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[BloodBird]

I might need some advice.

I've spent the last 3 hours grinding away at this issue now and think a more diverse range of possible advice might be helpful.

So let's explain.

I've got a cat. Beautiful, black Bombay cat, whom I care for quite alot. I take care of this cat by letting him in/out whenever he asks (any time of the day, even in the middle of the night if he asks me) and ensuring he always has food/water readily available.

I was informed by my father a few hours ago, that a neighbor of mine will soon report me to the police for, of all things, animal mistreatment. In this case, neglect.

The issue here is that they believe my cat is not being treated right because he arrives at their houses and begs for food, and in this summer heat when people keep doors/windows open to vent air, enters their houses and sleeps in their beds. It's been claimed he was - at one point - malnutritioned and less-than-optimal weight, though this has now been dealth with due to their feeding of him out of pity. I can't recall noticing his weight issue, but that don't mean it was not the case.

Now, the above is what they claim, and I've no reason to dispute this because I don't like to claim my neighbours are lying about this situation for whatever reason, or deludin myself to think there is no problem. However, here are a few factors to consider and I'm not sure, but I've theorized my situation stems form a combination of these.

I'm not around 24/7. I've work to attend to, and other reasons not to be home all the time. When my cat asks to be let in, I'm lot always around to let him in, and neither is anyone else. No entry, no food.

I've two neighbours in the vicinity. Across the street in front of my house there lives and old lady who has admittedly feed my cat previously, long before this issue was raised. I've theorized that doing so help tell my cat it's okay to eat at other houses than mine - I do not appreciate this. This woman lives alone and has been said to be mentally lacking due old age, memory and logic not totally up to par, sadly. Other than this she's quite a nice old woman and I bear her no ill-will.

At the end of my lawn towards the right there is a fen, (living wall of bushes, trimmed to be square. I think fen was the right name) this separates my property from that of my other neighbor. My cat can travel freely past this obstacle and ofthen do, I've spotted him plenty of times sleeping in an out-doors chair on my neighbour's porch or just exploring around the area. This neighbor too has feed my cat, but compared to the old lady, likely out of a sense of need rather than just pity and claimed need. This is the man who now considers involving the authorities - it would appear he's rather worried for my cat and possibly annoyed with the cat's habits around his house.

In my house I let my cat sleep wherever he please, with the sole exception of my own bed. There are two other bed rooms, my mother's former room and a guest room. Besides this there are plenty of soft surfaces for him to sleep on and I've found him sleeping pretty much anywhere. Even in my sink, hillariously enough.

Now, here is a theory of mine; He knows he can eat in my house whenever he's here. He knows he can sleep pretty much wherever he wish, and he knows he can get out whenever he asks, or in if I'm here. I'm not always around so if I'm not, he looks for food elsewhere when hungry. The other close-by humans feed him or has been known to feed him, so he likely extrapolates that it's okay to ask for food there as an alternative to myself, even if I'm around, and it's also okay to sleep there. After all, I let him sleep where he please, should they not?

This situation has 3 ends.

I manage to find a fix to this.
I have to put him down.
I go to jail for animal mistreatment and he is put down regardless.

Options 2 and 3 are totally unacceptable to me. I will not serve time over this issue, and I will most definitly not have the only living resident in this house besides myself killed over this idiocy. So... how do I ensure that option 1 takes place?

Tomorrow I'll call my mother and hear her ideas/opinions on this issue.

Finally, I've got only one option that I know I can do at this time. There is a small hole in the side of one of my walls where my cat can slip inside to a dirt-floor under a very low roof, leading to a further opening in a cellar wall that leads pipes out and my cat inside to a cellar room. If I keep the door to this room ajar and the door to the cellar open he can get inside and out whenever he please. The downside is that stray cats or others can get inside as they please too. At this point however, this is a fair sacrifice.

Gonna go try and sleep more now. This kind of messed up my plans to get a good night of sleep before tomorrow's work x.X

[Mizhara]

Call your local Humane Society or whatever equivalent you've got. Tell them you need advice on the matter and possibly an evaluation from an unbiased third party. Be honest, explain the situation fully, and they will be able to do what we can't which is see the full situation and take appropriate measures.

These measures might be anything from saying "It's all cool..." to "I think we'd better take your cat and have it adopted elsewhere."

[Myrhial Arkenath]

That sucks. I don't get how people can claim that if it ain't true. Hope karma comes for their sorry asses.

That said, is it possible you leave a bowl of water and food outside for your cat? Simply putting it out may help you win your case, as a sign of "there is food and water when I am not here, see". Maybe your cat prefers the food given by the neighbors, try finding out what they feed the cat, offer to buy the same.

Cats can take perfectly well care of themselves, though, and can live outside unless it's like freezing cold / searing hot. When it is, they tend to not want to go outside however.

Cats also look thinner when they shed hair. Since it is summer now, that can give a really false image. However if you feed them, cats will also show you when they are hungry, and finish the damn bowl and beg for more, unless they are underfed because they are sick. What you need to pay attention to are the sides around the hips, and if you rub the belly that you can feel the ribs but with some fat over them.

You can try and close down passageways the cat tends to use, but cats are clever buggers and go where and do as they please.

There is one possible alternative to all this I can think of. Should you have to pick option two or three, plead for your mother to take in the cat. They will likely allow this. In time it can even be an option for you to take the cat back.

But seriously, I think you will win this. Your cat sounds like he's been taught some things that aren't really good, but should pass a health test just fine.

[Lydia Tishal]

We have a pair of Singapura, and when we got them we had to agree (among other things) not to let them outside. It sounds like keeping your cat indoors isn't an option? Honestly, your neighbor is probably more annoyed at the cat than anything else, but he can't report annoyance to the authorities.

[Esna Pitoojee]

Start getting things into evidence form that could be used if a case is made against you.

For instance, I assume you take your cat to a vet - ask for a written statement that your cat is not underweight or malnourished (or if he is, that there is a medical reason for it - one of my neighbors used to have a cat who was all skin and bones due to a thyroid condition).

Try videotaping your feeding sessions? It sounds stupid, but if you pop a tape in and clearly show yourself pouring out food and the cat eating it, it's going to be a little hard to claim your cat is not being fed.

Cat's outside a lot? Just make sure the cat has a collar with identification and some sort of shelter near your home (easier than it sounds - all this has to be is something to shade the sun and keep rain off; in addition to any of the commercially sold cat huts, a basket with some plastic over it or some 2x4s and plywood nailed neatly together).


Regarding the issue of feeding - I agree that your neighbors feeding your cat is probably not helping the situation. Having done all of the above, you're proably best off approaching both of your neighbors and explaining that, while you appreciate their kindness and generosity, your cat is well fed and that you don't think that effectively training your cat to beg for food at random houses is a good idea (no matter how cute it may be).

Point is, you're right - you've absolutely no reason to have to loose this good friend of yours who you obviously care about a great deal.

[lallara zhuul]

I'd have to go with the combination of them all.

Ask for professional help, get evidence that you are doing what you are 'supposed' to do, ask the neighbours not to train your cat to trust strangers and train the cat to be an indoors cat for a while.

[Akrasjel Lanate]

West is stupid, makes stupid laws and this will continue...

[Ciarente]

In every place I've ever lived that had windows without screen, neighbourhood cats have made their way in looking for food, exploring, or looking for somewhere new and comfy to sleep.

If you feed a cat, it will eat it; if you feed a cat once, it will beg for food every time it sees you near a fridge.

Animal welfare officers are familiar with animals and how they behave.

They also have actual cases of abuse, neglect and mistreatment to deal with.

"That guy's cat comes to my house and begs for food" is not going to be a blip on their radar.

[Jev North]

What Cia said, basically. Cats will return again and again to places and people that feed them, and might well start considering them a sort of "home away from home" and make themselves comfortable around them. It's not evidence of mistreatment; it's evidence of your neighbours being stupid. Leaving a cat outside during the day isn't animal abuse either, although as people have said, it might be smart to make sure it has access to shade and water. Don't leave food out - it'll just attract strays. A cat will be fine not having food for part or even most of the day, so long as you feed it when you are around.

I don't think you've anything to fear from animal welfare people. From a narrowly tactical point of view, it might be a good idea to make sure you have a clean litterbox, cat food, and fresh water to wave in the face of anyone they might potentially send to check up on things, but it really doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about.

[Hamish Grayson]

Having multipal 'homes' is common cat behavior.

[BloodBird]

Thanks for the replies and advice so far. I've had several hours of waking clear-mindedness to think this over and ultimately I agree with much of your assesments, or many of you agree with, my assesements of the situation.

I'm going to try out a few things in the comming days, as a start of a solution to this problem.

Firstly, despite the fact we have spoken together about this issue before - and I believed, managed to reach consensus - I will speak with my neighbor on this issue again, and underline my actions made to provide my cat with a good life, and the needs he has and how I've covered this. I will also ask him again, politely, not to feed my cat and shoo him away from his house when/if he get's to places he don't like for the cat to be. I'll ask him what he's been feeding my cat and what he liked, so as to provide this to him in a 'here you go no need to go elsewhere for this food' kind of way.

Secondly, I'll maintain the habit I usually employ during winter; I will leave my cellar door and the door to the specific cellar room open, allowing my cat to move in/out at will. This has worked great during winter when he vastly preffers to be in-doors rather than go out into the snow and nightly -10c or worse. In this way, he should well get used to the idea that he can enter/leave without me again, and can eat whenever he get hungry.

Thirdly, I will go on much as I have. I'm personally convinced that this issue stems mostly from the fact he eats what my neighbors have given him, and as others have mentioned treats this like an open invitation to treat their homes like his own - if they don't like this chasing him away and not feeding him will solve the issue on it's own, I've seen evidence first-hand that my cat is intelligent enough to understand messages like this and what they mean.

In the final analysis I've looked over everything, checked my cat's current condition and how things are done. He has readily available food and water. He can enter and leave the house at will. He has a squeaky-clean litterbox - that he never use, but go outside for his needs. He has shelter from the environment even if the door is closed - a door to a shed I own with a hole low enough for him to enter into a dry and relatively warm space and the hole in the wall leading into my cellar and thus the hosue proper. He appears to be in good health, at least now. He's not skinny, he don't seem to be sickly or troubled with anything I can indentify, and should he get sick or hurt again, I'll take him to a vet, get things looked at and cured and I will cash out the needed pay to help him. Much like I did when he broke a leg and needed a trip to the vet.

Beyond this, I can't see what I could do differently, beyond contacting more able authorities like animal walfare folks for advice if this does not suffice. In all honesty calling the police right now is likely a waste not only of the police's time but also my reputation in this rather small community. And in all this, the only thing that really vexes me is how once again, no-one has the stones to tell me to my face or call me in person to inform me of what they think or complain. People seem to keen on treating my family like able and willing middle-men to tell me what ails them. I would appreciate if people had the spine to tell me to my face if something is wrong ffs

[Shintoko Akahoshi]

The interesting thing to me, and the thing that I'd be looking into were I you, would be why your neighbor is considering calling the police about this. It's a pretty extreme step, especially if they haven't said anything to you about "gee, I'm concerned about your cat" or "keep your damn cat away from my house!". Things like this seldom come up out of the blue, there's always more involved.

[Wanoah]

Sounds like you have some idiotic neighbours that don't understand the first thing about cats. I'd be tempted to educate them. With a bat.

[Borza]

Sounds like you have some idiotic neighbours that don't understand the first thing about cats. I'd be tempted to educate them. With a bat.

I don't think that would be a good way of teaching them. They're really very different animals with quite different physiology and behaviour. Also the bat could be carrying rabies.

[Wanoah]

Sounds like you have some idiotic neighbours that don't understand the first thing about cats. I'd be tempted to educate them. With a bat.

I don't think that would be a good way of teaching them. They're really very different animals with quite different physiology and behaviour. Also the bat could be carrying rabies.