To wish people would stop trying to rescue other people's pet cats?

[53rdWay]

Every week or so on local FB page: "Anyone recognise this cat? Keeps coming in our garden. Looks lost. Clearly starving, eats everything we put down for it. Need to get it home poor thing." With photo of sleek/pudgy-looking cat.

Then there'll be a load of comments going "can you get him in a carrier???" "poor lamb it's so cold out there today :(" "get a paper collar on it!" "oooh what a gorgeous cat, I'll have it if you can't find an owner" and the local cat rescue crew tagging each other in to get someone down there with a microchip scanner right this instant. And then eventually someone turns up to say "that's my Bertie, I live two doors down from you, he's perfectly fine please stop feeding him" EVERY TIME.

It's a CAT. Just because it's in your garden doesn't mean it's lost and homeless! And just because it eats whatever you give it doesn't mean it's starving!

@Jiggles101 hopefully the breeder will be aware that you are the actual owner?

We got a cat not because we wanted there to be more cat shit in our neighbours' gardens nor because we are entitled people who think there should be more meat-eating animals on earth, but because a) we have a rodent problem and a cat is the best way to solve it and b) a cat needed a home having been thrown out as too much trouble/doing that nasty breeding thing by a previous owner.

The idea that an owner can stop their cat going in someone elses garden is laughable. Most cats bury their waste

Cat owners are generally not responsible for the ‘normal’ behaviour of cats because the law accepts that cats tend to wander into other properties and have instincts which, for example, lead them to prey on small birds. The simple fact of a cat trespassing onto a neighbour’s land would not make the owner responsible if, for example, the cat kills a pigeon or garden bird, urinates on plants or flowers, or defecates in a neighbour’s soil. These would be ‘normal’ cat behaviours that would be expected and, while some neighbours may have strong feelings about the presence of a cat in their garden, the law of trespass and the general civil law would make it unlikely that a claim against a cat owner could be made for these everyday occurances.

The idea that an owner can stop their cat going in someone elses garden is laughable. Most cats bury their waste

Yes, as lots of children and gardeners know well. Choosing to own cats in urban, residential areas is selfish and antisocial. The argument appears to be, “killing birds and leaving toxic shit everywhere is cats’ natural behaviour. And still I choose to inflict this on my neighbours. I don’t care”.

Choosing to own cats in urban, residential areas is selfish and antisocial.

Depends if you consider having a cat in your garden (when you can prevent them from using it as a toilet if you carry out some simple precautions) is worse than having rats and mice in the alley/your house.

I buy multi packs of collars for my two cats. They go through collars really fast.

Both cats chipped. Collars are quick release and reflective. Three times they've brought their collar back with them!

We've had neighbours from streets away return their collars!!!

Our little cats seem to be neighbourhood famous. They are incredibly affectionate with people.

There's a few cats in our area known for the hungry and lost act. So much so that their owners have created community pages for their antics and if anyone posts "lost cat" they get directed to the community page.

I'm very worried about my cats pooping elsewhere. Was so pleased initially when they came home to use the litter tray. I plan to get them an outside litter tray for the garden. Does anyone have experience of this?

I'm thinking about laminating some address labels and attaching to collars. Cheaper than expensive tags. How could I attach to the collar?

@PeakingDuck someone round here ‘rescued’ a cat to an animal shelter on the basis that it was very thin/frail and didn’t have glossy fur.

Turns out the cat belongs to an old lady up the street. Like its owner, the cat is extremely old which is why it looks like shit, it’s looked after very well. Just because an animal doesn’t look healthy doesn’t mean it needs to be abducted and taken to a ‘shelter’ (where it may be put down). No-one looks good in old age.

The stress of the cat abduction nearly finished off the elderly cat - and it’s elderly owner.

Nope! I found my direct next door neighbour on Facebook because she posted a picture of my cat in her garden!
I did take a cat in once though and posted his picture on Facebook- he was incredibly skinny with long matted fur. Turns out he lives near me but has pretty crap owners who don't bother grooming him. I would never attempt to 'rescue' him again though now I know he has a home.

My next door neighbour tried to "rescue" our cat. She meant well, hes very very old and looks proper mangy and scraggy now but the insinuation that we arent looking after him pissed me off.

These two posts one after another made me laugh.....neighbours?

@SciFiScream I really wouldn’t bother getting an outside litter tray. A normal healthy cat simply will not poo in its own territory if it also has the option of pooing in neighbouring territory. It’s an instinctive thing to make sure that the place they sleep isn’t flagged up to predators. (Plus cats are fussy with evil sense of humour.)

All your outside tray will do is attract cats from elsewhere.

There is a cat that comes to us that I think may be a stray but I am worried about taking someone's cat. He has been coming since he was a tiny kitten and we could see all of his rib bones. At times he looks filthy and I have seen him out in storms and rain. He isn't neutered which is why I do suspect he is stray as not many people will want an unneutered tom wandering around their home. We have started feeding him when he begs as he is really really skinny. But he is terrified of people and runs away whenever we try to get near him.

What would people do in this case? To be brutally honest, if he has owners they are neglectful given he never seems to be inside. He has been sleeping in our greenhouse. I would happily take him in if he doesn't belong to anyone. At what point do you assume a cat needs help?

"The problem is a lot of cat owners don’t put collars on their cats"
This is because outdoor cats climb through hedges and trees and the collar gets stuck, therefore the cat gets stuck. Very few people put collars on them for this reason. My cat wont wear a collar, we did try...impossible to get one on him.

In the meantime, the rest of us are having to deal with it, in our gardens, where we’d like to garden and have our children play free from the hazards of cat shit.

Forgive me if this seems a stupid question but I am not from the UK so I don't know much about the wildlife, but aren't there lots of animals that shit in your garden? Birds, foxes, mice etc. Why is it different when a cat does it? Surely if you have an outdoor space you accept that nature will do it's own thing in there?

I must admit I do worry about some cats I see wandering about, but that's because my village is awful for cats going missing and/or getting run over.
But I do restrain myself from 'rescuing' any, or I would be up to my armpits in kitties.

Mine don't wear collars, next door neighbours know them though. And I wouldn't be disturbed if someone posted their photos on FB, I'd just say, they have an owner and please don't feed the little pregnant beggar, she should be on a diet.

Thin cat with poor matted coat? Well, I’m going to feed it a couple of meals

Unfortunately, for our (thin, scraggy) elderly cat who was on a carefully regulated thyroid diet, that 'help' could have made her very unwell. I had to get quite blunt with the neighbour who thought 'a bit of chicken or tuna surely can't hurt'.

Arya I thought the same 😂

cat owners as annoying as it is cannot identify a cats by its poo. How do you propose they take responsibility for it. Cats walk and poo miles away from their actual home in a day. That is crazy.

The answer is simple. Keep them in your house.

Don’t want your cat being run over/stolen/fed by other people/poisoned/to be a burden on your neighbours? There’s a simple and easy solution to all of these things.

You want a pet? Great. Have a pet. Don’t foist it on others. Keep your pet in your house.

It’s not difficult.

PeakingDuck someone round here ‘rescued’ a cat to an animal shelter on the basis that it was very thin/frail and didn’t have glossy fur.

Turns out the cat belongs to an old lady up the street. Like its owner, the cat is extremely old which is why it looks like shit, it’s looked after very well. Just because an animal doesn’t look healthy doesn’t mean it needs to be abducted and taken to a ‘shelter’ (where it may be put down). No-one looks good in old age.

The stress of the cat abduction nearly finished off the elderly cat - and it’s elderly owner.

If you own a cat and don’t get it microchipped/keep the details up to date, you’re a dick
If you think a cat is in trouble and you start feeding/looking after it without getting it scanned as soon as you can, you’re a dick.

It really isn’t difficult.

Unfortunately, for our (thin, scraggy) elderly cat who was on a carefully regulated thyroid diet, that 'help' could have made her very unwell. I had to get quite blunt with the neighbour who thought 'a bit of chicken or tuna surely can't hurt'.

Cats eat a LOT worse than chicken and tuna when out and about. If your cat’s diet is really that restrictive, it should be kept in the house/garden where it’s diet can be managed effectively.

Mine have collars with ‘do not feed’ on them and still get fed/scavenge. People regularly call me as they’ve ‘found’ my cat on this street- even though the collar says our address

They lose the collars frequently and I’ve lost count of the call from vets with my cat having been brought in! We’ve had Facebook posts with ‘oh this poor cat he’s so hungry’, and my friend down the road called me because her neighbour had ‘found’ my cat and taken him to the vet- the vet had misread a digit on the microchip and thought he was lost - my friend knows all about our cats and our two and two together.

Thing is they aren’t scruffy or mangy, they’re very fat and incredibly gregarious...

The UK is one of a very few countries where it's considered normal for pet cats to be let out to roam. There are also about 9 million stray and feral cats in the UK, mainly because people are irresponsible and don't neuter... People often assume they can tell by sight which one is an actual stray and which one isn't, but it's really not always obvious at all.

I understand it's awful for anyone who's cat has been accidentally "rescued". I used to volunteer at a cat charity and our advice for anyone asking us to take in a cat that they see regularly in their garden is always to start with a paper collar, it's the easiest way to find the owner if the cat goes home and owner can contact you. We also always suggest speaking to near neighbours to ask if anyone knows where the cat is coming from as well. Charities always scan for a microchip when taking in a new cat as well, and strays are held for at least 7 days before they are considered for rehoming, most stay at shelters for weeks or months and no previous owner ever comes forward for them.

Any responsible owner can catproof their garden or build a catio so that your cat can go out into its own garden but not roam. Safer for your cat, better for neighbours and wildlife. All responsible owners also get their cat microchipped and neutered - about 95% of cats coming into rescues are unneutered and not chipped... In the last year I was a cat rescue volunteer I only remember one cat who was taking in as a suspected stray and reunited with owner with the microchip information. All others either didn't have a chip, or if they did, details were out of date or the owner wasn't interested ("I gave him away 3 years ago, I don't know the new owners name" etc. stories).

aren't there lots of animals that shit in your garden? Birds, foxes, mice etc. Why is it different when a cat does it? Surely if you have an outdoor space you accept that nature will do it's own thing in there?

Mm... birds, ok, but I have a 6ft fence and live in the middle of a town centre estate so the only animals that jump the fence are cats. I've never seen a fox, badger, mouse or even a hedgehog.

That said I just ignore them. If I don't feed them or fuss them they don't bother coming back!

I've posted about our neighbours cat before who deserves an oscar for his poor starving cat performance- they know he does the same at two other houses at least but are adamant they DO actually feed him, whatever he says!

I wish someone would rescue all the little buggers constantly in my garden. And take them far far away.