Storm brewing with neighbour over cat

Steel_2

I'm so sorry, this is a bit of a long one, but there is background that needs explaining.

I have a very young neighbour with two children under five. She loves animals but doesn't seem to have a clue how to care for them.

Two years ago, she got a male kitten, didn't bother getting him neutered, then copped a strop when he started to roam and become aggressive . He started going into other people's homes and stealing food, so her solution was the lock all the doors and windows and just forget about him. She took it personally that the cat didn't want to be with her. He roamed around the village for about a year.

We didn't realise until last year what the situation was and assumed he was someone else's cat. There are lots of cats in our area and many come into our big garden to get to the fields beyond it. It wasn't until he turned up one day in a terrible state with huge abcesses and blood all over him that we started asking questions and go the story out of her. In disgust, we took him in, cleaned him up, neutered him and now he's a wonderful friendly house cat with a great personality.

Three days ago, we found a kitten, no more than about 1o-12 weeks old we think, on our drive at around 10pm. It was covered in hundreds, if not thousands of sticky seed heads and had so many on its belly and between its legs she couldn't walk properly and was crying pitifully.

After knocking around, another neighbour came out and told me that, sure enough, she's got another kitten. The neighbour kindly took the cat in, as the girl was out for the night, cleaned her up and spoke to her housemates the next day. They agreed to keep an eye on the kitten and not to let it out again in case it got attacked by a fox or run over and no more was said.

Last night at 11pm, there a pitiful mewing on our driveway and the kitten is there again. This time I took her up to the house to find them all out again, so had to wait until they came home to return her. The girl's husband took the kitten looking very sheepish and said he couldn't understand how it kept getting out. I pointed behind him to every window in the place being wide open while he was out was a possible reason. Twit.

After a brief chat about the little female kitten, it transpires that they haven't had the time to take it for it's injections and won't be having her neutered because they think it's cruel and besides it's quite expensive.

There's a standing joke with her neighbours either side of her house that whatever pet she has ends up running away or dead (she's had rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats etc etc) and people are now starting to take bets how long it will take before one or other of those scenarios happens now.

She has a next door neighbour, who is a bit of a mother figure to her, explain very patiently many times what her animals need, only to see the girl ignore the advice and the animals wind up injured or gone. Then she starts the whole cycle again with another new animal.

Can anyone offer me some alternatives on what I can do? RSPCA or cat's protection seem a bit too much at this point. I know what I want to do, but stealing and rehoming another person's cat is out of the question. Her husband has a bit of a temper, so getting tough with her would - from past experience of watching others - get his temper up. However, I get the impression he doesn't like the cat so there's potential perhaps to win him over and get the kitten away from her with his 'help'. Or I could offer to pay for the spaying and the injections just so we don't end up with ferral cats? I could make up a story about a 'charity' that would help out with the costs?

It will break my heart if this beautiful little kitten ends up under the wheels of a car or killed by a fox and I won't be able to control myself from wringing the girl's stupid, scrawny little neck. It's so weird because she is a good mum to both her kids but doesn't seem to be able to translate that kind of care to her animals.

mirrorimage0

if they are on any means tested benefits etc they can apply to the rspca or cats protection for a neitering voucher that will cover the costs and i know one company does injections for life where you pay a set amount inittially and then the injections every year are covered cant think of the name of it though.

cant believe they still keep getting pets though some people make me so angry. if they dont get it speyed just ask them to think about how much it will cost them to care for the kittens, it will work out far more expensive

lowis

personally i would take the kitten and rehome it. they are not responsible pet owners and sound very immature. they wouldn't know any better if it was rehomed a distance from their house - and you said absolutely nothing at all to anyone! they would just think it got lost or died somewhere.

frivolous_fay

I don't think the RSPCA is too much. It sounds like she's completely incompetent when it comes to animals, and she shouldn't be allowed to get any more.

tomstickland

I'd take it to a cat sanctuary for its own good.

Spudnik_2

Legalities aside, I think the main problem that you'll face if you simply take the animal away from her is that she'll just get a new one. Although you feel that it is too far, given the state that you've found her animals in I would urge you to contact the RSPCA and explain the situation. This is a case of cruelty through neglect. Perhaps she simply doesn't realise that what she's doing is negligent, and a visit from an animal welfare officer would be able to give her the wake-up call that she needs?

Also, thank you for taking in one of her animals in the past - few people would go out of their way to help an animal in need like that. Good luck with this one.

orlao

If you really don't want to involve the RSPCA (although I would) how about printing off some info about The Animal Act 2007 and either giving it to her or asking the neighbour who gets on with her to do so? That might give them a little shake up.

Since April 2007 it is an offence to keep any animal in a way that leads to neglect or injury and there are certain minimum standards that must be adhered to or you risk prosecution.....TBH, I would be inclined in these circumstances to pick up the kitten the next time you find it and take it straight to CPL or local rescue as a stray, they'll be able to rehome it easily enough as this family do seem to be hopeless. I know that's not legal really but at least the animal would be safe.

Steel_2

Thanks for all your replies guys.

I'll make some discrete enquiries about whether she's on benefits or not and find out about this company that does one off injections. Unfortunately, she's one of those people that would think a whole pile of kittens was cute until she couldn't cope with them and then everyone will suffer from a plague of ferral food theivers!

I'm going to have another chat to that girl's neighbour (I'll call her C) - she's an animal lover and a very straight talker. Between us I'm sure we can keep a very close eye on the kitten and if necessary persuade the girl to give it up by making out cats are too much hassle and need lots of care. I think she'll lose interest when the cat gets older and stops being cute. We can then step in and remove it with her blessing.

I know that having kittens very young can psychologically damage a cat so I might befriend the girl a bit more and talk cats with her to try and impart a few 'warning' stories.

My neighbour to the right didn't bother having her cat spayed and the resulting pregnancy (at 5.5 months) and birth completely change the animal from a nice, friendly outgoing cat to a haunted, scared animal that refused to take care of her kitttens and won't go near people or her owners (interestingly, when they are away on holiday, she becomes a lot more friendly. We have 'conversations' and head bops over tuna treats )

C and I have already an exchange of 'hints' about which one of us could cope with another animal. She has 2 dogs and 3 cats and I have 3 cats and 3 chickens (plus assorted injured birds, shrews, newts and baby bunnies that don't seem to hear my cats and their neck bells coming). I had the last one so it's her this time I think :rotfl:

spankymonkey_2

to be honest i dont think the R.S.P.C.A will do anything,they are only bothered when its too late and the animal is hurt(this is speaking through a personal experience)!

Engadine

The poor little kitten needs to be removed from her care, she is obviously unfit to look after animals. It's not the kitten's fault and it deserves to have a decent home where it is looked after properly and loved.

Some people just should not be allowed to have animals at all

ailuro2

Phone the RSPCA and ask them... if neighbours are 'joking' about the next animal dying, then she needs to be stopped, doesn't she?