I think my neighbors moved and left their cat

[luvwinnie]

Our neighbors had bought a new house and closed on it, but the house here is still on the market. There hasn't been a car in their driveway in 5 days and the porch light is one day and night. They have a cat who lives outside (I think they took him in only for very bad weather). Well, the cat is still hanging out by the house. I have fed him the past few days and he seems hungry. I asked other neighbors and they have not seen them either. I am HOPING I am wrong...maybe they went on vacation? Still, how can you leave your cat outside like that???? I already have 2 cats and a dog, and the cats WILL NOT tolerate an outsider.

 

[Stitchfans]

That is terrible. How thoughtless to leave the poor cat like that. people make me so angry when they do things like that.

 

[sweet angel]

That's how I got my old cat. Neighbors left him (Persian & declawed) outside when they moved. Poor kitty.

 

[Honeibee]

How incredibly cruel! If you can't take him, can you take him to a no-kill shelter? That poor thing.

 

[Shugardrawers]

There is just no excuse for that!! Now, in their defense, are you sure it's THEIR cat and not a stray they were just feeding? I have done that many times. Or maybe the cat went outside and didn't come back for a few days and they just couldn't wait anymore? I dunno. I guess I just don't want to believe anyone would do that.

 

[luvwinnie]

Yes, if they really have left him, I'll contact the local rescue organization. He's so adorable, but a bit skittish, although he's not running from me anymore...I'm the "food lady" now!

 

[Beth76]

Maybe they couldn't find him when it was time for them to leave.

 

[eclectics]

I think even leaving it for 5 days without food is technically abandonment. I would give a call to some no kill shelters in your area and see if they could come and pick him up. Hopefully someone will give him a new home. Somehow I doubt these neighbors will care one way or another. I can't understand people who can treat living animals as disposable.

 

[LuvTigger]

That's horrible! I've seen that happen before where I used to live. A guy renting across the street got a new place and left the cat. Fortunately, most of the neighbors in that area are animal lovers and took care of him -- he would often sleep in our garage, even though we had dogs!

When the guy showed up again to pick up the rest of his things, someone mentioned the cat to him, and he finally came back to pick him up. Hopefully your neighbors will at least show up and maybe someone can ask if the cat belongs to them, or whether they were just feeding it? (Although, IMHO, if you start feeding it knowing it doesn't belong to anyone, you should take some kind of responsibility to find it a home or someone to watch it if they didn't intend for it to be a pet...)

 

[luvwinnie]

There is just no excuse for that!! Now, in their defense, are you sure it's THEIR cat and not a stray they were just feeding? I have done that many times. Or maybe the cat went outside and didn't come back for a few days and they just couldn't wait anymore? I dunno. I guess I just don't want to believe anyone would do that.

Oh, I KNOW he is theirs. They told me after the baby was born they made him stay outside most of the time. Lovely.

 

[luvwinnie]

Maybe they couldn't find him when it was time for them to leave.

Then they should be back here every day looking for him! I"d be out of my mind if I couldn't find one of my furbabies!

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

That drives me crazy. I worked with a cat rescue league in Virginia. It was a military town, so people would actually dump animals on base and leave them for dead or for someone else to take in. Now, mind you, the PETA headquarters was in that city. They are NOT a no-kill shelter either. Someone explain that one to me. They didn't even check for microchips.

Can you provide shelter and food for kitty until you know better what is going on?

I would suggest contacting the shelters that work with the local PetsMart or pet store. The cages in those types of stores are maintained by non-profit shelters and foster groups. Another option is to find out from PetSmart whe the adoption agencies are in there over the weekend. Speak with the people running the adoptions. They might be able to tell you that there is a feral colony somewhere that they'd be happy to trap and take kitty next door to. Or, they might ask you to hold on a week or so until they have someone or somewhere they can place kitty. Lastly, you could call your vet's office and get the names and numbers for several agencies in your local area.

I know the decision is yours, but please try to keep him/her out of a shelter. So few of them are no-kill. And in urban evironments, many of the no-kills will not and cannot adopt directly from people. In other words, they rescue the animals about to be put to sleep by animal management. If you ae seeking help through a local shelter, ask them if they are or are not a no kill shelter.

This whole scenario breaks my heart...


ETA: I mentioned a feral colony because initially it sounded like he was feral. If he was an indoor cat at some point and hasn't gone wild, he probably eeds to end back up in a home. Brings me to another point: It is sooo dagerous for animals (especially cats) to be outdoors. I am getting angrier and angrier by the minute. A pet is a LIFETIME investment. They are NOT disposable. ARGH!

 

[beavismom]

Did they move far away? Although it doesn't seem like the case we had a neighbor that moved just a few streets away and their cat refused to move with them. They picked him up and brought him to the new house several times, but he always went back to the old house. I don't know what finally happened because we moved before their house sold, but I have a feeling he just kept coming back.

 

[luvwinnie]

Definitely NOT taking him to a "kill" shelter, don't worry. They moved about 20 minutes away. I plan to feed him until I know what's going on (they come get him or I'll take him to the PetSmart organization).

 

[Honeibee]

Definitely NOT taking him to a "kill" shelter, don't worry. They moved about 20 minutes away. I plan to feed him until I know what's going on (they come get him or I'll take him to the PetSmart organization).

Thank you for doing this.

 

[Sherri]

Did they move far away? Although it doesn't seem like the case we had a neighbor that moved just a few streets away and their cat refused to move with them. They picked him up and brought him to the new house several times, but he always went back to the old house. I don't know what finally happened because we moved before their house sold, but I have a feeling he just kept coming back.

This is how we got our cat when I was a child. My Mom DISLIKED cats because she always thought they were sneaky (jump from no where and all that stuff that us cat loves love). Anyway, when we moved into our house there was a beautiful blue eyed tabby outside at the willow tree. The neighbors explained that the son was going to Villanova University and took the cat as his parents went out of state. MANY times he came for the cat and she would sneak out and come back to the home she loved (which was now our new home). This cat made this 12 mile trek on many occasions. As it got cold my Mom started growing attatched her (TabbY). Tabby slowly made her way into our homes and into our hearts. So it does happen with cats traveling back to where they know. Tabby had the best life until she past on. By the way my Mom is a HUGE cat person now, she won't even leave her cat to go on vacation because he is getting old.

 

[kmp1191]

We had a stray cat in the neighborhood a while back. The neighbors kept feeding it, and put bedding out for it. I didn't know that at the time. At night, for about a week straight, it would jump in the windowsil of my dd's room and our cat would attack it through the window. EVERYONE in the house would jump straight up, kids screaming, the works. I called several animal rescues, the humane society, everyone that i knew of....none of them would pick up a stray cat because it "may" be someones pet. After I found out the neighbors were feeding it, I nicely asked them to either take it in, or stop...I told them what it was doing at our house. They stopped, the cat moved on, and now everyone sleeps better.
The shelters said if we caught it, they would take it, but we couldn't catch it....tried several times.
Don't flame me for being a non-animal lover, because I am an animal lover. Have rescued 2 dogs & 1 cat from shelters....it's just this one didn't want to be caught, and was causing havoc.

 

[mickeysgal]

Did they move far away? Although it doesn't seem like the case we had a neighbor that moved just a few streets away and their cat refused to move with them. They picked him up and brought him to the new house several times, but he always went back to the old house. I don't know what finally happened because we moved before their house sold, but I have a feeling he just kept coming back.

This happened to a friend of mine. They moved, took the cat with them, and it kept returning to the old home. Where we live, most cats and most dogs are kept outside since the weather is so mild year-round. This cat, being kept outside all the time, was a hunter and I guess, very territorial. The old house was his home, period. After the third time, they let him stay.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Repeat post for some reason (must have hit it twice...)

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

The shelters said if we caught it, they would take it, but we couldn't catch it....tried several times.

This is surprising to me. Not from the shelters not coming out to catch it- that's a liability issue. The fact that they didn't metion the traps or ask if you needed to get in touch with someoe who would trap them. With us, if there was a problem, we'd offer them the trap and ask them to call when they'd caught the cat so we could pick up and do all the medical stuff. They're not the nicest things... and I can't tell you how many raccoons I've caught, but they are effective and won't hurt the animal, although they may be distressed. Still better than beig left out in the elements or being hit by a car.

We actually had a mother stray who gave birth in a rain gutter. There was no rain in the forecast for about 3 days and then it was going to be torretial, so it was imperative that we got the babies out or they'd wash down the drain. It turns out one of the people in that neighborhood actually saw the mother start "placing" the babies in the trap. She'd wander up with one by the nape and kind of nudge it in until the trap closed. We got all five babies... no Mom though. I just hope she doesn't have another litter in that drain this spring