Not sure what to do

pinetree

Hi, good for you for helping, you probably know but dont forget to leave water down when you feed the dry food, cats get most of the water from moist food but not the dry, also dont feed it milk as some cats cant tolerate it and it can make them loose

best wishes:)

kerrirobberts

I tried to feed her some lactose free milk yesterday, she wasn't having any of it hence why I went and bought her some food. She has water left down for her in the bathroom, apparently it's the only place she will drink it.
Thank you everyone for your advice, it's really appreciated. If my housemate doesn't sort her act out soon I will mention it to her again that she is being cruel to the cat, hopefully this is just a temporary measure.

Froglet

Kerri it is very good of you to help out but what i fear next is that if she gets out again(or it may already be too late)she will end up pregnant.Then you will have a lot more than just one mouth to feed! As your housemate has never even taken her to the vets,however she 'acquired' her, it is highly likely she has not been spayed or even inoculated.The situation could get a lot worse in a short space of time and she needs to think very carefully about the poor cat's future health and well being.Food is the least expensive part of owning an animal and if she cannot even afford that ,well ,it is ridiculous,frankly.

spike7451

Good on you Kerry!
My Daisy doesn't drink any water so I feed her a mixed diet of wet & dry.I now give her Tesco's own brand in jelly as it's the only one in a long time she's eating all of it!I also agree in chatting to your flatmate as well as & I'd also urge you to look at asking the PDSA to help in spaying ect as they do it at a reduced rate compared to the vets.
To give you an idea,this is what I spend per fortnight on Daisy Cat;

Purina One 300g-£1.89
Tesco cuts in jelly X12 tins-£5.19
Tesco value lightweight cat litter- £1.44
Total;£8.52


I am on ESA at present so money is very tight at present.Split the above between the two of you & it's around £2.10 a week each.

kerrirobberts

Thanks Spike.
I really don't want to share the cat with my housemate as she seems a bit flakey and as I am a higher earner than she is, she will probably expect me to pay whilst she gets the luxury of having a cat. She has previous complained to my OH about not being able to afford tube fare, expecting him to help her out. This is a household where we are all random people grouped together, it's not one where a group of friends decided to live together. So I don't want to get tied into anything really.

That being said I will get some purina and some pouches at the weekend to keep the little kitty happy. The cat has been out of the house before in her previous house so I think she is spayed as no kittens and doesn't go into season.

spike7451

kerrirobberts wrote: »

Thanks Spike.
I really don't want to share the cat with my housemate as she seems a bit flakey and as I am a higher earner than she is, she will probably expect me to pay whilst she gets the luxury of having a cat. She has previous complained to my OH about not being able to afford tube fare, expecting him to help her out. This is a household where we are all random people grouped together, it's not one where a group of friends decided to live together. So I don't want to get tied into anything really.

That being said I will get some purina and some pouches at the weekend to keep the little kitty happy. The cat has been out of the house before in her previous house so I think she is spayed as no kittens and doesn't go into season.

Know what you mean,when I left the RAF I ended up in a house like that until I got squared away with my own place.
Try her on the Tesco's pouches,much cheaper than Whiskas although tins are better value & work out cheaper in the long run,plus they're the same stuff as in the tinned,just in a different package.
And stay away from Kit E Kat!! They seemed to have changed the recipy & they're now honking,I threw out 90% ish of each tin I opened for Miss Daisy!

cinderellacomplex

I feed Applaws and though the bags cost about £35 for 7.5kg when buying online it does work out at less than £10/month per cat when you consider how much they need to be fed. It's an 80% chicken food and they seem to thrive on it as well.

jess1974

I don't think you should tell the housemate you are also feeding the cat, she sounds like the sort who will just sit back and let you take over, next thing you know you'll be paying vets bills etc, as well as all the food.

kerrirobberts

jess1974 wrote: »

I don't think you should tell the housemate you are also feeding the cat, she sounds like the sort who will just sit back and let you take over, next thing you know you'll be paying vets bills etc, as well as all the food.

I'm not going to mention it, I have a neutrodol air freshener in my room right by the food so you can't see it, and it's out of sight from the doorway so she won't see it. My room is locked when I am not at home as the landlord has a habit of just turning up unannounced, another reason why I wouldn't personally choose to have a cat.

Having assessed my monthly pocket, a few pouches and some dried food won't stop me from eating happily. I'll use my "well done on paying off some more debt" pizza money on some pouches and dried food instead. I will be moving out of the house in the next 6 months or so, hopefully to somewhere with a garden, so then I can get my own kitty cat to keep me company when the OH is away.

gettingready

Personally I am not sure if it is a good idea NOT to tell her you feeding the cat.

She may think that what she feeds is enough - as cat does not look hungry - and fail to make any effort of getting more food.

I would tell her and say it is a temporary situation and that you can only do it for a week or so - making it very clear to her.

Or feed the cats and pass the receipts to her.

If you feed the cat and she is not aware of it - she will assume cat is ok, does not need more than what she gives and never make any effort.