She sounds like a darling animal who deserves a much better home. Then again, she could also be a very very old cat. One of the farm cats here eats at MIL's place AND comes up here (same property) and I also put out a cup of food for him. He is still a boney old thing. He also wandersand goes rabbiting and often comes back with rabbit fleas attached to his ears. If I have a spare treatment I give him a dose as fleas can make animals anemic (sp?).

HTH Nae x x x

Hard one. I'm on my phone so will be brief, but a skinny cat with a bad coat can also be a giveaway sign of a thyroid issue which is very common in middle to older age cats. Guess I'm just saying it might be best not to jump to conclusions (mind you I haven't seen the cat).

If it was me I would just make a passing comment to the owners 'gee she's a skinny little thing isn't she' and see how they respond and take it from there...

Thanks for the feedback ladies have to have a bit of a think.... I just gave her a bit of chicken while DH isn't home couldn't help myself (slaps self on the wrist)...

Nae and Miss E: Thanks for the information, I have never really had a cat only dogs so did not know that it could possibly be old age or a thyroid issue, I don't mean to jump to conclusions I guess thats why I was after a bit of advice to on what to do as I really wasn't sure and as I said did not want to just accuse them of not feeding her or anything, I am just a sucker thats all and a skinny frail cat meowing at my door pulls at my heart strings...

Thanks again.

I was going to write something along the lines of what MissE has written. Before having kids I was a vet nurse for many years, and there are a few different conditions that can cause what you might be seeing. Maybe you could just ask your neighbour if the cat is sick because you've noticed it's quite skinny. You could tell them you were just concerned that if it was sick you didn't want to feed it something that might make it worse. If they tell you there's nothing wrong with the cat, then you might want to consider calling the local council and seeing if they will come and collect the cat while it's in your yard. At least then if the owners are neglecting the cat they will have to stand up and take responsibility for it in order to get it back. Hopefully if it is sick then the council/local pound would make sure the owners got the cat the treatment it requires.

My cat made it to 16 years old. The last year or so she was terribly thin and a bit straggly so I think these things happen a bit with age. A friend's cat is also old and a bit thin. You could ask how old it is. If it seems old the condition could be due to age and possible age related health issues, but you wouldn't expect a younger cat to look like this.

Some cats love any food that's not theirs and act like they're not fed. You might be offering something that is more interesting than the cat's standard diet. If you want to reduce the cat coming up to your door definitely don't feed it. It will come for food even if it has been fed at home, but if you are happy with this arrangement then by all means continue and enjoy your little visits. My cat was fascinated with water. If a neighbour put water down she would drink it to excess even though she had plenty at home.

Ask the neighbours in a friendly way how old the cat is and start from there.

I wouldn't give it a flea treatment, you don't know if it has allergies or anything. That would be irresponsible to medicate someone else's pet.

If you call the local council, be prepared for your neighbours to declare war on you and for the cat to end up destroyed.

If you want to stop the cat visiting, spray generous amounts of vinegar around. Cats hate the smell.

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Jude 07/10/08 | Lilac 16/06/11

We thought the same thing about my sister's neighbours cat and my sister just asked the neighbour if the cat was ok as he looked a bit thin and raggedy. turned out the cat was 19 and had a myriad of health problems but was very much loved and cared for.

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Ham isn't good for pets. If you are going to feed her raw meat and bones are a better choice or even kibble if you feel like buying some.
My cat makes herself at home in other peoples' houses and since she has a chronic illness she sometimes looks a little rough so maybe it is best not to jump to conclusions without talking to the owner.

I would talk to the owners too - if they have brought the cat with them then they must care for the cat. So that would mean neglect would be less likely - if it were neglect, wouldn't they have left her at their old home rather than move her?

Don't give it flea treatment - it may already be getting something from its owners, or they may just be a bit late this month. Double dosing would potentially harm the cat.

Giving it the odd scrap is fine if you've checked with the neighbours, but anything else is overstepping the bounds. Cats are very good at making themselves appear neglected and in need of extra food and love. It'd be like neighbours offering your kids lollies every time they saw them without you around. ;)

Talk to the neighbours and establish a relationship. It's their cat, best to leave it at that.

I agree that you should talk to the owners and see what is up. It could be a health issue or it could be neglect (which isn't always deliberate but often comes from ignorance about the needs of the animal). Then make a decision from there about whether to act or not.

it couldn't hurt to leave her a bit of dry food out, just a cheapy from the supermarket. thats probably what i would do. just fill up a little bowl here and there if she seems hungry.

I wouldn't be offering anything to puss until I'd had a chance to suss things out with the owners.

As others have suggested, accidentally doubling up on flea treatments etc could be harmful, and if puss is ill or very old, there may be either (a) health issues and/or allergies (eg: MIL's cat had diabetes in older age, and he got very thin and was on a very, VERY strict diet) and (b) puss' carers might be keeping careful track of how much puss is eating, and if they're eating at your place then they might get unnecessarily stressed out by an apparent drop in appetite, or might draw incorrect conclusions ...

It's really tough when you're trying to do the right thing, without knowing whether it is the right thing!! Good on you for trying though. I hope the comments here aren't putting you off trying to help!

Hopefully puss' carers are doing the right thing by their cat, and you can have a nice chat, and you, your DH, your neighbours and puss can all live in a well fed, non-noisy utopia...

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it couldn't hurt to leave her a bit of dry food out, just a cheapy from the supermarket. thats probably what i would do. just fill up a little bowl here and there if she seems hungry.

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The cheap food from the supermarket is also not good for cats! (or dogs) Again, best to check with the owners. I would be pretty upset if someone took it upon themselves to feed or medicate my pet without asking me first.

Thanks for all of the replies.....

The first time I fed her the ham was when I asked the nieghbours if I could feed her and they allowed that and it was only a small amount I know that large amounts of things like that are not good for animals even my dogs only get raw natural stuff and apart from the ham she has had a small amount of chicken when I say small it was shredded chicken about the size of a 20c piece.

I def wasn't going to flea treat her as I don't feel that I should do that.

As I said it is hard to tell as I knew nothing about cats whether it is just old age which is probably seeming more likely, I only know my dogs.... So thank you so much to all of you for your replies and advice.

I will try and catch the nieghbours and have a chat with them next time they are out the front we don't see them much due to DH and I being at work, but will make the effort to chat to them about it when I see them.

I resisted and did not feed her today but may have to look at spraying some vinegar in the yard or something, I don't mind her being there really I was just concerned about her health more than anything, but DH is getting cranky as the last few days she has been there on our doorstep what seems every moment, I left for work at 6:30am this morning she was there, DH was home until about 12:30 then went to work she was still there, I got home this afternoon there, then went out grocery shopping and came back and she was right there again, so I don't think DH is going to be to happy with that.....

Thanks again for all the feed back, it is great to get advice and be a bit more educated... It has helped to in working towards making a good decision.. It's hard when your such a sucker for animals like I am... DH says we couldn't own a farm as I he thinks I would have a barn thats like a five star hotel for the animals and we would be living in a hut (he could be right lol) ;)

citrus is another scent cats often hate ... if you need to take steps to get her to clear off!!

and don't stress - I don't think anyone was misunderstanding your great big heart for your neighbour's cat :hug: