What do I do about my neighbours cat??

[ilyx]

I really need advice as I’m so stressed out about this.

Basically I saw this cat on my walk a while ago, gave him a stroke, he followed me to my house and I thought he might be a stray so fed him, and then he didn’t leave and stayed outside my house permanently. I took him to vets to see if he had an owner and he was microchipped and I found the owner, she lived round the corner so I went to her house. She basically told me the cat hasn’t lived with her for months and doesn’t stay there anymore as he doesn’t like the other cats who live with her. She just shrugged it off. She takes no responsibility for him at all and won’t do anything about it.

He’s a lovely cat but I can’t have him as he fights my other cats, who are very passive and scared of her. There have been times where they’ve been together in my back garden and he has fought my other cats and luckily I work from home so could break it up as I’d hear the commotion.

I know he’s not my cat but I’ve been feeding him (in the front garden as my cats never go in the front garden), flea combing him (he has an awful flea infestation and I’ve tried front guard but nothing is working), and I can’t bear him being homeless in this weather now the temperature has dropped.

My husband won’t let him sleep in the house at night as he doesn’t like him because of how vicious he’s been to our cats, he’s a bit of a beast, he’s huge compared to my other cats.

I just don’t know what the kindest thing to do is but I have no idea what cat shelters are like, will he just be locked in a cage all day? Because he’s used to being an outdoor cat and I’m worried he’ll hate that even more.

Just want some advice. I know people might tell me it’s not my cat not my problem but my neighbour is a complete idiot and won’t do anything about it. She’s washed her hands of him so I have to sort it out. I’ve told her I can’t take him in and she just doesn’t care he’s homeless.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

Is he neutered? If not that's likely to have a huge impact on his behaviour, although if he's quite old it likely won't stop him spraying. As a halfway house could you get an insulated kennel kind of thing for the garden and pop in some blankets so he at least has somewhere cosy to shelter? I agree if he's used to being outdoors all the time keeping him in with other cats is likely to be very stressful for all concerned.

Stop feeding him.

He’s such a sweet, needy cat who needs a lot of attention, I do spend time with him in my front garden and flea comb him, I am covered with flea bites everytime I spend time with him though. He’ll chase after me whenever I leave the house and meow at me until I give him attention and I feel so bad for him. He’s an older black cat so I think it’s really unlikely he’ll be rehomed as adult cats are hard to rehome and sadly black cats are much less likely to be adopted.

What does your vet advise?

Is he snipped?

You can get outdoor houses to keep him warm ultimately you would be best getting him into a good local rescue if neighbour will consent to surrender I have one local to me she has three types of cats house/barn/ferral she rehomes them all I emailed her about a cat within 24 hours she was out and collected her and another while she was there

Fiprinol based flea treatments are losing efficacy for a lot of pets. Try Johnson's 4fleas spot on. They also do flea tablets that last 48 hours, this doesn't help if they're hiding in bedding but it sounds like he doesn't have a bed.

It's sad, but ultimately it's not your problem.
You could report the owner to the RSPCA for animal neglect seeing as they've let the cat stray with no effort to rehome it.

I have one of these!
He's living in a cosy outdoor kennel as my other cats are having none of him moving in. His owners have surrendered him to me, so I have taken responsibility for flea treatment and vaccination. He seems happy enough to be honest. Gets lots of food and fuss, lives his best life sunbathing and I will make sure he gets any treatment he might need. It's not ideal and I would prefer if he come indoors but this is how it is right now.

Take it to her yard and feed it there

Do you have a local Facebook group. I would post:

Can any body take this beautiful boy. He used to live at number 999 street but the owner said she doesn’t want him any more so he has been wondering around the streets looking for a home. I have fed him but cannot keep him.

Rescue centre. Adult cats do get homed and black cats have a reputation for being friendly. Our black cat came to us as an adult and she is totally obsessed with us. We love her

Stop feeding the cat - you are the reason it is staying at your house.

What and let him starve? You're nice 🙄

Take him to a sanctuary.

I'd personally try and rehome him. Maybe get some advice from a cat shelter.

I had almost this exact situation. He was homeless and sleeping in a bush outside my house. His old owner did want him but she had moved in with her boyfriend and he hated the new cats so refused to go anywhere but my garden 😞
We tried not feeding him but I couldn't do it for more than a day and he just looked so sad trying to get in every time I opened the door. In the end I gave up.
This is him now, he moved in officially a few months ago 😄

Aww, I'd take him in if it was me

Oh wow really, where is she based??? Yes snipped

I’m not upset he’s at my house I’m upset he’s homeless and I have no idea what to do with him. I’m not just going to let him starve.

To everyone saying outdoor cat house I would love to do that but honestly my husband would be so against it, he’s annoyed I even feed him 😩

He could live outside your house, you can get a little cat shelter/cat house for out there that gives him shelter from the weather/somewhere for a bed.

If you want to do that, catch him and take him to the vet for proper flea treatment for both him and his cat-house (one of the vet only household treatments for soft furnishings/flooring lasts 12 months, the other lasts 6, i forget which, but that would help a lot if where he regularly sleeps is treated).

Over the counter flea treatments are rubbish and yet still dangerous chemicals so I would not bother with them, and tablets that kill fleas within 15 minutes will provide no long term protection anyway.

Alternatively, approach the neighbour and ask her to sign his chip over to you, and then find him a rescue space with a decent cat rescue.

@Jedsnewstar

Thats a really good idea I’ll look at Facebook groups

Sorry I can’t reply to everyone but thank you for all the helpful comments, I really want to find a shelter that will let him outdoors, I visited one near to where I live but the cats were all in cages and I couldn’t put him there he’d hate it.

I think finding a shelter that will let him outdoors would be a tall order.

At the cat rescue I volunteer for, all the cats are fostered in people’s homes. We’re not allowed to let them outside, but it’s got to be better than being in a cage. How would you feel about that?

I think you will struggle to find a rescue that has outdoor access accomodation for cats - certainly all the ones I have worked at only had indoor, with the exception of one that was more a sanctury rather than a rehoming rescue.

Some independent rescues will advertise a cat for rehoming, whilst they remain at home with you until a suitable home is found, that could work?

I would suggest phoning someone like Cats Protection and asking them for advice - explaining about the previous owner and your concerns about not wanting him to be caged. I have contacted them in similar situations and found them really helpful.