Help! Neighbour trying to steal my cat!!

sooz

Can you go & talk to her & her OH (with yours) but without the cats?

It might help keep you all calmer if the cat isn't there. As others have said, you can't stop the cat roaming, & if he likes this (mad) lady, you can't help the cat's poor taste

Since she obviously likes the cat, & you don't want to keep him in the whole time, how about a compromise where she agrees not to feed or medicate him, & not lock him in, so he's free to come back to his home for dinner & bed? Explain that she could have poisoned him with the flea treatment, & she has no idea about what diet he may be on at home.

longforgotten

I do definitely agree that the lady should not encourage the cat any more now she has been told not to.

Yet I have read the thread, but have I missed the bit about the cat wearing a collar. If the cat kept hanging around her house, had no collar on and appeared untame, then I can understand why the lady might think the cat was homeless. If this was the womans opinion at the time then the value of the cat is immaterial, it would just be a cat that needed a home, just another moggie as far as I'm concerned. I do not need to have paid alot of money for a cat to love it. There are some cats that I do not even realise cost alot and to be honest I didn't know that applied to siamese ( so I'm dull)

As for medicating someone elses cat, I'm afraid I'm about to do just that for worms on the basis that I think the owner is not going to do so.... what can I say

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1258245

zubzubuk

Dear Mrs Neighbour

Further to our recent conversations regarding my cat WhatEverHisName name is I feel that it is important for me to explain my feelings to you so as to avoid any misunderstanding or animosity between us.

As you know WhatEverHisName is a pedigree Siamese cat both registered and micro chipped(get that done it only costs £15) in my name. I spent a great deal of time trying to find exactly the two cats I wanted and travelled a considerable distance to collect them at considerable expense. WhatEverHisName is neither unloved nor uncared for and is registered with my veterinary surgeon from who I obtain regular checks/flea and worming treatments/immunisations for both my cats.

I really do appreciate that you feel that you care for and have bonded with my cat but by your own admission this has been through a lengthy period of enticement on your part at a time when I am informed by other neighbours in our small village that it was common knowledge that I owned the two Siamese cats in the area. I have been distressed on a number of occasions when WhatEverHisName has been ‘missing’ at your home and while I really do understand your attachment this situation cannot be allowed to continue.

My veterinary surgeon has advised that were you to inadvertently administer either flea treatment or worming preparation on the same day as myself that this would be life threatening. You have already informed me that you have given my cat flea treatment without my permission and he has expressed his concern about this. I must ask you never to administer any form of medication to my cats in future for their well being.

My cats are very lucky in the freedom which our location offers them but I am now in a situation where, on my veterinarian’s advice I must keep WhatEverHisName in for a period of time to undo the disorientating influence which you have had in continuing to feed him and encourage him into your home, contrary to my express wishes. If I am able to gradually allow WhatEverHisName out again I would appreciate your cooperation in actively discouraging him.

I know that this not what you wish to hear and that it will be difficult for you but WhatEverHisName is not merely a stray moggy, he is a much loved and cared for member of my family. If you wish I can put you in touch with the breeder from who I purchased WhatEverHisName or I can put you in touch with the Siamese cat rescue people so you can have a cat of your own.

(Optional)If you would like to visit WhatEverHisName then you are welcome to come and see him and share a cup of tea with us. It would be a shame for our mutual love of WhatEverHisName to become a source of animosity between us when all we both really want is for him to be happy.

Yours sincerely

In effect your neighbour has not only stollen but assaulted your cat as she has actively enticed the cat away from you even after she knew the situation. Yes in an ideal world cat's get to choose where they live but the bottom line is you paid for him, you have the paperwork to prove it therefore you own her and if someone seeks to intentionally and permanently deprive you of him as your property then that's theft. If things turn nasty I would approach your local county court, they are very good at telling you which form to fill in and it can be relatively inexpensive or cost free if you are on certain benefits. I think the form you need is for a general undertaking which in my understanding is less serious than a restraining order but you could require her to sign a legal undertaking not to feed, medicate or allow your cat into her home. OK so its a bit major but I guess the threat of that and recovering your costs from the neighbour might work.

remembered_nights

I don't think you're going to get through to her any way but legally... but the letter's worth a try. I mean you've asked her politely many more times that should have been necessary! I'd be furious if someone tried this with our cats :mad:

moggylover

Mutter wrote: »

A cat is a cat. Oh and the "play in the fields" How cute.
If you want a true companion, get a dog.
A cat is a user, a dog is a giver.

Cats are killers. YOU who live in the country should know better.
Your cat and other mogs is probably responsible for dozens. maybe hundreds of wildlife being killed every night.
If you want a true companion, get a dog.
A cat is a user, a dog is a giver.
If you want a true companion, get a dog.
A cat is a user, a dog is a giver.Please keep your cat at home at night.
Thankyou.

I think you may have miss-typed your user name you know? I'm sure that should start with an "N"

moggylover

I really did not encourage my neighbours cat - but there was one in the village years ago when we first moved here that I was forever finding on my bed. I didn't dare leave a window or door open cos she was in like a shot!

I seldom fed her, although she did sometimes get a tit-bit or something, but she really did not want to go home most of the time and if I shooed her out she just sat on the window:o . The neighbour did know, and I did repeatedly put her out (although not at night if it was foul weather because they did not keep their cats in at night). Then I had to move out whilst the house was renovated, and she did not go home - but moved up the road to live with a little old lady .

I think the letter suggested above sounds like a good move. I really do not think they meant badly in the first place, but she is going to have to try not to encourage the cat in future.

Otherwise could you come to some arrangement that you do not mind your cat popping in there for a fuss so long as they do not feed her, medicate her or shut her in at all? I used to have a cat years ago who used to spend all day with a neighbour whilst I was at work, and then come home to me for the evening and night - and not because he was lonely cos he had two other cats that he could have curled up with on my own bed - he just preferred my neighbours bed all to himself:rolleyes: . They are so much their own bosses that it is sometimes difficult to stop them from doing what they want.

I do hope that you manage to sort the problem out without having to resort to Courts and so forth, good luck

SpoonyOh

zubzubuk's letter was better than what I was going to write. Mine started 'dear nutjob....'
I'm a dog lover but I know full well what cats are like (kept finding one under my bed when I lived with mom and dad - we never owned a cat). That doesn't excuse this lady's behaviour. I'd take the cat to the vet and make sure his chip data hasn't been altered; it's too easy to do. They have to notify you first, but we all know how marvellous the Royal Mail is.

nothavingfun..

that letter is fab - i think you should leave the bit at the end in - it makes the whole letter appear so much more friendly.

Kimberley

I'm amazed that some people say you don't own your cat and that a cat will just go anywhere for food, yes it will if you don't feed it and it goes out hungry. Why on earth should the OP sell her cat to a women who has clearly done all she can to entice the cat away? I bet you that if this cat were in need of veterinary treatment you will not see her for dust nor will she open the door to you. The owner will have to pay the vet bills.

I have two Bengal Kittens and have built a cat house in my garden for them, they are my cats and no one elses and if they were to ever go missing then they will still be mine as long as they are registered to me. Having microchips will ensure I remain the owner.

Cats belong to the owners and I'm fed up with people saying otherwise.

MrsE_2

Frugalista

Legal things cost a lot........

I know you shouldn't have to do this, but think about it. Buy her a Siamese kitten. It could work out cheaper in the long run & it will stop your boy trying to get in her house.

I too am amazed at the amount of people who have said its up to the cat to choose his home & shes doing no wrong!!!!

You could probably get a Siamese (cheaply) for about £300?
Thats it then, problem solved.
Legal letters & bills could cost a lot more.