Post Code TW19 - cat living around a bus stop

SadBunny

In the past I used Zea Mays Baby Powder + rake with rotating teeth. Worked well but then the mats weren't that bad. Similarly some recommend using cornflour but I think that is very drying. (Recently the correct baby powder, ie not baby talc, has become difficult and ridiculously expensive to buy.)

Unscented baby oil:

Yesterday I used a medicine dropper to apply the oil closer to the roots of the fur. Our little cat is no longer growling and hissing at us when we rub him anywhere near those mats. He seems to be feeling much better already! I think the oil itself is soothing to his tender skin underneath the mats.

I applied some virgin olive oil that I had in the house and put it on a couple of her mats. I couldn't believe my eyes today when I found one of the oily mats on the floor!

Thank you for going into a little more detail about keeping the oil on for several days.

... got the Olive oil and a plastic syringe and started putting in on both back sides near his tail and even on his chest! ... I have to tell you that he was not happy that I was putting it on him. Our relationship has temporarily changed from him following me everywhere to me following him. LOL He just keeps looking over his shoulder to see if he can relax before I put more oil on him!!! ... I put towels on my couch and since my cat sleeps with me I am a little nervous of getting oil every where.... But it is worth it if it works!

... sprinkled a little corn starch on his fur to get rid of some oil.

Don't try to comb or brush then it does no good and is very painful to the cat. They will fall out or be gone in about a week , it is wonderful.

TIP: one good way to apply: I used a latex glove - poured the oil onto the finger of my gloved hand - applied to entire mat (above and underneath) - SEVERAL applications at once to thoroughly saturate... Waited a day, and the evening of day 3 (last night actually, re-saturated) - an hour ago he came prancing in, with his old 'bounce in his step' and the mat was GONE! Found it on my bed, actually. SO HAPPY!!!"

I started off with olive oil on my very matted Maine Coon cat and that seemed to loosen them up but they weren't really falling off. So about 4 days later I purchased baby oil, and it's working!!! ... and I have put blankets on my couches to soak up any oil so that I don't ruin my couches. I think the prob is I'm doing it just a little at a time and not just drenching him bc I don't want my furniture ruined."

Link to Yeas and Nays

Perhaps you could try this on a couple of the worst mats.

gettingready

Can we not argue please?

Cat if off the street, not in danger of being killed by a car or discomfort of cold/rain/hunger. Warm, fed, cuddled - that is all that matters.

No point arguing about anything any more.

calicocat

cats_slave wrote: »

I can't explain the discrepancy in the ages stated. That discrepancy does not justify not telling them. There may be a good explanation but it really doesn't matter. They said they were the owners. They should be treated as such unless proven otherwise. Even poor owners should be responded too courteously. What a awful world the 'eye for an eye' attitude creates.


Nothing at all wrong with a letter through the post. Good idea

I do get where you are coming from as any cat LOVER would be devastated to have their cat disappear.

However one explanation for the discrepancy in age may be that they knew the cat was in a disgusting state and could well (and did) look older than its actual age. So they could have said this to compensate for the cats state.

As they have stated the cat is theirs , and have allowed it to be in an appalling condition, the fact that this cat may not have wanted to return in the house is no excuse for lack of any outside accommodation or lack of food for the cat to be that underweight.

These are not the actions of owners that care....just my opinion though.

cats_slave

Meritanen. Surely every human being deserves consideration, just because they are human beings.


I did not say the owners care. I do not know whether they do or do not. Certainly the cat was neglected, but I could fill a page with hundreds of different possible scenarios which could be the cause of the situation deteriorating to the state it did, even with caring owners. I do not know which, if any, of my possible scenarios is the right one.


Regardless of whether the owners care or not, or how the situation came about, I believe they should be treated with respect and courtesy. It is not for me to judge nor to decide what they deserve or not. I do not know enough, nor do I have the authority and I respectfully suggest, neither do you.


These people have been judged and condemned on this board in their absence, on almost no consistent information. That surely cannot be right


Getting Ready. I don't think this is an argument. Certainly not on my part. I am very pleased that the cat is now safe and being cared for - but I do think this has thrown up a lot of issues about morality, being judgemental, jumping to conclusions with very little background information, when and how people are justified in taking things into their own hands and what their responsibilities are when they do so. I think these are all complex and legitimate issues to bring up, in a measured and non confrontational way.

cats_slave

Calico. I agree that there are no excuses for failing to provide for the cat and letting it get into such a condition. And, on the surface these are not the actions of caring owners. But there may be reasons, rather than excuses, or mitigating circumstances that we are not aware of.


In spite of what appearances suggest, I'm not comfortable with jumping to the conclusion that they will not be concerned that the cat has disappeared and be worried about what has happened to it.


I'm equally uncomfortable with the conclusion that somehow they have forfeited their right, as human beings , to be treated with courtesy and respect and concern. And that they don't 'deserve' to be told what has happened to their cat.


Meritanen. I have not said they care about the cat. I have said I do not kow whether they do or do not, neither does anyone else on this board. that being the case it should be assumed that they do have some concern for it and informed accordingly of what has happened to it. I don't think any of us here has the right to be judge, jury and executioner.


Getting Ready. Yes, the cat is off the street and safe and that is a good thing. However, that is not the end of the story. The cat was taken seemingly against the owners express wishes. This may well have been, morally speaking, the right thing to do given the circumstances. But the story does not end until the owners of the cat have been informed.

cats_slave

Sorry for some repetition here. The first of these two post disappeared so I typed a replacement post and when I clicked 'post' the firs one appeared as well.

dandelionclock30

The original owners wont be bothered about the cat because if they were the they wouldnt have let it get in that state.
Unless they have severe learning difficulties or really severe metal health problems that affect their functioning their is no excuse to neglect your cat like that. They didnt show that cat any concern or respect so shouldnt really be give any in return.
Really they should be looking at a prosecution for neglect and a banning order. Sod them . Getting Ready you did the right thing.

calicocat

cats_slave wrote: »

Calico. I agree that there are no excuses for failing to provide for the cat and letting it get into such a condition. And, on the surface these are not the actions of caring owners. But there may be reasons, rather than excuses, or mitigating circumstances that we are not aware of.


In spite of what appearances suggest, I'm not comfortable with jumping to the conclusion that they will not be concerned that the cat has disappeared and be worried about what has happened to it.


I'm equally uncomfortable with the conclusion that somehow they have forfeited their right, as human beings , to be treated with courtesy and respect and concern. And that they don't 'deserve' to be told what has happened to their cat.


Meritanen. I have not said they care about the cat. I have said I do not kow whether they do or do not, neither does anyone else on this board. that being the case it should be assumed that they do have some concern for it and informed accordingly of what has happened to it. I don't think any of us here has the right to be judge, jury and executioner.


Getting Ready. Yes, the cat is off the street and safe and that is a good thing. However, that is not the end of the story. The cat was taken seemingly against the owners express wishes. This may well have been, morally speaking, the right thing to do given the circumstances. But the story does not end until the owners of the cat have been informed.

I do understand (I think) what you are getting at, but at times get a bit puzzled..? You say you agree there are no excuses for failing to provide for the cat and he condition...but then say it's morally wrong for the cat to be removed from the situation without owner consent or knowledge . there are no mitigating circumstances or I think the owners would have said more?...seeing as they made up about her age and getting clipped in april,and special food...why not go the whole hog and explain 'mitigating ' circumstances further.

If we run with the mitigating circumstances for a moment though.....why not either re-home to someone who doesn't have them so cat is looked after, or put into a cat shelter..rather than have her suffer?

That cat 'deserved' to be given shelter from the elements and food enough to keep it to a healthy weight, niether of which were provided.....so whilst I agree in an ideal world they would know what has happened to their cat....i'm not too sure they 'deserve ' to know.......nore am I convinced due to the state of it that they will have noticed her gone..or care.

we have to be aware , and accept like it or not, that there are a lot of people out there that don't give a fig, and no amount of talking to them will change their minds or how they feel.

Terrible stuff does go on, when I briefly helped out in G.hound rescue...there was an owner filling his bath and drowning them when they got past their best or got an injury he wasn't prepared to pay for. Fully adult G.hounds.....in a bath....no trying to re-home or take to a shelter....they had out lived their use...were no longer flavour of the month...and we're expendable.

Had any of his dogs done missing did he deserve to be told where they were?...not that he would have cared anyway...problem gone..sorted.

Thankfully though for this kitty the outcome has been much better.

gettingready

I'm equally uncomfortable with the conclusion that somehow they have forfeited their right, as human beings , to be treated with courtesy and respect and concern.

They did. By letting that cat down. A live, breathing creature with its own needs that were not met - for whatever "reason".

Froglet

meritaten wrote: »

HOW can you say the owners care? this cat has been accepted as a stray by an experienced RSPCA vet? so the owners care? so much so that this poor cat has had to be shaved? is weighing 2.7kg? half the weight of a healthy cat? its Dirty, Matted, and Hungry for both food and love.
the owners DONT care - and as such they don't really deserve any consideration.

Couldn't agree more.

They will be glad to have the "problem" taken away and not have to find food for it any more,if indeed they were feeding it at all.

They will probably laugh when they get the letter as they won't be bothered any more by those who DO care,or the cat itself.