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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Thinking of kidnapping this cat....(semi-lightearted)

36 replies

PrincessTeacake · 20/11/2013 00:41

I've run into this cat three times now in the same area. All three times have been when walking the mindees to and from playschool. I noticed her because she was missing a lot of hair on her neck and had a few crusting-over wounds. The first time I was a bit worried and wanted to take her to the vet, but obviously couldn't with two small children and a buggy in tow. I knocked on the door of the house she was skulking around but no-one was in.

She seems friendly enough, I've seen her again today and her neck seems to be healing, but she was eating something off the ground that I think was a mouse (it was dark, couldn't tell) and she has no collar so still unsure of whether she's a stray or not. No collar but looks to be in good health aside from the neck problem.

AIBU to try and catch her for a vet visit? If I see her again. There never seems to be anyone in the house she skulks around.

OP posts:

HeffaFlump · 20/11/2013 00:43

Poor thing I certainly would

Caitlin17 · 20/11/2013 00:46

Yes. I think I would.

Scarletohello · 20/11/2013 00:47

She doesn't seem to be loved or looked after by anyone so if you can give her a loving home then yes definitely!

( you have to keep us all posted tho and put pics up when she's well..:))

thecatneuterer · 20/11/2013 00:50

Of course you should. While she's there they can check for a microchip and that she's neutered. Poor thing.

Caitlin17 · 20/11/2013 01:07

I have to confess, for reasons which are irrelevant my grown up DS and a group of friends were in Sheffield for several days last year and kidnapped a kitten which they thought had been abandoned.

I had to take the word of DS and one of their party( who was slightly older) that she looked too young to be out on her own. DS also knows about kittens and letting them out.

She was taken back to Aberdeen. I first saw her a couple of months later so difficult to tell. DS was mightily relieved when they took her to a vet in Aberdeen to check she was ok that she wasn't chipped. She lives with me now and bullies my 3 boy cats

lookatmybutt · 20/11/2013 01:09

I'm a bit cat mad, so I'd at least capture mog and take her to the vet. If her wounds are around her neck and base of tail area, it's likely a flea allergy and these can clear up pretty quickly with treatment (though the fur takes a while to grow back). Vet can also check for a chip.

I personally wouldn't be too bothered about a clearly neglectful possible owner - if only for their own selfishness, who wants a scabby cat and a house full of fleas?

If you are worried about a potential owner (I wouldn't be, sod them), you can get her treated, keep her in for a bit until she's healed, then re-release her in the area you found her.

WorraLiberty · 20/11/2013 01:15

She doesn't seem to be loved or looked after by anyone so if you can give her a loving home then yes definitely!

Apart from possibly its owners who have micro chipped it (because collars can be dangerous) and who have taken it to the vet for treatment...hence the OP saying it seems to be healing?

Bit of a huge conclusion to jump to??

OP I would knock at the door again tomorrow and enquire.

lookatmybutt · 20/11/2013 01:17

Though I would also add, it's possible she's a well loved escapee who's got lost. Maybe you could make somebody really happy by finding their lost mog if she is chipped.

caruthers · 20/11/2013 01:18

We "Borrowed" a Cat we were feeding and who was out all weathers when we moved. Not knowing the owners and the amount of time the thing was outside it was a good idea to make sure it was still getting fed.

Now it keeps nipping into my next door neighbours even though our back door is very rarely closed.

lookatmybutt · 20/11/2013 01:28

Worra - if she has owners she is still living with and they let it get so bad that she's losing fur then they are falling down on the job, to put it mildly.

I wouldn't bother with knocking too much. She may just be hanging around there for her own personal convenience - she could have wandered some distance.

DropYourSword · 20/11/2013 01:40

I think that's unfair lookat, and everyone else who have basically decided this cat is not being cared for appropriately by its owner. Right there in the OP Princess stated that the cat looked to be in good health and that it's neck was healing.
I had a cat who had a terrible skin reaction to something...We never figured out what but she needed antibiotics, lotion etc. She was an independent cat who liked to be out in all weather. She was microchipped but didn't wear a collar as she had managed to lose two previous ones and got tangled in her third (somehow managed to loosen it and get her front right leg through it...almost like she was wearing it as a handbag and developed a sore where it must have rubbed for about 12 hours). She was very much loved, cared for and fed, but she would catch birds and mice for the hell of it.
It could really be true that this cat is not being cared for, but equally it absolutely could be cared for and loved too.
If an owner micro chips their cat, there's also a high chance they have desexed it. Desexed animals have a D tattooed on their left ear. The first thing I would do would be to look for that tattoo...if there isn't one there that would be an indication to me to do something more.

WorraLiberty · 20/11/2013 01:48

Worra - if she has owners she is still living with and they let it get so bad that she's losing fur then they are falling down on the job, to put it mildly.

Nope not necessarily

The cat (and I don't know why we've determined it's female) could well be half way through its veterinary treatment.

lookatmybutt · 20/11/2013 01:54

Drop - Are you in the UK? I presumed OP was. None of my local vets do tattooing or ear nicking on neutering.

Yes, she may be well loved, which is partly why I say catch her. I don't put collars on my cats either, because they can easily shed them or get caught up in them but they are chipped.

One of my neighbours lost her cat on the way to the vet for a simple wellness check when he broke out of his carrier. They were finally reunited 3 months later because he was chipped. The poor little guy looked like Skeletor after his trauma, but was and still is well loved.

ApocalypseCheeseToastie · 20/11/2013 01:58

Be very careful op, dps childhood Mog was completely bald thanks to a flea allergy and this was with 100s of pounds worth of treatment.......poor thing looked like it had been dipped in acid.

He used to venture out from time to time if the door was left open and one particular old cat hoarder lady kept reporting to RSPCA.....luckily they could prove it had indeed been receiving treatment.

He disappeared one day, did he usual stint pestering the people coming out of the co-op for a scratch behind the ears then vanished. He was either taken by some well meaning cat thief person or took himself off to die.

Poor mog.

DropYourSword · 20/11/2013 02:07

No lookat not in UK. But I really thought they did ear tattoos everywhere! . I didn't even realise mine had been done for a couple of years months until I looked closely!

Latara · 20/11/2013 05:30

I would try to find out who the owners are.

She could be someone's well-loved moggy with a healing flea allergy (happened recently to my friend's cat who is now recovered).

Don't just cat-nap the cat.

Twattyzombiebollocks · 20/11/2013 06:31

Don't just cat nap it. It's likely someone's much loved pet. My old cat is a dirty mingling little street roamer, he has longish fur and tends to get matted underneath, however he won't allow us to groom him, all I can do is pin him down and snip matts off carefully with the scissors. He also frequently has bark clippings and other assorted twigs in the matts because he's lazy and doesn't groom himself enough. He is chipped but not collared since I came downstairs to find the girl across the roads cat dead in the tree in the front garden hanging by its collar.
He also hunts and regularly can be seen dismembering small animals and birds in the street.
So to look at him you would think he's unloved and uncared for, but in reality he's much loved, and we do the best we can for him. If you feel you need to do something, then take the cat to the vets to check for a microchip.

EleanorHandbasket · 20/11/2013 06:44

My much loved cat is allergic to fleas, so if ever he picks them up (we treat regularly) he loses big patched of hair. It's awful.

Also, I don't collar and of my cats ad they are roamers and collars can get caught.

WinterWinds · 20/11/2013 09:49

No I wouldn't take a cat off the streets after only seeing it 3 times.

One of my cats is regularly seen eating mice, its what he does despite being fed on demand at home. He also had several bald patches due to hair pulling a few months ago.
Another cat who I no longer have used to get a bald scabby ring round his neck from wearing a collar
A Longhaired pedigree cat used to get terribly matted resulting in spending most of the year bald or very unkempt.

It would be too easy to jump to conclusions, (in fact people have done in the past) that my cats were not being cared for properly.
I wouldn't thank you for taking my cat off the street.

I would personally keep an eye out but as you say it looks well cared for I think it's just minding its own business and doing what cats do!!!

WinterWinds · 20/11/2013 09:53

Also forgot to say I don't collar my cats anymore due to 2 of them getting their jaw stuck in it causing cuts and the loss of a tooth.

And one getting his leg stuck right through the collar and it cutting into skin on the underside.

strawberrypenguin · 20/11/2013 10:04

Of the cat looks healthy apart from the healing scabs I would leave it alone. If its in good shape otherwise it is more than likely someone much loved pet who is receiving treatment for its problems.
My MIL's cat for example is much doted on but is half bald for no reason the vet can find! He perfectly healthy and much loved though and she would be devistated if someone took him (as would any at owner)

strawberrypenguin · 20/11/2013 10:05

Oh and a cat eating a mouse is not a sign of neglect! It's just what they do

alphablock · 20/11/2013 10:31

I have 4 cats who all detest wearing collars and have all now mastered the art of removing them within seconds of me putting them on (safety collars designed to unclip when tugged hard). They are microchipped and much loved. They regularly catch and eat mice despite me providing plenty of good quality cat food. One of them once shed a lot of fur (possibly due to stress when my DD was born) which fortunately has grown back and a couple of them have had wounds which were treated by the vet but looked pretty grim in the short term.

It is hard to judge whether this cat really does need helping, but if you are really worried I suggest you continue to try to track down an owner before doing anything else.

Peekingduck · 20/11/2013 10:40

It's a cat that had a wound on it's neck that is now healing. You saw it eating a mouse (it's a cat, they do this even if they are being fed). It looks to be in good health. In other words, there is nothing wrong with it.
Of course you shouldn't pick it up and remove it from the street. If it looks in good health it's probably someone's pet. If you really want to do something you could put a collar with a message attached, but of course bear in mind that some cats hate them and are skilled in removing them, so still no guarantee the owner would get to read it. If you want to rescue try Cat's Protection League.

Peekingduck · 20/11/2013 10:41

I can't get my head around why opinions swing so wildly sometimes. What about all the "my cat has vanished/been stolen" threads?

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