Neighbours kittens

[ShadowsShadowsEverywhere]

We've recently had new neighbours move in next door. Towards the end of last week two kittens appeared in their garden, I'm not sure whether they'd just got them or had been keeping them inside for a few days.
One of the kittens kept popping its head over our fence and watching DCs playing.

Yesterday when I went to take the bins out the same kitten was sat on my path mewing. As soon as she saw the open door she was in the house. I ushered her out the back door, but she spent the rest of yesterday coming back in, or playing with the DCs toys in the garden. Every time something made her jump she ran to me and hid under my long skirt! By about 6.30 she was clearly hungry, had jumped up and eaten some scraps in my kitchen and drank DSs milk, so I shooed her back out the front door where I'd found her as she just didn't seem to want to go over the fence back to her own garden.

She was v v thin and seemed confused about where home was. Yesterday she was coming in the windows from the garden and mewing a lot. What do I do if she comes back today? It's obviously more interesting here as neighbours are out most of the day and we are home from lunchtime onwards most days and have a garden full of toys and balls etc which she spent hours playing with yesterday. I'm worried about how thin she looked but don't know a lot about cats or kittens so don't know how normal that is. Any advice would be v much appreciated!

Afternoon all, I have an update!

So yesterday next door packed everything up in their removal van, took one car and off they went. They'd gone earlier than anticipated so I hadn't had chance to do anything about the cats yet. Last night when I went to put the hens to bed I noticed that their living room window was shut, all curtains drawn etc unlike when they've been on holiday and have left window open for cats etc. So I assumed that was that.

Then this afternoon on getting back from lunch who do I see trotting down the road but Merlin! It appears they have left him behind. I don't know about Tortie, I haven't seen him and am keeping an eye out. Poor Merlin was so hungry that he came straight in when I waved a pouch of food at him. His collar is off and I've had a good look at him, he even let me pick him up for a cuddle. Pom poms still there, no obvious signs of fleas. He's chunky, doesn't feel thin so has obv been finding food. So far so good with him and my two. No fighting at all, I imagine they've come across each other in the gardens and a pecking order has already been established. There isn't a great deal between them age wise.

Ive obv fed him and he's now curled up sleeping on a kitchen chair. He was looking a bit confused and did a few laps of the house but then came and sat next to me so we are doing really well so far.

I shall be keeping an eye out for Tortie but booking a vet apptmnt for Merlin ASAP. Pom-poms need to come off and he needs to be flea and worm treated. My two are currently costing a bomb in cat food but as they will eat less past a year old and are now costing me less in litter as going out more I think long term I can afford to take the boys on. If it's just Merlin i will be very sad for them both as I imagine they will miss each other tremendously.

The un neutered black female I saw hasn't been seen since. I've been keeping an eye out but no joy, so I can only guess that the owners have either had her spayed and kept her in since or as she's having kittens she's staying close to home. I will keep looking for her though.

Picture is Merlin and Pumpkin just now.

thecatneuterer, Tortie is a boy too (a tabby not a tortoiseshell).

Good for you taking in Merlin, OP, and it's great that he's getting on OK with your two. I hope Tortie also turns up.

I have just spotted Tortie out the back (yes he's a boy, I'd been told he was a girl by neighbours but as he had pom-poms I realised they were wrong about that!). He wouldn't come in, not even for food, I managed to get him to the doorstep with food as bait but he just grabbed it off the plate and legged it. Wouldn't let me stroke him and ran off when I went out there. So I'm going to just leave him be and see what happens, keep feeding him outside etc. Merlin had the chance to go out after him ventured over the step but then came straight back in again for a cuddle so he's obviously wanting to stay! Wee bit more friction between the three now but it'd be a miracle of they settled in together without any drama wouldn't it?! No full scale fighting, just the occasional hiss from Merlin and my two are very at ease so I'm happy with that.

I wonder if next door will come back for the car? They've moved a fair few hours drive away so I'd imagine not. They can't drive it anyway with a window put though and no tax disc. There's glass all over the road where they smashed the window to get the stuff out of it so they potentially don't even have keys for it anymore!

Shadows thank you so much for the update. I had been thinking about the cats but hadn't wanted to bump the thread as I assumed if there had been any news you would have posted!

I'm so glad you have Merlin safe - will you try to keep him inside until you can get him to the vet? If Tortie won't be handled, perhaps CPL might loan you a cat trap - if he's hungry he'll be catchable.

I can't imagine that your neighbours would come back, and how awful of them to abandon the cats like that. You are so kind to take merlin (and hopefully tortie too) in.

Haha TCN you'd know wouldn't you?

Four cats is still more than 2. As long as my two don't keep eating 3/4 pouches each a day indefinitely then yeah I can afford them. They won't will they? (I'd been meaning to start a thread to ask this) ... They are still visibly growing so much month on month, but they will stop at a year old won't they? I have visions of them being leopard sized in a few years and needing to be fed small deer

I might get some dry food actually. My two refuse to eat it but I remember the boys used to have some as well as wet food and maybe my two would follow suit and try a bit?

Not sure I can keep Merlin in if my two go out but Merlin has not remembered how to use the cat flap yet so I've got a feeling he will stay in. I'm planning on trying to get him to the vets tomorrow and my two get shut in at 8pm anyway so all three are in for the night. I'll give them breakfast and keep them in til I've spoken to the vets, if I can get an apptmnt in the morning then Merlin can go straight in a box after that or if not I can keep all three in for the day.

The added complication is that I'm on holiday from Saturday but a very lovely friend is house sitting for me and has been made aware of the situation. Ideally I want to get Merlin neutered and chipped as a priority and pet plan set up so I can get his worming and flea treatment free. Tortie I think is going to be more of a long game. If I get a cat trap what is to stop him buggering off again as soon as he can get out. I think slowly building his trust again is better, he comes when I yell "pusspusspusspuss" out the backdoor at my two, so I will keep doing that, trying to get him to come over for food but ultimately I will back off if he looks uncomfortable and gradually try and close the distance so that he will come into the back room for food and let me stroke him etc.

As Merlin is in and letting me handle him etc he needs to be got to the vets quickly. I don't want fleas or worms knocking around nor do I want him to start spraying everywhere so yeah, off to the vets for him tomorrow if possible.

I suppose the reason for trying a cat trap for Torrie would be to take the opportunity to have him neutered too. He may then roam less & as the hormones settle he might be more likely to stay closer to a familiar person. I appreciate that this would be a lot of additional expense for you though. I think dried food is more economical so hopefully going from 2 to 4 should not double the cat food bill! I use James Wellbeloved and a bag does seem to last a long time (only 1 cat at the mo but used to have 3)

Tortie & merlin are the two boys from last year?

Shit, shows over folks.

The bloke from next door has turned up. I ummed and ahhed but ultimately he wasn't my cat. What decided it for me was that as I'd only got Merlin in, if I'd hung onto him I'd have been separating the boys. If I'd had them both in, I might have made a different decision, but I couldn't bear the thought of separating them.

We had a big cuddle and said a teary goodbye and he's gone back over the fence now.
I guess that's the end of the story now.

Oh ffs. Just the Dh?.

Those cats have such changeable luck.

Thats rubbish but I suppose if he turned up he must care a bit

I would persevere with the cat biscuits, have you tried different brands? My cats are eating Wainwrights at the moment and it works out so much more cost effective plus much less of a faff than putting pouches out all the time!!

If not then I would say try tins instead of pouches, you get a lot more food out of them and it works out cheaper. Another mnetter recommended Butchers cat food in the tins and my two really like it so far.

I tend to put biscuits out all the time and give some of the soft food just morning and evening.

Glad your dd is feeling better, that must have been so scary.

Yep just the H. Someone dropped him off then drove off so I assume he's also taking the untaxed smashed window car. I'm really upset. I remember the boys so tiny and thin, stuck in that kitchen with no food. I know it's wrong but if I'd had them both I would have kept them and tbh for a while I was thinking if I can save one that's better than none, but at the end of the day I couldn't bring myself to separate them. Tortie would then have been an under fed, neglected lonely cat pining for his brother which would have been an utterly miserable existence.

I can hope he leaves them but I doubt he will. It's gutting as well in the sense that Merlin seemed to quickly remember me. He had a lovely cuddle with me and did that paws around my neck thing he used to do, just like a hug. Part of me wants to go out there first thing tomorrow and see if I can call them both in but I know I'm on dodgy ground doing that ... Some on the thread would be in favour of that but I know others would be up in arms about knowing when to back off and the line between stepping in when they were in need of rescuing and actively stealing them.

I'd just got used to the idea of extra kitties in the house too. I can only hope and hope that they will be alright from here.

I would be highly surprised if the H will give a damn about taking the cats.

Did he actually come to your house to ask about them and therefore collect Merlin? Or did you think you'd better let Merlin out into the garden as the H had returned?

Presumably Tortie wouldn't be caught that easily anyway if he won't come to you?

Sorry that there has been yet another twist, Shadows. But wait to see what tomorrow brings - it doesn't sound as if it will be easy for neighbour to get the cats if Tortie is so skittish. Don't lose hope just yet

I let him out Bagel. I didn't know when the H was leaving and having decided I couldn't separate them I then didn't want to risk him giving up looking and just leaving with Tortie.

Neighbours always had a window open so presumably the boys did go in sometimes, so it wouldnt be difficult for him to wait for them to go in and then just shut the window would it? All he'd have to do then is get them into a box.

Argh such a mess.

Call them into your house! Please do not let let these twats have the cats. They are not peoples property. These are sentient animals. Please protect them from these awful people who left them with no food or water (according to your previous thread). Please protect these cats from these awful people whom treat their so called pets in this dreadful way. I have 3 rescue cats myself. Do not let these reprehensible people do this!

What a story! You've been so kind to those cats, you really have.

I was just thinking about it before I logged on, was so surprised to see an update!

I really would be surprised if they are not left behind.... I'm sure we've all got our fingers crossed that's what happens

Morning all. So this morning the car is still there but no sign of the cats. I did go out at 2am after not being able to sleep but couldn't see them and they didn't come when called, although the back window was still open. So I was quietly hopeful that they had been scared by him trying to catch them and had run off and hidden somewhere but still no sign of them this morning makes me think actually he may have caught them.

Pom poms?

But pom poms sounds like something my seriously repressed mother would say.

I'm tying myself in knots about whether I did the right thing letting Merlin go. I didn't know how quickly the H would be leaving so it felt like a time pressured decision. Obv Merlin would've been better with me, but then I kept thinking of the what ifs re Tortie. I know I couldn't separate my two without them being really distressed by it, and the boys were equally as close, where one was the other was always close behind, they were a little double act.

Haha micah it's what Fluffy used upthread .... I mean bollocks. They have wee furry bollocks

If you are concerned about their welfare ask for the RSPCA to check on them. Explain the situation so they can act quickly or at least track to new house.

OMG ok quick I need you lot on thread with opinions ... I've got Merlin!
Called mine back over from near the road while I was getting eggs in and Merlin came bounding over. He's come in and is starving so eating, I've shut the windows ....

What do I do.
It's last nights decision all over again.
I'm going to go out front and try and find Tortie. What do I do if I can't catch him.
WHAT DO I DO.?