Post Code TW19 - cat living around a bus stop

gettingready

Yes he did see the cat eating.

I wish my friend thought of asking on what special diet the cat is/what brand or something like that.

Frugalista

Now you're just being silly. Pouting and throwing your toys out of the pram doesn't help your cause.

No-one is in any doubt that you care about this cat and have gone into rescue overdrive - we are just questioning how you are going about getting this resolved.

Yes, the cat may look scruffy and unwell but both the owners have told you (or, rather, your friend) that he has been to the vet. Further they have told you that they have had him since he was a kitten (19 years) and he is on a special diet. It also sounds like the fur shaving exercise has been done before as they know he has to be sedated. And they don't want to re-home him.

Why don't you contact one of the smaller rescues to see if someone can keep an eye on him and step in if needs be?

I'm sorry you cannot accept that to take him without their permission would be stealing him. You may think that that is OK but I (and, it would appear, others on this board) find that totally unacceptable.

meritaten

those photos show a really neglected cat. there is no excuse for even an old outdoor cat to look as bad as that!

Person_one

gettingready wrote: »

My pets are never left unsupervised and anyone seeing them could not for one second think they are neglected in any way.

THAT cat looks terrible and shows all sign of being neglected, this is not in my head - photos are on this thread.

You are looking at this situation as "cat - someone's property". I am looking at it as "cat - a living creature".

And that is why we will never agree.

How would you feel GR? If it did happen. Forget for a second that you're convinced it couldn't, and imagine that it did. How scary and awful would it be? What would go through your head?

gettingready

For those with selective reading abilities, repeat:

gettingready wrote: »

Thanks - I do not particularly care what SOME people think/posted here as the cat is my main concern, not opinions or accusations.

My plan - I will write a letter to the owners, post it, wait.

Got some good advice from another friend who is very experienced in situations of pet neglect and rescue when owners are not willing to give up the pet - as to what/how to write.

Will see.

gettingready

For the LAST time - I do not care how do people keeping an old, unwell cat outside in cold and exposed to rain , possible RTA etc feel.

If they cared about the cat, they would have taken it in after the first time my friend spoke to the woman, when the woman saw a stranger feeding HR cat.

And read my quote above re accusations of wanting to steal a cat.

My friend had lots of opportunities to take the cat away - and she choosed to approach the owner first. The plan is to work with the owner one way or another to get that cat looked after as it should - in his/her age.

End of.

meritaten

I can only think that some people on here are less concerned with the welfare of the cat than 'scoring points' on the legalities of the poor things situation. Rather like Social Services doing nothing to prevent child abuse because they prefer to sit about in 'meetings' and deliberate.

Froglet

meritaten wrote: »

I can only think that some people on here are less concerned with the welfare of the cat than 'scoring points' on the legalities of the poor things situation. Rather like Social Services doing nothing to prevent child abuse because they prefer to sit about in 'meetings' and deliberate.

Exactly.That is why there are so many cases of "oh poor child/dog.cat/etc,wish we had done something" and "lessons will be learned".

No they won't.Not unless people like GR and her friend do what they can first.

Froglet

gettingready wrote: »

Nope. The first time when my friend saw the woman - the cat dd not react to her and the woman did not act bothered by my friend feeding her cat.

Today, cat was busy eating the food my friend put down and was not interested in man who opened the door and the man did not call the cat.


The cat always runs to my friend when she is at the bus stop - THAT is why she noticed it, its condition and started feeding the cat.

This sums it up in a nutshell.If anyone on this pet board had an animal on a special diet and someone was feeding them normal cat food at their very feet they would go spare!! As pointed out,you cannot feed a cat on a special diet if it is out all hours trying to find anything that passes for food.

They don't want it.End of.But they don't want anyone else to have it either.i don't suppose they would even notice if it went missing..............(read whatever you like into that statement)

Gold_Dust_2

Forgive me if this has already been suggested, but why doesn't she just report it to the RSPCA? My cats have been reported twice over the years and an RSPCA officer came out to find out who the owner was and to see what was being done about the issue. As infuriating as it was at the time, both times, I had to understand that whoever had reported it was just doing what they thought was best for the cat. I don't think that I can type the words here that come to mind when I imagine someone taking my cat, as ill and scruffy looking as he was at that point, with the idea that they were 'rescuing' him.

The RSPCA can verify the owner's claim that the cat has been to the vet and is on a special diet, and can prompt them to take better care of the animal as well as making sure that they follow through with it, as well as being able to confiscate it if they feel that it was being mistreated. The officer that visited us made sure to take the details of the vet practice that our cat had been seen at, probably to make sure that we weren't just fobbing her off.

In case anybody is wondering, our cat had a sinus problem the one time and an abcess the other, both of which were being treated at the time but caused the cat to become an unsightly mess no matter how much we wiped and medicated him. The person who reported our cat though never did us the courtesy of coming to knock and ask what was going on, despite the fact that our cat mostly sat on our doorstep and we were quite obviously his owner.

Also, all of my cats are on a special diet but would jump at the chance to be fed something else because they are greedy sods, anyone who saw them gobble some food outside would think that they are being starved. I'm not criticising you here as the owners don't seem to have objected to your friend feeding the cat, just pointing out that sometimes a hungry cat does not equal a starving cat.