My neighbours have a couple of cats that are kept outside. They were given to them by family friends. They don’t give the cats any food or water and expect the cats to “hunt for their dinner”. They’re so skinny and unloved it pains me to see them mistreated like this. Why get cats if you’re not going to look after them?
Last year they also had a cat (I called him Musa) that was kept in the same circumstances. At first I wasn’t too sure if they were looking after him well or not, but during summer they went away for two weeks, and it was during a heatwave and no food or water was left out. I did look after him while they were away but they didn’t know that. Anyway, months passed and it was getting colder. He had no shelter and I was very worried for his wellbeing. We couldn’t give him a home as my mum doesn’t want any cats in the house – so I decide to call the RSPCA and tell them about the situation. All they said was “unless he is so skinny his bones are sticking out we can’t do anything about it.” I wasn’t gonna wait for Musa to lose even more weight so I contacted a few cat charities. One particular one said they want to help but that it’s wrong to do it behind my neighbours back as he is their “property”, but still advised me to collect evidence of the negligence. So everyday for about 2 weeks I took videos and photos with timestamps to prove him being neglected (how skinny he was, videos of him past midnight wanting to go inside, and how there was no food or water left out for him). The lovely women working for the cat rehome charity came over to see Musa for herself, and then decided to try to get him rehomed, however, we agreed that if the neighbours were to ask for the cats whereabouts, or they post missing cat posters in the area – that I’ll contact her again and have Musa returned back to the neighbours. Though of course, they never did say a thing to us, nor did they put up any posters.
Back to present day, these neighbours are on holiday again and they’ve left these 3 cats without any food, water, or shelter. They also have 2 rabbits in the cage outside – I’m assuming food and water has run out as it’s been about a week or two since they’ve gone away.
I am taking care of the cats food and water (neighbours don’t know this) but I’m now wondering what to do to avoid what happened last year. They’re all so skinny, have fleas, bumps on their bodies, and I’m pretty sure they’re not neutered too.
I don’t want to cause problems with my neighbours because technically the cats do belong to them… And I can’t just give away all 3 cats behind their backs again. The RSPCA are also useless.
All I can do is keep an eye on them the way I have been doing so far. I’m just worried for when the weather gets colder. 💔
What would you do in my situation?
9 comments
>The RSPCA are also useless.
What exactly did they say when you reported the neglect of animals to them?
> I can’t just give away all 3 cats behind their backs
I would have zero qualms about doing this.
I’m going to be a right callous bastard here – and I’m sorry – but stop feeding and watering those cats. They’ve obviously been left to die.
Notify the RSPCA. Get proof that the owners are away. Get proof there is no-one coming to feed / water the cats. Let them die.
Then let the RSPCA do their thing by taking the owners to court.
If there is an RSPCA order against the owners, if they get any further pets you can call the police on them and they’ll be saved from this fate.
This is, unfortunately, the only way the law works.
There isn’t any alternative other than rehoming the animals and looking after them including the rabbits in the meantime.
Regarding the rabbits ,obviously they need food and water so please give it to them.
To rehome them without suspicion falling on you just leave the cage door open, make it seem as though they escaped.
Please update me as this is a very concerning situation.
You will be doing the right thing for the animals by rehoming them.
Has anyone at any point checked these cats for a microchip?
If not you could catch the cat, take it to a local vets to get it scanned and take it from there. After all you’ve seen a stay cat and are concerned for it’s well-being.
Chances are if it is chipped the owners details might not be up to date. My understanding is that if the cats owners cannot be located at the vets, they will contact a cat charity to re-home it. If they do contact the owners perhaps the vet will have a stern word with the owners and contact RSPCA if it’s as neglected as it sounds.
Honestly, I would just find them homes. Would they even notice their cats are gone if they can’t even be arsed to make sure they’re fed properly? I doubt it. They’d probably assume the worst and move on. Keep finding new homes for any more cats they get.
If it’s as bad as you say, take the cats, and the rabbits if you can too, and just leave a gate open to explain how they “escaped.”
Cat charities sometimes rehome rabbits too – mine does. And if the owners care, at least about the cats, they’ll put up posters and post on social media (or get someone to do it) and someone will direct them to the cat charity, which won’t rehome them instantly (they generally give owners time to find their cats, and it’d take a while to rehome them anyway).
Call rspca
Those rabbits are going to die if you don’t do something.
Take them off them. Into your own home and find someone willing to take care of them or a charity willing to take them.
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Don’t say it’s the neighbors. Say you found them dumped at the park.