Cat Suffering Unfairly

[gazza1960]

Who in your opinion would be the best folks to tell about a cat suffering uneccessary verbal abuse by its owner and repeatedly leaving it outside from 8am till 6pm with just a poxy small bowl of water to keep it hydrated and NO food of any kind left on the step in the heat of the last few days I think it totally unfair but the owner
does not take kindly to animal advise.....CPL or RSPCA..?
I hear it being screamed at indoors and chased around 2 doors away,and its only Jude who doesnt want trouble that stops me from banging on the bluddy door and giving her a piece of me mind.... :(

Gazza

[gazza1960]

[Kleftiwallah]

My wife is a communications controller for the local constabulary, (she gets paid for telling policemen where to go!)

The number of times she has told me about trying to get the RSPCA out in the wee small hours because a dog/cat/badger/deer has been hit by a car and got no worthwhile response are too many to count.  I should approch a cat orientated charity and tell them of your worries.

But, surely the cat would have legged it by now if it was that bad?

Cheers,     Tony

[goodlife]

Gazza..is that cat skinny/bony?..even if it doesn't look like it gets much food from its owners..it could be fed by other people somewhere or it is able to hunt for itself. Not ideal..but cats are predatory and able to provide for themselves.
I suspect that unless that cat is underweight, looking neglected, ill or otherwise visibly not 'right',  RSPCA is not going to be interested. They have to be able to show there is case for cruelty or neglect...if they are not too busy, depending of the area they might take interest, but somebody must report the case for it in first place.
As for the drinking water..you don't need to be worried about that..what weather we've had there is plenty of water about for it to drink.

As you are conserned..there is nothing lost if you give a call for RSPCA, tell what you see/hear and see what they say/advise.

[Squash64]

I'm sure Cats Protection would give you advice, have a look for your nearest branch on their website.

http://www.cats.org.uk/find-us

[schmelda]

Our cats are regularly shut out for that length of time, or longer, with no food.  They tend to wander in after 6pm and have a nap before looking for food.  They choose to eat before they go out, and eat when we go to bed.  We leave water out, but it's never touched because they prefer the stagnant stuff that's always around.  Little Man keeps yowling at the back door, not because he wants anything, just because that is what he likes to do.  OK, so we don't yell at them, but they certainly aren't neglected.  Cats are evolved to live outside - they often prefer it there.  A nice bush to curl up under and that's them sorted. 

I can't imagine any charity would be worried about what you have described.

[Jeannine]

As you are there and can see it first hand you are in good position to decide wether it is neglect and cruelty or just an independant cat.

If you TRULY  believe it is a bad situation that is causing significant distress then you should contact someone and if they don`t respond, I would go further.

Here is where I get my head blown off...

I  without hesitation catnap the kitty and find it a new home.
I have done it in the past with animals and have never felt gulity or regretted it. If it is suffering that has to stop one way or another and it can`t do it for itself.

Ok my neck is on the block!!

XX Jeannine

[Gordonmull]

Nup, shutting them IN is cruel. Cats need space, they need outdoor time and lots of it. They're not dogs. Timing's wrong though. Cats are primarily dawn/dusk and slightly nocturnal predators. They can adapt to diurnal hunting behaviour but it's not perfect. We don't have a cat-flap at the moment so my two are forced just to daytime, but that will change and the torrent of mice, bats, rabbits and god knows what else will flow through said cat-flap.

Maintaining discipline is just as important with cats as with dogs, but shouting won't help. The cat will just ignore it. It's much harder to train a cat and it needs a subtle understanding of, not just the species in general, but feral behaviour and social structure as well as understanding the individual cat. But really, shouting at it? Kitty will go "Aye, yeah whatever." and carry on destroying your favourite jumper or whatever evil it was carrying out.

Outdoors, the cat fends for itself. It can find water, food, shelter and everything it needs.

Jeannine, not cool. That's basically theft. You need to go through the proper channels. My opinion is that if you feed your cats on that dry food rubbish you're neglecting them. Say for example you use this. As obligate carnivores, these foods are absolutely indigestible by cats. It's the same as eating bran for us. It's nutritionally inert. How would you feel if your cat went missing because my opinion on how to look after your animals is different to yours? I know how I'd feel if someone took mine because I fed them on commercial catfood. Again, not ideally suited to the feline diet, but more suited to my pocket. There is a school of thought that commercial mixes are not nutritionally ideal for cats and catfood should be home-made using only fleshes and thiamine suppliment.

Head blown off  :P

Above all else, just because it's what would bother YOU doesn't mean it bothers cats. If there's real, obvious signs of neglect, like the animal is skinny, overweight, looks mangy, lost fur etc. then worry. When I say skinny, bear in mind a healthy cat looks a bit skinny to humans.

[Borlotti]

I don't think cats mind being sworn at, as much as I love mine, when I trip over him he does take a bit of verbal abuse, but don't think that is cruelty.  This weather they stay out or come in, have a cat flap, Charlie is old so doesn't go out, Dulce is mostly out.  He is getting too fat, so overfeeding is bad for cats.  Food never left down as flies smell it, water always down, but they prefer to drink water from overflowing water butt.  If the cat is unhappy at home, it will stay out and may be better to rehome it, but I don't know the situation, and maybe a word with the owners, if they don't want it, you will end up with it. As a responsible pet owner I would not mind if anyone came to my house and was concerned about my animals, I would welcome them in, but I don't know the circumstances so cannot really comment, but if I thought real cruelty was going on, would have to do something about it, but don't think shouting at a cat and letting it out in summer is really cruel.

[Jeannine]

Yep, I agree definately theft  but as I said if  I thought the cat was in significant distress I would do it.

I guess it is always hard to make this kind of decision but my conscience would not let me do otherwise,repeat..if in significant distress.

Years ago, I had a neighbour who had 2 rabbitts, he kept them in a open topped collapsible pen on his lawn. He didn't give them food or water, he maintained that they got enough nourishment from the grass and he felt they could take the summer heat no problem.

We watchee the rabbots for days and saw them get quite distressed, bear in mind we live in an area wjhere there are wild animals and even an eagle can carry off a rabbit. It was clear their days were numbered.

We bunny rustled them and knocked over the pen.

My neighbour was an OK guy but knew nothing about keeping rabbits in Canada, he had not been long in the country by the way.

The next day he said his rabbitts had gone and something had been in the cage, but he went and got two more a few days later and di exactly the same thing.

We bunny rustled again.

He didn;t replace them as he was sure a coyote had got them.

Theft yes, but wrong, I still stand by what we did.

Before we did the dreadful deed we offered to show him how to make a safe rabbit hutch etc, we even offered the wood but he said in his country rabbits were kept that way.

We remained neighbours and good friends for many years .

I think the moral is how much suffering is too much and one has to be there to assess that.

Certainly the authoriites should be able to do some thing, occasionally they don;t and well sometimes someone else does.

Sometimes , just sometimes, law and conscience lock horns.

Oh and by the way, we showed and bred American Shorthair  Silver Tabbies and Chinchilla Persians  for 30 years so I have a wee bit of experience with cats. :P :P

Sincerely Jeannine XX

[gazza1960]

As was mentioned having had cats all our lives two of which lasted till their 20,s they do live longer with a mixture of ""ahhhhh   mind out the way" alfie ..gizzy..as well as a bloody good cuddle....ours were out too all those years to answer nature ,so maybe the "get tuff kitty" can manage fine..well im sorry but the verbal abuse is not something we condone for children so a defenceless animal has just as much right to have somebody stand its corner if the chasing around and FF,s and CC,s the poor little sodd is having to live with.
I will make an informed choice who to contact,but taking it dont come into that catagory...The said woman is a 4 times move on irritant that annoys her neighbours through abuse and screaming at all times of the day and night so the fact she now owns her brothers cat "that didnt want it either",I feel for the animal ...and yes...you have to live 2 doors away to get the true picture.
It must be said the cat is in good health though....just a nervous wreck  !!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for any and all thoughts.

Gazza

[grannyjanny]

Our cat adopted us, she lived in the house at the back of us. It took her 5 years to have a cuddle, she would sit next to me but no cuddles. She was attacked by next doors dog, she was teasing it in its own garden ATT. OH went to see woman at back to say we would take full responsibility for her. She said they had tried to catch her when they saw her but she kept running away :o ::). I don't know why she left home, they had children but she adores children & rolls over in front of them.

She got a puppy before the cat & tied it to washing line with no food or water all day. She got rid of that one. She called at an animal rescue place, just popped in on the way home from a day trip & came back with a springer spaniel. That poor thing was locked up in a shed all day & howled. RSPCA weren't interested. No home checks could have been done :o. That one was given to a neighbour ::).

Why do some people have pets?????????

[claybasket]

My son has a cat 9yrs he moans that she's so greedy they feed her 2pk-ts of food ,a day I suppose this is enough for her ? we look after her once and we gave her 3pk ts of food she never moaned once and seemmore contented she is a bit fat but she has had the op for no more Kitty's.

[Borlotti]

Vet recommended getting the old cats food for Charlie, the sachets for 7 plus, he is 21, but he still keeps asking for food, eats little and often, but trouble is have to watch Dulce as he eats anything and everything, he is getting too fat for his health, think next door feeds him too, and if he isn't fed brings a pigeon through the cat flap.  'Blloody' cats I say when I trip over Charlie and Dulce bits my feet, but they just think it is funny.  I have got a cupboard box in my plastic greenhouse and leave the cover open so Dulce can go in there as he won't go home.  If you had a cupboard box under cover in your garden the cat could come and have a peaceful sleep there when shouted at, cats aren't stupid and find good places to sleep. I do know how you feel as saw a horrible couple shouting and swearing at their two dogs, and I felt like swearing at them, but with people like that it wouldn't have achieved anything, apart from maybe me getting into an argument or fight, not worth it.

[Palustris]

Our old cat Hannibal hated being indoors. He used to dig his way out if kept in. He came for food in the morning and evening and that was it. (Except when he wanted medical attention or to show off the rat he had caught).
Mytton was an outdoor cat altogether. She never came in, until she was ancient.
As for being sworn at...................well when you find Bill piddling on the carpet, you can bet the language gets as strong as the smell of cat piss.
Oh and one tiny point, all carnivores need a certain amount of vegetable matter. Even lions eat the contents of their preys stomach, partly digested vegetable matter.

[Emagggie]

No animal needs verbal abuse. Don't tell me they don't understand, they do. I'm a Jeanine supporter and would steal an animal (have done it) if I was sure they were being abused in any way. Surely if the 'owner' was that dissatisfied with the cat's behaviour they would think it a blessing if it disappeared. Why do these people take on animals if they don't want them? Because they want a soft target for their aggression. Give them a nice drink made from hemlock I say.

[Gordonmull]

Nope, sorry, cats don't speak english. Neither do fish, whales, dogs, cows or giraffes. Apparantly there is a small rodent in South America that does, though  ;D. Tone of voice is the key, not the words themselves.

The point I was trying to make, Maggie, is that your definition of neglect is not neccassarily correct and that when people start to take the law into their own hands you end up with anarchy. I had a mate of my wife's over last night. She clearly loves her 4 cats and dotes on them. However, and this is a personal opinon, I find that the fact she keeps them indoors because she's scared what will happen to them if they get out is absolutely cruel beyond belief. Yeah, I wanted to berate her, but all I could really do was offer suggestions as diplomatically as I could.

Jeannine, you obviously tried hard there. It's hard to disagree with what you did. Really hard. I don't know what the animal welfare laws are like in Canada, but I can safely say that in the UK they are terrible. The SSPCA has really got no power except for banning people from keeping animals and that just doesn't work. The punishments should be far more severe and on a parallel with a human equivalent for pet animals. After all, my 2 daughters , erm cats are part of the family and loved like that.

What really annoys me, though, is that you can keep animals without having to do any research into them. No license, no demonstration of capability. It's actually amazing how many pet "owners" really don't understand the true nature of the animal that lives with them. 

Yep, absolutely correct, Palustris, and a good point that's really worth bringing up. All obligate carnivores get essential nutrients derived from the semi-digested gut matter of their prey. As far as I understand it, though, the key point is semi-digested. They use the gut processes of their prey to make the nutrients available from matierials that are undigestable to them. Clever carnivores  8)

(And if i type "car" instead of "cat" one more time I'm going to  :'( )

[Obelixx]

Our cats have always had a cat flap to allow entry and exit at will.   In summer we'd see far less of them as they like to doze outdoors but in winter we get comfort cats seeking warmth, company, cuddles and security.

Our remaining 15 yr old cat has been 3 legged for 9 years after losing an argument with a car and he is very sociable and companionable but in normal summers (not wet ones like this year) we hardly see him all day.  In winter he rarely stays out very long cos he knows where his comforts are.  Our 5-ish yr old was adopted last autumn after being abandoned and living wild in the fields surrounding our home.  I finally realised she wasn't a farm cat so started feeding her in September and got her to the vets in November.  She did not go out again till January when I put her out to go and play on a fine day.    She hardly ever goes outside voluntarily, maybe once a week since spring, and lives upstairs where she knows she's safe, comfy and fed.

Cats may not speak English but they do understand tone of voice and they're usually not daft.    A neglected or mistreated cat will leave home if it can find a better home somewhere else.    Until it does, it will put up with quite a bit as long as food is on offer.

[Jeannine]

Can I just reaffirm here.. you have to be totally sure beyond any doubt before really drastic measures are taken and the first stop is always the authorities sometimes there is a resolution that is comfortable for both owner and animal Sadly they often don't  come up to snuff and then and only then  I think needs must.

Nobody has a bench mark for personal levels of abuse or neglect, we are all different, however listening to  ones gut feeling is usually the best way then follow through with what you feel.

I feel strongly that we should have the courage to follow our feelings, especially when it is not popular, that is when it becomes hard.

However I do  think cats differ.. I have known cats who never would come inside and I have known cats who would never go out. My show cats had external runs so they could go out in enclosed safe areas but I had some who would never go outside. One I remember vividly who hated to get her paws even dusty let alone dirty and she would never ever go out.


XX Jeannine

[campanula]

I have stolen mine - neighbours cats that is. Not that the neighbours know or care but the cats do. They are at mine most days and are fed daily. The other option was to report them to the RSPCA, which I did, but the neighbours simply ignored 2 visits and the RSPCA gave up. I would actually like to get them both 'altered' - the little (actually stunted) female had 5 litters, often with her brother and son, and will still get pregnant every season - she is only 3. Her son is also suffering from mange (which I am treating) and I secretly wormed them both. They cannot come to live with me (they would like to) as I have an elderly collie, my daughters antisocial cat and my son-in-laws massive mastiff living here, but I do the best I can. I have also fantasisied about kitty-napping but this family are seriously scary (son has just been put in prison for robbing a 98 year old woman). I am also certain neither have been vaccinated. I hate animal cruelty.