Is it cruel to leave cat unattended for 14 days?

[VinoEsmeralda]

Neighbors gone on holiday and left their 8 month cat alone. Not seen anybody to come and feed it.

I think this is cruel ( same people think it is acceptable to let kids jump on trampoline with rabbit on it)!

AIBU?

Legally, all pets need to be checked at least once in every 24 hour period. Many animals would normally be ok if left for longer periods with access to food and water, BUT, 24hrs is deemed to be the longest period it is acceptable for an injured/ill animal to be left without attention.

If there is anyone, whoever has agreed to look after these cats in the owner's absence is legally responsible for them (and any vet bills unless previously arranged!). As far as I'm aware, the RSPCA would use the tape across the door method to establish whether someone was entering the house or not. So in the case upthread where people were going in morning and evening, I would be asking the RSPCA for what evidence they had that the animals were not being attended to. It's a very sad tale but I'm sure this would have been a fairly isolated case.

Whether or not a cat is seen in during a 24hr period could be an issue, but it's about building up a picture over several days plus any knowledge of normal behaviour. It might be clear that food/drink is being taken, in which case it might be reasonable to assume the animal is ok. If food is left uneaten and the cat hasn't been seen for several days, then you likely have a missing animal and reasonable steps should be taken to locate - searching/posters up etc.

So OP, I would have a think about whether it's possible for anyone else to be checking on the cats, but I'm afraid there are a lot of people out there who think it is ok for animals to be left with automatic feeders, and checked only every couple of days or so. (And agree the rabbit on the trampoline isn't exactly building a great picture.)

Disclaimer: I used to work in a vets, but many moons ago!

why haven't you already reported them to the rspca? for the rabbit torture?

We did phone re the rabbit incident but were told that they needed proof ( ie video). We fell out over the rabbit incident and really only say hello in passing... When they went away for a long weekend me and another neighbor went to check upon rabbit but next time they went there was a keypad on the door.....

Had a good look as she was chasing birds in our garden and she actually looks ok. They have been gone since BH Monday

Re us missing visitors- post in front of porch and mail stuck in letterbox, visitors would take this out, no? See earlier comments about CCTV

My neighbours check on my cars while I'm away but they don't come into the house as such, they feed them in our outbuilding at the back so maybe something like that could explain the post not being removed.
Also i have 4 cats, only one cosied up on my lap as we speak is seen regularly throughout the day, the other three I barely see in the summer, they come as they please so even visitors to the house might not see them ...

Mil only goes away when DH is nights. He feeds, waters and cuddles the cat before and after work.

He actually goes in his break ( he then uses the kitchen) so around midnight and on his way home around 6:15.

Make sure before you report.

I am a cat lover and belong to many FB kitty groups that are now seeing a huge upsurge in cats that, we believe, have been left whilst their owners go on holiday but then stray looking for human contact, food and warmth. Although I have looked after a neighbours cat whilst they were away I would not ever leave my cats in this way. I would always use a cattery, their holiday costs are just part of the overall holiday costs is the way I look at it. Most catteries are less than £8-13 per day (depending on area) so really, it is not that much at all if you are paying out for a holiday. Yes, cats need to have their jabs but really your cat should be having those regardless of whether you go on holiday or not in my opinion.

It is correct to say that cats can survive by hunting for wild food but the reality is that those food sources do not contain the same fat levels as cat food. In addition, when living on birds and mice cats will develop worms amazingly quickly. This is why stray cats look so lean and ill so quickly.

What would I do? Well, you have said you have a dog, and really you should not be expected to look after this cat if you have not been asked to do so. Do you know any local cat lovers that you could explain the situation to that may be able to help and take the cat until they return? In my local area there are two of us that do this and what we thought was a stray actually had an owner who was in hospital. Sometimes, it is just not intentional although in the case you have described it is just ignorance and neglect.

Keep us updated, poor kitty.

You need to be very sure that the cat is not being fed/ looked after.

My ds fed a friend's cats last week. He let himself in through the back gate and used the back door, so the friend's neighbours wouldn't have necessarily seen him coming in to feed the cats. I was at work so don't know exactly what time he went to feed them in the morning but can't imagine it was much before 11

We always use teenagers to feed our cats when we go away - we did try a cattery a couple of times but the cats hated it. I think they are much happier at home, where they can come and go as they please, rather than be stuck in a confined space for two weeks. Plus the teenagers we use are cat lovers who are very happy to give out cuddles and attention to our cats.

I wouldn't have put my cat in a cattery- he would have hated it. He loved his home. I used to leave him and a neighbour fed him twice a day - she was a real cat lover and used to make a great fuss of him. She wasn't an immediate neighbour so wouldn't necessarily have been seen.
It was a much better arrangement than a cattery where he would have pined and not known where he was or what was happening.

I can't think why anyone would think being penned up in a cattery was better than their own home with people to feed and make a fuss of, able to come and go when they wanted on home territory.

My parents cat is treated like a baby in our family but they recently went to China for a 2 week holiday. Cat goes out at night usually anyway and they had someone in to feed it daily. Point is, the cat was fine if a bit clingy when they came back. But these animals are pretty good at looking after themselves and getting on with things. If you ndn cat was getting fed I would have no issue.

We had a cat for 16 years - she preferred to be at home when we went away and didn't want to interact with anyone she didn't know well. A neighbour fed her daily when we were away once and never saw her, but the food was being eaten.

Over time we moved from putting food out in a bowl every day to using an automatic feeder for her dry food and a water dispenser, but she never used to drink much in the house anyway. She was quite happy being left at home with the occasional, i.e. every few days, visitor checking on her. She never used a litter tray and went outside via the cat flap.

What is this law about checking on them every 24 hours?

To those people saying it's cruel, etc. a lot of people are judging by what they would do with their own pets and the OP does not know what arrangements her neighbours have made. If the neighbours were generally horrible and didn't seem to care about the cat when they are there, it would give more cause for concern and I think there are a lot of over reactions on here.

A lot depends on the temperament of the cat ime. Our last cat was very happy to be left with neighbours coming in to feed her. If she felt lonely she'd just take herself next door and hang around with them til we came back!

Our new cat though is a proper wuss if we're not around. We went away for 3 nights with the neighbour arrangement and he freaked out and ended up following some random men home from the pub one night looking for company. We had to put posters up to get him back. We now leave him in a cattery if we're away for any length of time. I'm sure he's bored out of his wits but at least we know he's safe.

Wow you ask about the law it is the 2007 Animal Welfare Act that states animals should be checked regularly, subsequent case law has shown that the courts deem that less than every 24 hours is neglect.

Agree with everyone else that you really need to know whether someone's fedding/looking out for it

We used to take ours to relatives when we were away, but the vet said they're much better off left at home with someone coming in - apparently moving them means they have to re-establish their their territory later, which causes a lot of stress

We tried this in August, and she really is a lot happier than after previous breaks ...

I'd love to know how anyone is meant to 'check' our semi-feral cats every 24 hours! When we are away for more than 48 hours (we have a 48-hour automatic feeder) the neighbours come in to sort out their food, but I very much doubt they ever actually see either cat. And there is no way I would put them in a cattery, they would hate it, they don't like being handled or other cats so I can't think of anything worse!

OP - it sounds in this situation that you can be pretty certain that no-one is feeding this cat so I would report it. Though when did they go away - if less than 48 hours you can't be sure that someone isn't due to come in.

Well the law is an ass then! Honestly, with lots of cats you would never see them unless you knew their routine and even then they do what they want and won't necessarily be around. What animals does the case law relate to, out of interest?

Oh no! Poor cat. I'm stressing about leaving mine for over Saturday and most of Sunday and the neighbour is coming in to feed her. That's a shame. They may have one of those timed feeders. Are you certain it isn't in a cattery?

I was really ashamed when I found out about the 24 hour law thing from my vet. We used to leave ours from Friday evening to Sunday morning (with loads of food and water down, and they had a cat flap) if we went away for the weekend Mind, since one of them got diagnosed with diabetes we pay a vet nurse to come twice a frigging day when we're away. Costs the Earth - but she does do the litter tray which is almost worth it.

If you're absolutely sure nobody is coming to look after this cat, you need to report it to the RSPCA pronto. They sound like dreadful people - bouncing the rabbit and not giving their cat water :(

I'm sorry I hadn't read the thread properly - the cat clearly isn't in a cattery.

I realise there are many wonderful catteries, but even this can go wrong. We once left ours at a (fully registered) place, only to find out later that the owner had gone away leaving his kid brother in charge

We became suspicious when on pick-up he insisted on bringing her to us, rather than us going to the actual pens, and were horrified to find our poor pet covered in filth, much thinner and clearly distressed - needless to say we reported the place

Obviously it depends on the cat, but our vet's suggestion to leave her at home with proper regular care from the neighbours has certainly worked for us

My cat went to a cattery once she hated it became so stressed clumps of fur fell so she stayed home every summer for 17 years with neighbours and family feeding her she was fine maybe they do have a feeder for it I dont think its cru el really

Oh the drinking my cat hardly ever drunk from her bowl she would when it was first filled then leave it she drunk out a dripping tap in the garden mostly or from puddles

Half the time my cat sitters didnt see her but she was eating one neighbour tried to get her into her house to look after her there cat was having none of that

My cat doesn't even have a water bowl anymore. He never drank out of it, as he prefers to leave little muddy paw prints in the toilet bowl or knock my chilli plants over while drinking their water so i gave up after 3 years.

When on holiday people would go every other day to feed cat (with dry food), but the problem is that he overate and has got really fat.

This year, I've arranged for daily visits and restricted food amounts and he has kept his weight better.

The poor sod obviously felt lonely and has been clingy, but other than that, he's been fine.

He's traveled well in the past (moving countries) and settled well throughout, but I can't easily find a cattery here. :( I think most people just leave cats to their own devices, just as long as they have food and water.