Apparently neglected cat

A question about : Apparently neglected cat

A friend of mine (who lives over 100 miles from me) owns two cats and her neighbour owns one. Her neighbour's cat is never allowed inside her owner's house, instead she is left outside on a permanent basis (irrespective of the weather), apparently with no shelter whatsoever. Because of this the cat is often to be found huddling underneath a tree in my friend's garden.

The neighbour owns a dog which IS allowed inside his house.

This cat is apparently always hungry and often gets into my friend's house via her cat flap and snaffles the food put out for her cats (my friend doesn't mind this and she does of course ensure that her cats get enough).

I've met the cat and she's a lovely thing - she is a tabby, her coat looks good, she's not apparently underweight and she seems alert and very friendly (but she is easily startled). She also comes when called.

Unfortunately my friend doesn't get on at all well with the neighbouring cat owner, so it's difficult for her to approach the neighbour on the matter.

My friend's idea is to find out if one of her friends would like the cat then (somehow) ask her neighbour if he would be prepared to let the cat go to another home. Unfortunately my friend can't take in the cat as one of her cats doesn't like the neighbour's cat!

I can't adopt her as I have a few dogs and couldn't afford to look after another pet (I have owned cats before, but they are both very sadly deceased due to old age and illness).

Another option is to approach the RSPCA I guess, but even if they do anything the poor thing will just end up in some kennel and no doubt be put to sleep if not adopted.

Can anyone think of a better option/approach? Would the Cats Protection League be a better choice?

I hate to think of the poor thing huddling outside in all weathers, especially in winter.

Thanks

Best answers:

• I'm sure she will get someone for it if she asks everyone she knows. In the meantime what about making a shelter for it out of an old dog kennel or rabbit hutch?. Its better than nothing in this freezing cold weather. You need to raise it off the floor as well and put it in a sheltered spot.
  I agree that the RSPCA are a waste of space. In my area they just put stray cats to sleep. There are various shelters that might have her on a waiting list basis in your friends area. She could try emailing them.
  If I was your friend I'd be inclined to let in my house until I could get it sorted out, its really bad weather at the moment. Its good of you both to be helping it out.
• RSPCA is highly unlikely to do anything. They will act on dogs being left outside, but I've never heard of them acting on cats being left out, as cats often choose to be out.
  Personally I would just let the other cat in my house, and let the cats sort the territory issue out. If the neighbour doesn't let it in the house she's not really going to notice if it's in someone else's.
  Unfortunately my approach probably wouldn't go down well on these boards, and I understand why. But I love cats, and would have no qualms about telling someone I don't think they're caring for the cat well, and suggest it's rehomed - and if the neglect continued, I'd take action to rehome it. Whether in my home or someone else I trusted.
  I cannot bear to think of a cat not being allowed in the house, and cold, wet and freezing at this time of the year. It's really awful. Can your friend take it in and see how the cats adapt, just in the short term? It's so cold at the moment. They do hiss initially, but most cats will sort it out / ignore each other after a while. Or she could say to the neighbour that she has a friend who's looking to buy a cat just like your neighbours' one - and suggest that as the cat's not allowed indoors, perhaps your neighbour might be interested in selling it to the friend who would love to give a home to it? Some cash might make it more persuasive...
  No easy answer other than a kind approach to the neighbour, or taking the cat (to another home or a local shelter with a no-kill policy). Or leaving the situation as it is.
  KiKi
• It's horrible to think of a cat being shut out on cold rainy nights but I wouldn't necessarily jump to conclusions, especially if the cat looks healthy and is not underweight.
  It could have been a feral cat the neighbour took on and feeds and looks out for, but who can't settle in to a domestic life.
  And is your friend absolutely certain the cat is never let in the house, and doesn't just choose to stay out, maybe because it's avoiding the dog?
  Maybe you could go and talk to the neighbour and innocently say that you've seen a tabby cat around the neighbourhood and weren't sure if it's a stray as it always seems to be outside, and does he know anything about who it belongs to?
• Thanks very much for all of the good suggestions.
  The option to let the neighbour's apparently neglected cat into my friend's house has been considered, but the problem is her older cat - not only does she hiss at and hit the neighbour's cat, but she will defecate in the house if her territory is threatened (it took her ages to adapt to the other cat that she now shares the house with).
  We don't even know if the neighbour's cat is microchipped - it certainly doesn't have a collar.
• I think before you go wading in, planning a cat nap, you need to establish 100% that this cat is being neglected.
  Some cats choose to live outside, I had one that would stay out in all weathers, rain, snow, wind, there she would be, in or under the tree over the road by the bus stop. I'm sure all the people who waited for the bus, and knew her well because she always wanted fuss from them, thought I was a terribly neglectful owner for shutting her out. Truth was she had a cat flap and could come in any time she wanted but she was happy outdoors.
  If the cat looks well fed and clean it's unlikely she's being shut out 24/7. And as for snaffling your cat's food, she knows it's there, she might just be being a chancer, I've found very well fed, well cared for cats stealing my cats food before, even came home to find the most beautiful rag doll in my kitchen one day.
• I agree, more 'research' needs to be done. I can only go on what I've been told in a brief conversation on the matter.
  I'll make sure that my friend gets all of the facts straight before taking any kind of action. She's smart, she won't do anything until she's 100% certain. She certainly wouldn't do anything with the cat without her neighbour's permission, ie there won't be any cat-napping.
• I too would go with the do more research line of thinking. If the cat wants to go indoors and is definitely not being allowed to then, obviously, it would be better off with another owner.
  Also, when you say your friend doesn't get on with the neighbour, what is the reason for this? If it's because the neighbour is in some way a nasty person it may well be that they won't take very kindly to the suggestion that someone else should have their cat.
  Years ago when me and OH went to visit his parents we would regularly see a really thin, scabby looking black cat who walked with one of his front legs stuck out straightish to the side (bit difficult to explain). He would almost always come running up to our car crying and would stroke him and talk to him. We got OH's parents to ask around to find out whose cat it was and then another neighbour spoke to the cat's owner who was very abusive.
  We knew there was no point in trying to talk to the owner so one day when we left and the cat ran to us we just let him get in the car and drove straight to our vet. The vet said the cat was covered in fleas, had a skin condition, was terribly underweight, had teeth problems and, on x-raying him, said his leg had been broken at some time and never been fixed! We decided there and then that we were going to keep him.
  We called him Wilbur Wonky Leg! He lived with us for about 6 years and he gradually filled out and his fur shone. The vet said nothing could be done about his leg easily and as it didn't seem to bother him we left it. He had to have quite a few teeth removed and would sit on your lap and dribble. I used to put a towel on my lap for him to sit on or else you would end up soaked!
  Sorry, I didn't mean to make it all about me but your story brought back memories of Wilbur
• I agree with the above posts. Our cat is very much an outdoor cat - he cries to go out at night - whatever the weather - and is outside more than in. he sleeps under a great big evergreen tree in next doors garden - we had the cat flap taken out as other cats were using it to get into the house but he never used it - preferring to sit on the back step by the French doors (easily seen) when he wants to come and go! He is very much loved, fed & watered daily and is very healthy and happy.
  I would be livid and offended if a neighbour approached me to ask if they could have him as they thought he was neglected. Don't jump to conclusions.
• my second cat Nicki was a cat who I came across when I was working in a neighbourhood. he used to run up to me, and loved me to pick him up and cuddle him. he was so affectionate. I used to share my bottle of water with him. I found out where he lived and watched him for a couple of weeks. I saw that he never got let indoors, his food dish was usually empty (eaten by the dogs who roamed around) he rarely had water. he was emaciated, his fur was horribly matted and he had fleas, bad breath and hardly any teeth (yet his food was dry food).
  So, on my last day at work in that area - with my boss's help I stole him. we just drove up, I called him and he came to me and I scooped him up in a towel and we drove him to my local vet. on the way I felt a collar round his neck which was so tight my boss had to use his Swiss Army Knife to cut it off! It was so tight I hadn't even felt it before and it left a PERMANENT weal on his neck. The vet diagnosed him a couple of days later as FIV and gave him a couple of weeks to live.
  Do I have a guilty conscience about stealing him? NO - his owners obviously didn't care.
  He spent three and half years with me and my family, and was cherished as the very special cat he was. EVERYBODY loved him - he was such a loving gentle soul.
  and the moral of my story? Do as your conscience tells you.
• Up till the end of last year we "owned" a garden cat. She lived in a cardboard box in our shed and we fed her but she was very much a free spirit, she wouldn't come inside further than our utility room and you could only stroke her when she was in the mood. She seemed happy enough though and I sneaked in flea and worm treatment and she got enough to eat, we've got three house cats so there's plenty of food around. She was female but as we never got any kittens I'm assuming she was neutered, her ear was notched so it might have been done at a rescue,
  I did ask the vet's advice once and he said if a cat had shelter from the elements, enough food, didn't look underweight or in poor condition and no underlying health issues then the chances were that the cat was perfectly happy where she was, especially if she's turned down offers of coming indoors. Certainly the cat seemed contented enough, I'd see her every day going in and out the shed, she'd come up to say hello, have a sleep and a meal and be off again. Last summer though her visits started to get less frequent and then they just stopped. We asked around but no one had seen her. I assume she had either moved on or found another "owner", or got killed somewhere.
  So I would provide the OP cat with an outside shelter somewhere, provide food, keep an eye on it for health problems and then just leave well alone. You can't just go around stealing cats, especially ones who aren't visibly in distress. Cats do live perfectly happily in outside conditions, look at farm cats who never go indoors but who spend their lives living in outside farm buildings like barns. If the OP cat was very unhappy where she was she'd have found herself another home by now and moved in with the old lady on the next street, plenty of cats do move themselves out for all sorts of reasons.
• It's lovely that you care about this cats welfare and want to help it but I agree with those saying to be careful in this situation and get your facts 100% right, which I'm sure you and your friend will . You say this cat looks in good condition, I myself have two very healthy cats (bright eyed, nice teeth, thick soft glossy fur, etc) who love being outdoors and would hate someone thinking they were neglected, just because sometimes they refuse to come in, when in fact they are far from it. The vet actually says they're spoiled .
• if Nicki had been in good condition - I would NEVER had done what I did. He was so obviously sick and desperate, I had no choice really. its a judgement call. and you have to do what your own conscience can live with.