How can people not care for their animals?

[Sweetdreamsbeautifulnightmare]

We have a new neighbour who moved in a few months ago who has a guinea pig. I get on well with the neighbour and we have socialised. However, she doesn’t look after the guinea pig. I can see it from my garden and it’s never fed nor cleaned out. I’ve hinted at it and she says she doesn’t care about it 😔 she’s basically waiting for it to die! I offered to look after it myself and she skirted around it.

I said again how we would love a guinea pig shall we take it for you and she just kind of ignored me!

However, over the last two weeks it hasn’t been cleaned out and I hear it squealing. When I know she’s gone out to work (she works in a care home and leaves the same time every day) I sneak in and feed it! However I only give it greens and veggies etc.

I’ve now noticed its food bowl of pellets is empty and it has no hay at all either and hasn’t for days. I then went and got some hay and food and have been sneaking that in too! I feel so sorry for it as I’d give it a lovely home and let it run on the grass etc.. this one never comes out at all.

I don’t know what else I can do though? I know he has some annual leave soon so won’t be leaving at the same time for me to sneak in the garden! What would you do?! I genuinely feel so upset for the poor baby!

I think you have to keep on offering to take it. Is she going away during her annual leave? You could offer to take it whilst she’s away and then say you’d like to keep it maybe? I do agree this is cruelty, and in an ideal world reporting it to the RSPCA would be the solution, but it wouldn’t guarantee any action was taken, and it would cause huge conflict between you and your neighbour.

Agree. Find someone who'll love it preferably a distance away so she cant track it down. Shes lost her rights to be its owner by neglecting the poor thing. Find a new loving home. If you keep it she'll want it back. Horrible woman.

Please take it, it must be suffering terribly. As for her being a carer , what carer doesn’t look after her own pets !! Sorry I report her to her care home as well !!

Be the better person OP and take the poor thing and dgaf what she says or thinks of you. Hold your head up high whenever you see her, she's vile. But I would also then take him or her to a reputable rescue who specialises in small animals and will be in a position to care for the poor little thing properly and rehome it to a home with some company

And if you do rescue it, I would video yourself doing it, and demonstrating the living conditions it is being kept in, just incase she tries to report you for theft or trespassing.

I think that people should be required to get a license before being allowed to get a pet.

What do you think that would do?
People need to get a licence before they drive. Or buy a gun.
It's people that are the problem and laws and licences can only do so much.
I think we need to realise that keeping pets is not in their best interests and they should be relegated to the past when we didn't know better.

What sort of test do you think they should take to get a guinea pig license?!

Ok - the most important thing is the guinea pig’s welfare.

I would report to RSPCA and tell a local rescue organisation as well.

In the meantime, offer to pay her for the cage - you will take it off her hands etc.

If the RSPCA does nothing and she doesn’t want to sell to you, find a way to make it look like it escaped or was got by a fox, and get it to a rescue centre. In those circumstances you probably can’t keep it but it will find a good home.

I would try to keep things civil but I would struggle to be friendly with someone who could do that to an animal. They sound really ignorant and horrible to purposely leave it to starve to death.

Please can you update us , I can’t stand animal cruelty. Please rescue it ❤️

Please please take it OP and make it look like it escaped. Then take it to a rescue centre. That is heartbreaking to read and you MUST intervene immediately. How utterly cruel she is.

I’d be fretting about it too OP. Guinea pigs are so sweet but not as easy to care for as people think. This poor soul is suffering - I’d go with the fox plan…. And distance myself from her - she is not a good person to treat an animal so.

This!!! Just do it

Does she come in your house at all? I would just take it, leave the doors open like something has taken it and house it inside.
Keep it inside, where she won't know you have it?
Alternatively I would just tell her it's cruel and you are coming through collect it to take care of it, rather than asking.

Sorry, I just read her son comes round yours, I didn't read that before posting.

Please update OP.

Worrying that she works in a care home and this is her mindset!!

Tell her a postman or delivery driver mentioned it to you and they said it needs reporting?

I can’t abide this sort of thing, it would drive me mad. She’s clearly incapable of caring for the poor creature. The guinea pig has no rights and no choice in this matter but you do OP. You’ve got to do what’s right. I agree with the pps who say film the conditions and take the poor little thing into your care. Small pets are so often neglected. Contact your local animal sanctuary if they’ll be more help than the rspca and see if you can find another one to keep it company. Two males may fight but females live quite harmoniously together if they have enough room. People are giving away hutches on Freecycle, gum tree, Facebay etc, look for one. This neighbour of yours should be bloody grateful don’t feel guilty. If you don’t want to rescue the guinea pig without her knowledge then tell her upfront that you’d like to take care of it for her and the kid can visit if he wants. Offer to buy it. Anything. Do the right thing and get that suffering creature away from there.

An IQ test. Some people are too thick to look after animals!

Well for a start, the license could be removed if the pets are not properly cared for

I would too.

Please,please just take it, and like a previous poster said ,make it look like a fox broke into the hutch, they are more than happy to be inside in a good sized c& c cage, but it a friend, and you'll of done the right thing, good luck 🤞

Have you gone in and taken it yet op? Keeping my fingers crossed you have!!

Paint it with food colouring so it looks different

Honestly if they are buying off Facebook who will check for a licence