Is wacky woman talking bollocks about cat?

[whethergirl]

My next door neighbour's cat has been meowing constantly for the last few days. I asked her about it this morning, she told me that he is a tom cat, and although she had him castrated years ago, it wasn't done properley . So she can't have him in the house because he keeps spraying everywhere. She says he is meowing because he is hormonal and also because he wants to go back inside. He is quite an old cat.

She has now knocked on my door claiming to have cat flu - which worried me as I was stroking it only earlier today! She also says she is due on, which is why her cat is going particularly crazy(and can I get her some dettox spray to clean up cat spray mess).

She says there is nothing anyone can do about it, not even the RSPCA. She said I can feed him if I want, but when I referred to that later in the conversation ("Is he hungry, do you think?") she said she was already feeding him.

As this neighbour is prone to psychotic episodes - I am a bit worried about cat and just wanted to make sure he is really ok?

Toms can spray after castration, if they learn how to do it and then you neuter then they carry on.

She sounds bit odd. I'd feed it and see if he's hungry.

They don't usually spray in the house unless their very stressed. If she has mental health issues she may not be able to care for him.

I have never heard of a tom reacting to a women being due on, we don't make any smells or signals they'd be interested in unless she's rolling on her back and calling incessantly like a queen on heat.

Sounds really odd. If the miaowing is new behaviour then it would indicate that something isn't right.

Is she saying SHE has cat flu, or the cat has cat flu? If HE has cat flu he needs to be seen by the vet and kept warm & quiet, away from other cats. Humans can't get cat flu. www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/BlobServer?blobtable=RSPCABlob&blobcol=urlblob&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1169720056084&blobheader=application/pdf

The Animal Welfare Act means owners are LEGALLY obliged to care for their pet properly and this includes health.

Weeing everywhere (as opposed to spraying) can be a sign of kidney disease which could mean he's very ill. Castration very rarely goes wrong!

If you can, get her to take the cat to the vet as soon as possible. If she won't you could have a word with your local cat charity they'll probably have people who can visit unofficially & see how they think he is. Alternatively ring the RSPCA national cruelty helpline on 0300 1234 999. Tell them that you are worried by his condition. They may send an inspector out to check on him.

Let us know!

tbh given your last sentence I would be looking to make sure that she is ok before the cat.....and then feed the cat and follow advice as above about making sure the cat is ok

That sounds very odd. Having said that, my tiny neutered boy kitten can yell so loud to get in that he can be heard three rooms away.

Thing is, I know she has mental health issues, and has episodes, other times she's quite normal to talk to although a little neurotic/odd. I always thought of her as a cat lover (she has 2) and the cats must be used to her erratic behaviour.

In the five years I've lived here, I've never heard either of her cats meowing constantly like this. When I spoke to her this morning, I noticed she barricaded the catflap situated at the back door, which is where the cat sits and meows most of the time wanting to go in.

Funny thing is, in all the time I've lived here, this cat has never let me near him, always runs off the minute you come anywhere near, but this morning he was lapping up the attention.

Fluffycloudland77 - I think she was implying that because she was due on, the cat didn't recognise her scent??!

PinkWinged - she claims she's the one with cat flu - although I'm guessing the cat had it first! Is that possible? She told me not to let my ds stroke him in case he caught it. Thanks - will call charity/rspca I think as I'd find it difficult to imply to her that she wasn't looking after her cat properly - she's already quite paranoid and accused me of kidnapping her cat once! (She did apologise profusely the next day, and was v.sad/embarassed about it).

Her mum visits her ocassionally so hoping mum will come soon and notice cat problem.

Baroque - I do ask her how she is whenever I see her, but to be honest I really can't get too involved. Sometimes I hear her sobbing/wailing, but she's always been like this, and though it saddens me, I know she's on medication and there's not much I can do. One time it did really sound like something had gone wrong so I called the police who broke her door down. She'd had a fit (she's epilectic) and somehow ended up trapped under her wardrobe. TBH, esp as she is also a chain smoker, I do worry about being in such close proximity to her at times (dropping a cigarette during a fit, causing a fire, and a million other scenarios I've thought of). Also, she has come up to me and DS and started going on about her dad raping her when she was little but how her therapist doesn't believe her - I had to cut her short as ds was with me

glastocat - but it's odd because I've never even heard her cat meow before!