You know you can't feed other people's horses?

[UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername]

I take it that applies to donkeys as well?

Yes just don't feed anything that isn't yours.

😂 wasn't expecting that question

It applies to any animal you don’t own and don’t have permission to feed from the owners!

Nobody should be feeding any animal that isn't theirs without asking first!

If you don't own the donkey or horse, then don't feed it. That's it.

Why is acceptable to feed cats then?

always see posts here, facebook etc about poor starving cats and the recommendation always seems to be to feed them rather than let them “starve”.

as the owner of an elderly cat with IBD who yes looks thin because he’s old, has IBD and is oriental, and yes will go mental for felix as he gets a medical diet at home, he’ll never gain weight if people keep feeding him crap!

i said again and again don’t feed it if it isn’t yours but always get shot down.

Same.

Our cat stays indoors now since we moved. He’s 16 now and had no interest in going out anyway. Where we lived before people always “felt sorry” for him and fed him. He’d come back home and vomit wet cat food all back up over the carpet and have diarrhoea for the rest of the day.

I put a post on the local facebook group with his photo explaining that he was fine, had appropriate medical treatment and medical diet so please don’t feed him as it makes him even more ill.

I got reported the the RSPCA for neglect by a “large number of people.” You can’t win sometimes.

Went out for a walk once with someone who ignore me saying it's best not to give random donkeys polos. He ended up with 2 broken fingers. Those teeth are designed to chew very tough vegetation and can grip very hard.

Why is acceptable to feed cats then? it's not imo

I live in an area with a lot of horses and there is signage everywhere saying do not feed them and also don’t remove head collars. People still do. No idea why. Probably the same people who have no control over their dogs and trample over fields with sheep in them.

We also have a number of donkeys nearby but the owner does allow feeding of apples.

It’s not acceptable to feed cats either.

Well it’s difficult to distinguish between a skinny old cat and a feral / abandoned cat. If people had skinny horses and donkeys roaming around their back gardens and sitting on their doorstep neighing I assume many occupants would be out there with the carrots and apples. People who feed cats may be mistaken but they’re not unkind.

You should never feed any animal that's not yours except birds and hedgehogs
Its dangerous and could kill them

I have a vision of a horse walking up to someone with a permission slip saying their mum says it’s ok to feed them sugar lumps

Yep, donkeys can fall ill by eating too much sugar (eg sugar in fruit and sugar in too much rich grass) the same way horses can.

There are some donkeys near me who you are allowed to feed, but only ginger nuts apparently.

It's not IMO and it's one of the reasons mine don't go outside of our property.

I hate that the advice is just to feed cats.

@ShirleyPhallus don't give my horse ideas about permission slips😆. I daren't give him treats in the field as one of his field mates gets thuggish and he thinks he is hard done by.

People who feed cats may be mistaken but they’re not unkind

Are they? If their insistance on knowing best means suffering for the cat then they’re more than unkind.

if you don’t know or aren’t sure, take it to the vet and get it scanned/a once over, or post on social media before you decide to feed it.

the amount of times i’ve seen posts of clearly fat and glossy six dinner sids with their nose in a bowl of tuna, accompanied by “this cat has started coming into my garden, fed it as it was starving and it ate a whole tin, now it comes back every day so I think it’s a stray”.

genuinely skinny, sick cats are rare. And need medical attention, not food that may harm them.

If the animal isn't yours, don't feed it.

Don’t feed any animal that isn’t yours without permission from the owner, horses, donkeys cows. It’s also not acceptable to pet dogs without asking the owner first.

I know someone whose horse was killed as an muppet cut their lawn and gave it to their horse. People just don't understand how many things can be toxic to them!

Also it's not okay to feed random peoples cats either. They make look hungry but chances are they probably have a condition that makes them that way unless you 100 percent know that the cat is feral don't do it no cat owner will thank you for it.

People who feed cats may be mistaken but they’re not unkind

Sorry but I can't agree here.

Don't feed cats that aren't yours - if you think they're abandoned or feral, contact the appropriate charity for advice first.

People who say things like “this cat adopted us” or “he chose us” drive me bonkers. It’s someone else’s family pet. It’s not ok to steal a dog, I don’t know why people think it’s acceptable for a cat. If you’re concerned contact a rescue charity or a vet. If you want a cat buy a kitten or adopt one from a charity, don’t start feeding someone else’s tins of tuna and be surprised when it starts hanging around.