My neighbour won't stop feeding the cats!

screamer

Sorry for the long post, mine usually are because I like to provide a bit of history to give people a better picture of the situation :-)

Well, I didn't know just how many cats were in close proximity to us until my neighbour started feeding my friends cat. What started as a friendly meal for a straggly cat has turned into a free for all for half of the cats on the estate and despite being asked, this woman just will not stop. She's not a stubborn old lady btw, she's a 40 year old woman who already has 1 cat, it's a mystery to us why she's actually behaving like this.

The reason I'm angry is because I have a cat and a dog and the visiting cats are making life impossible for us all. Recently my cat had an accident because she was running away so fast from the GANG of cats that she tripped up and ran into a door, smashing her face and needing emergency treatment to save her teeth. 2 weeks later she came in with another injury, then developed an allergy to the food the neighbour puts out (she gets bored with the food I give her, but I give it to her because she's not allergic to it) and now scratches are becoming more and more common. I initially thought my cat was causing trouble but now she's started hanging around the bottom of the street because there are no cats there. These cats are bullying mine, my neighbour is poisoning her and my dog isn't allowed to play outside on his own now because when any of these cats start picking on mine he goes mental and I'm scared of what he'll do if he catches any of them (he likes cats but he's very protective of HIS cat and if any get too close then he will show them he's not scared of them! We've got our own enclosed garden btw, the cats only get chased if they are on our garden!)

The vets visits are getting costly. She's insured but each treatment isn't coming anywhere close to the excess so we're spending £80-£90 per time to take her to the vets only to take her back again a week later for something else. The neighbour has been asked not to feed the cats but as more cats come by, she puts more food out.

Considering she is supposed to love cats and she saw the miserable life my cat had before I took her on, you'd think she'd be upset that she's making the other cats ill and scared but nope, she really doesn't give two hoots. This makes me angrier than anything, she is causing my pets to suffer and is actually taking great pleasure in seeing the trouble she's causing. That is not the definition of an animal lover if you ask me!

So, what do I do about her? I was thinking of writing a note saying that if she fails to stop, she'll be getting the vets bills in future. I attempted to have a wall and fence built to make my cat less likely to go onto her garden in the first place (and to keep the other cats out) and that ended with her threatening me and me sitting in my living room for 3 days in tears. In normal conditions we'd up sticks and move for a quieter life but we bought this house so moving out isn't an option. And to think we were told that the neighbours were lovely people when we came to view the house :-(

I honestly don't need the stress right now, have go so much to worry about that my pets getting hurt really shouldn't be my main problem. My cat hasn't had so much as a mat in her fur for 2 years, now she stays away from the house for hours on end because our entire house is being guarded by hungry cats :-( It's a miserable existence for us all!

Oh, and I have tried to keep her inside but she was left to her own devices for a year before I took her on and she really doesn't like staying in. She's got a litter tray but she goes outside to use the loo (you'd laugh, she pees and poos in MY flower bed lol)

blossomhill_2

I'd have a word with a cat organisation (NOT RSPCA!) and see what they can advise

You could use a syringe of water to scare the cats away in the short term, but obviously need a longer term solution

duchy

Why not the RSPCA -a visit from a uniformed RSPCA inspector might be the very thing this daft woman needs to realize how stupid her actions are.

If some of the cats she is feeding are feral they may very well catch them and neuter them which may damp down some of the aggression.

Personally I'd spend a few days with a super sploosher seeing the cats off till they got the message. At the moment your garden has become a part of their routine -breaking that habit will help stop the gatherings-Cats aren't daft and will find somewhere else if the situation becomes uncomfortable for them. (and if neighbour doesn't like it I'd be seriously tempted to soak her too ! )

screamer

Hahaha, never thought about the water pistol, and that's ingenious. I use a sprayer on my own cat to get her away from the bedroom door at 4 in the morning so why did I not think of it? Might be a trip to Asda on the cards! Thanks for that :-)

And luckily, neighbours cat won't be scared because she stays in all day and I'll be fair I won't do it when the neigbour is around, she scares the heck out of me. OH has just returned from the bakers with the dog and said "You know I've just taken the dog for a walk, well I've just seen her next door taking 4 crates of lager for a walk!" We have a history of not getting on and it's because she's vicious, unreasonable and almost always drunk.

duchy

Hope it works out for you.

I've just had the neighbours from hell move out -It was three years of misery -fights, swearing, drink, drugs, police visits and noise-not to mention three dogs . I barely stepped out in my garden for the last three years so have a lot of work to make it usable again. Bad neighbours are awful.

StudioBeau

What you do is keep your cat inside, feeding cats on the street isn't against any law, yes your cat is allergic but still, if I put food outside for my cat and your cat ate it, that couldn't be seen as my fault. And if someone came round and told me not to put food out for my cat (2 other neighbours and I feed feral cats which we got neutered, they can not be brought into a home but we have outside shelters for them) or my ferals, I would totally ignore them as well. If you don't want your cat to eat it, don't let your cat out.

I know that is harsh and I am really sorry but that really is the only way. Your dog is on private property in your enclosed garden and if a cat gets attacked, it gets attacked.

You can however report her for this abuse she seems to be doing towards you - I would recommend doing that! Check that fence/wall is maintained by you, tell her you are putting up a wall, then if she goes ape at you, call the police.