My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Kitten quandary

13 replies

TheDailyWail · 21/06/2014 21:24

Bear with me, this post may be long!

I live between two very different neighbours. On the right side we have who I shall call Caroline, she has 3 young boys and a partner. They're not the most ideal neighbours. Overgrown front garden with a sofa and TV dumped in the front for over 18 months. Her children have slept on uncovered mattresses and the house smells. Her children are good kids and they play nicely together. The house is getting more unkempt now that she has a heart problem and her partner appears to do very little around the house.

On the left side Rita lives with her teenage daughter. I can set my clock by her. She hangs out her clothes at 6:00 am and sweeps her front step at 10pm. She is a total clean freak.

Caroline has pets. She has a dog and I suspect there's also a new puppy in the house. They have cats but they seem to stay outside.

A few years back Rita and her daughter would leave cat food out for a cat they called Oreo. Because of the food being left outside, Caroline's cats would be fed by Rita too. Rita doesn't like the cats inside her house and she has a little cat box outside.

I noticed the other day that one of Caroline's cats appeared to have just had kittens. Today I've noticed that they are on Rita's doorstep - 1 cat and 3 kittens. Rita usually goes away for 4 weeks in the summer to visit family abroad.

There's a few issues.

These cats & kittens need (IMO) to be neutered.

The RSPCA should be notified, shouldn't they? Caroline can't afford to take care of them. But I am also afraid of getting involved and there being a bad atmosphere between us. I don't think they will be medically checked over either or given jabs.

Should I speak to Rita and see what she thinks should be done?

They are dead cute though.

OP posts:
Report
Fluffycloudland77 · 21/06/2014 22:02

If caroline is on benefits she might qualify for free neutering at pdsa, but would she even have a suitable carrier?

If those kittens are outside they are at risk of predation.

Report
TheDailyWail · 21/06/2014 22:23

Oh no, my dog goes a little bit mental when she hears a noise outside (her bed is nearest the back door where the kittens are) that may scare off a few but not the hungriest or the noisiest. I'll have to talk to Rita as well as Caroline.

OP posts:
Report
thecatneuterer · 22/06/2014 04:33

OP I've seen you live in Bromley. That's only five miles from our Lewisham branch and we can neuter cats and kittens for free in these circumstances.
Please give the Lewisham Branch a call and discuss it with them. If no one is able to bring the cat/kittens in then one of our rescue workers should be able to help with that: //www.celiahammond.org

Report
TheDailyWail · 22/06/2014 07:10

Thank you thecatneuterer.

OP posts:
Report
thecatneuterer · 22/06/2014 13:16

That's great. If you come across any problems please pm me. This really needs to be sorted out and if the owners aren't going to take responsibility then someone needs to.

Report
TheDailyWail · 22/06/2014 14:42

I promise to keep you updated. I tried knocking at Rita's house but no one was there.

My cousin used to be Caroline's friend (which is why I know a bit of the back story). She still has a friend who visits Caroline a lot. My cousin told me today that they paid £1k to get a pug dog yet they can't even afford to feed themselves as a family! Sad that they've got their priories all wr

OP posts:
Report
TheDailyWail · 22/06/2014 14:44

*wrong

I said to my cousin about arranging to get these cats neutered and she said that's the thing about Caroline, everyone needs to do everything for her.

OP posts:
Report
TheDailyWail · 22/06/2014 18:11

Okay, I've put a note through Rita's door with the website and the phone number of Celia Hammond and explaining that I think they should be neutered and checked over and asked her to phone for advice. I hope I worded it well. Fingers crossed that the note works. I don't dare involve Caroline and her partner at the moment.

OP posts:
Report
thecatneuterer · 22/06/2014 19:17

Do you need Rita to do something? Can't you try to do it yourself?

Report
TheDailyWail · 22/06/2014 20:02

They're on the doorstep in her back garden.

OP posts:
Report
TheDailyWail · 24/06/2014 21:05

Rita knocked today. She has contacted Celia Hammond and they are going to take the kittens for rehoming and neuter the adult cats. Rita will continue to look after the adult cats.

Thank you so much for your help. I'll PM you too.

OP posts:
Report
MooseyMouse · 01/07/2014 02:52

Is anyone involve with the welfare of the kids? If they're sleeping on bare mattresses, the house smells and the family can't afford to eat (but has bought an expensive dog) I'd be worried the children are being neglected.

You should call social services or the kids' school (anonymously if you prefer) and let them know. The cats are important so well done for tackling that, but the kids are more important.

Report
TheDailyWail · 06/07/2014 15:20

I have spoken to someone at their school who I know as I think the children should be classed as Young Carers at least.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.