Posted on 11/25/2012 3:17:35 PM PST by Hot Tabasco
There is a house cat that is being allowed to roam free. What do I do?
Get a “Have A Heart” trap, put cat food in it, and after you get the cat trapped, bring the cat to a local no-kill cat shelter. :)=^..^=
In my area calling animal control is a certain death sentence for a cat. The cattery at the animal shelter is ALWAYS full and euthanazation is carried out pretty quickly if not immediately. There are numerous no kill groups in the area, however they are always full too.
I hate that people think they can drop animals off in the “country”. Those feral cats take a toll on game and therefore if I see them while hunting I will shoot them, unless one of my kids is with me.
I don’t live in the “country” necessarily but close enough people think it is. I see feral cats around my house all the time, in fact I now have one that is a house cat. (I have 7 daughters so you know what that must be like.)
We have this in our townhouse community with dogs off leash and menacing other residents.
After you have spoken nicely to the pet’s owner once, then speak firmly next time. Or, you might remove the animal’s collar and tag, and only return if after 24 hours, with the stern objection to law-breaking.
If it happens a third time, take the animal by early morning light to another state, preferably at least 50 miles away, to a no-kill shelter. Most of the lazy stupid pet owners do not think to cross state lines when calling around to shelters looking for lost pets.
Be humane, but careful. Avoid cameras. Box the animal with airholes, or cage it under a blanket, with ventilation, food and water. Call ahead and say you have a stray and ask “What is the procedure for bringing it in? Do I have time to bring it in before my work shift? How long will it take?” If you are lucky, they will tell you whether they require ID or not, such as your license that can be traced.
Sheltering it far away will take the owner a really long time to find the animal, if ever, unless the pet has an ID implant. The unchipped pet has a chance to be adopted by a caring guardian. Even if the original careless owners do find it, the hassle to them will be worth your hassle and will probably stop their inconsiderate behavior.
Yipes! I meant to address #74 to you and not your non-hot sister/brother.
Why not let the cat out to chase it off?
We had a similar problem a few years ago. A cat was showing up at night, and our male indoor cat would go crazy. The straw for me was our cat’s marking the basement window where he was seeing the other cat.
I thought I had cleaned all of the “marker” urine and treated it with enzyme formula, but apparently I did not get all of it. Next thing was that our kitty, who apparently could smell that urine in the basement, elected to urinate into the heating duct in the living room that was above the previously violated window.
I kept smelling it and then going back to the basement to clean some more. It took about 2 weeks before I realized what had happened. The smell was sometimes stronger and sometimes weaker, so he must have been using the heating vent multiple times.
So it took me a long time, but I cleaned and treated the dang vent. Well, the next time that cat showed up, we let our cat out to chase him off. Worked like a charm.
Of course, the children don’t know how to care for the kitten. The parents don’t know how and don’t care to learn how, so how can they teach the kids?
Bless your heart for taking the kitten in. I wouldn’t give her back to those people. She has a much better home with you.
Do you know if the cat belongs to anyone? It could be a stray who’s decided to stay in your complex because someone (possibly a few someones) started feeding it.
A while back I had quite a few strays living in/passing through my back yard. I’m sure part of it was because I started putting out food to try and socialize a litter of kittens born to a stray in the yard (didn’t get the kittens, but we did get the mama; she’s a sweet kitty btw). I eventually bought a live trap. At first I left it propped open with food inside, and once the cats were used to finding food in it I started setting it. After the fourth capture I didn’t have nearly as many coming around; probably didn’t hurt that I stopped putting food out either.
Around here, animal care doesn’t come out to trap stray cats, and if you bring one in they usually neuter it and return it to the area where it was trapped. I haven’t seen any of them lately, but I did see at least a couple of the cats I trapped back in the yard.
Oh, now you tell me...
If the cat has an PetID and keeps showing up at various humane society shelters out of state the owner may elect to keep it indoors all of time so it won’t wander away again.
One day your cat is going to get out too. They always do. Leave the darn thing alone. Once it figures out that your cat’s not coming out to play it will find somewhere else to hang out.
Sorry, but allowing your pet to go chase a strange cat off is foolish. I would never ever allow my indoor cat or dog to have contact with the feral cat I feed. I have a German Shepherd and I would be distraught if the feral bit or scratched her. We have a high incidence of rabies in our area in the raccoon and fox populations. Also the local fox have an outbreak of scabies going on. My feral catches, beheads and eats squirrels. I would hate to see what he would do to one of my pampered, trusting pets.
How Christian.
Borrow a trap from the nearest rescue or spay and release program. Once caught, take it to them and they’ll spay the kitteh and try to find a home for it.
Or do what I do. Grab the kitteh. Keep him isolated from you’re kitteh. Take him to the vet to see if he’s fixed or has a chip as well as healthy. If not, get both. Bring home kitteh and add to your collection.
Fair enough, and I understand your frustration with the nighttime goings-on. But please don't just snatch the cat up and dump him somewhere. That would be cruel, and not the act of someone who has a heart for critters.
I don't know the best way to find the owners, but there has to be one. They're irresponsible and stupid, and they should be advised of that fact.
Thank you, my FRiend
Someone smack me. Your not you’re.
Moving a cat away from its family and food source is cruel. In suburban areas, it’s normal for pet cats to roam freely outside. If this is colony of feral cats, that’s a different story. Trap them or call animal control to trap them, and take them to a shelter. If these are tame pet cats, leave them alone unless they are bothering you.
I’m not a cat lover but I have a soft spot for animals in general.
My next door neighbor had a Calico but would never let her in the house she fed and gave it water outside. When she left the area she couldn’t take it with her because it was feral and couldn’t get close enough to catch her.
I took over and fed her outside for more than 10 years but because she was an old cat, the other cats in the area would fight her for the food, she was just too old to fight anymore.
One day when I put food out for her, she ran inside and has stayed inside. It has been a long slow process as she started to transform back to domestic.
She now rolls around on the floor playing with her toys and acting like a kitten.
In my opinion, it is unnatural and cruel to not permit cats to go outside. They have snakes and rats to kill. Unfortunately they may take out the low hanging fruit of the song birds, too.
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