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Neighbours kittens

767 replies

ShadowsShadowsEverywhere · 01/08/2014 09:38

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!

OP posts:
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ShadowsShadowsEverywhere · 30/03/2015 10:36

Argh there is literally no sign of Tortie. I've been upstairs craning out the window and can't see him anywhere out back or out front. We have no idea when the H is leaving, he could go at anytime. Or he could hang around for ages waiting for the cats, this could turn into a siege situation.

I need other opinions, I honestly don't know what to do for the best.
Help meeeeee!

OP posts:
CMOTGilbertBlythe · 30/03/2015 10:47

Keep hold of Merlin, you haven't seen Tortie for a couple of days so he may be off wooing lady cats and will turn up after the neighbour has gone.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 30/03/2015 11:10

I agree with CMOT - keep Merlin! With any luck Tortie will be back when the neighbour has gone.

Good luck and keep us updated. All the cats are lucky to have you Thanks

ShadowsShadowsEverywhere · 30/03/2015 11:19

Ok. He's staying put, now it's just the anxious waiting game .... What if the H stays for days! I've got 3 bouncy cats and 2 bouncy children shut in the house .... I may need to hunt out the gin later Grin

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Jenda · 30/03/2015 11:25

I've just read this entire thread! Wow. I really hope he drives off without them forever and you can keep the boys. They sound like completely vile owners

CMOTGilbertBlythe · 30/03/2015 11:28

Hope the neighbour bogs off soon. Doesn't seem they've been bothered about the kits so I would be surprised if he spends days waiting for them to reappear.

MythicalKings · 30/03/2015 11:31

You can't steal his cat. If you are worried get the RSPCA involved.

timtam23 · 30/03/2015 11:31

Hi shadows - at least you have one of them! I would keep merlin in & see what happens. Can you confine him to one room today with litter & food whilst letting your 2 cats out? Neighbour unlikely to have come back just for the cats surely? I would guess tortie is more of a roamer so would be hard to catch - more of a medium-term goal I think! Good luck...keep us posted

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 30/03/2015 11:39

Mythical, have you read the whole thread? The neighbours couldn't give a toss about the cats.

CunningCat · 30/03/2015 14:56

Keeping fingers crossed you find tortie.

ShadowsShadowsEverywhere · 30/03/2015 15:27

Ok I've seen Tortie. He was in neighbours garden briefly sniffing about before going in neighbours window, I guessing he's looking for his brother. I now can't get him obv. I can't lean over the fence and call him if the H is still there because he will see me. Do I still hang onto Merlin? I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'm either splitting up brothers or I'm letting the both go off to an uncertain and potentially neglectful future. Merlin seems happy enough, he's bonded with my two quite well, lots of nose touching going on and playing together. They've all fallen asleep in various places now. Tortie though is obviously feeling lonely and wondering where his playmate is. I can try going out and calling my cats in even though they are inside and seeing if that lures Tortie out but if he's gone in the house I imagine the H has caught him now.

OP posts:
Micah · 30/03/2015 15:40

Don't worry about splitting up the brothers.

Cats aren't that bothered, especially as adults. I ended up having to split mine as they hated each other once out of kitten hood. They could be naturally separating and finding their own territories.

Far better they are happy and healthy in separate homes than homeless together.

You could knock on the neighbours door and ask?

Micah · 30/03/2015 15:41

Sorry misread, I thought you meant a different neighbour as the previous ones had moved out.

Start putting some food out?

GerundTheBehemoth · 30/03/2015 15:43

Of course the ideal scenario is that both stay with you, but I'd keep hold of Merlin if you can, better to rescue one than none. Because neither of them are neutered and they are now going to be sexually mature and territorial, the relationship they have with each other may well not be very friendly any more, so separating them isn't necessarily going to upset them.

Ratfinkandbobo · 30/03/2015 15:50

Op shake dreamies to get tortie in too!
I'm like a cat on a hot tin roofGrin waiting to see how this ends.
Fingers crossed you get them both.

ShadowsShadowsEverywhere · 30/03/2015 16:31

So I went out to muck out hens .... They didn't really need doing but you know, any excuse to have a nosey out there. I spotted Tortie through the fence so nipped back in and got a pouch of food. I sat on the doorstep and called him over, he came bounding up but stopped a metre away and was yowling at me. So I opened the food and plopped a bit on the path and he warily came over. So far so good. Managed to stroke him a bit while he ate the food. Then I retreated into the utility room to try and get him to follow for more food. He came in warily and then it all went wrong. One of the chickens sauntered up and Tortie felt cornered between me and the chicken. I decided it would be a good idea to try and open the door into the house to sort of encourage him in but it was noisy tv in there and be panicked more, was hissing and trying to dart past the chicken. So I picked him up. That was a mistake, he turned into a yowling hissing scissor claws, I got cut to ribbons and he slipped out of my grasp. He's now run off and didn't even look vaguely like coming anywhere near me when I went back out a few mins later.

I can try again in a bit when kids are in bed but as he is wary anyway I've got a horrible feeling I've just made it worse. The inside three all fine. Have had dinner and are playing/sleeping.

There's obv a difference between them. Where Merlin came trotting straight into the house, was purring, let me pick him up and snuggled down for a cuddle, Tortie is very much giving out "don't fucking touch me" vibes !! Thinking about it whenever I hear cats fighting at night, it's nearly always Tortie v another cat. Maybe he's just a bit more fighty than Merlin?

OP posts:
WithernseaWoes · 30/03/2015 16:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Christophewouldgetit · 30/03/2015 17:39

If Tortie is hungry enough to come over for morsels despite not being overly friendly, sounds like he's not feeding anyway. I would doubt he'll be taking Tortie or gives a shit where Merlin is - what an awful awful man Angry

Christophewouldgetit · 30/03/2015 17:42

That should say - sounds like your neighbour isn't feeding him anyway..

Regardless - feel no guilt over Merlin as he will have am infinitely better life with you Thanks

patienceisvirtuous · 30/03/2015 17:46

Oh, I hope you can get him! :(

timtam23 · 30/03/2015 17:57

Ouch your poor arms. Looks like if you rush things with tortie it will all go horribly wrong and it seems unlikely that he'd be willing to settle down & be shut in the house with your 2 & merlin...I am as keen as you to have both of the cats safe & loved but I think tortie needs time to trust you so it may be a long haul - on the bright side if he is so wary of being handled it seems unlikely that the neighbour will be able to catch him let alone put him in a box & drive with him for several hours.

Tortie will be a bit of an undertaking so maybe hope that neighbour continues to ignore him until finally leaving, you can keep putting food down & getting him accustomed to coming to you & be more amenable for catch attempt number 2 (hopefully!)

Corygal · 30/03/2015 18:03

Shadows, please please keep the kitties. Good luck with Tortie.

Fluffycloudland77 · 30/03/2015 19:26

You might need to scruff him if he goes scissor paws again.

Grab as much scruff as possible and get him in the house. I can contain the bengal when he's scrapping by scruffing. It's not how I usually handle him but needs must.

He sounds like an alpha male.

MythicalKings · 31/03/2015 08:10

Has anyone else read this thread?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2344301-to-think-neighbours-cats-have-chosen-to-belong-to-me-not-her?pg=1

Mnetters there think it's theft. So do I.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 31/03/2015 08:46

In this case the cats are being neglected. I would have no qualms in feeding and/or taking in a neglected cat or cats - I did it last year and and the only guilt I feel is because I didn't do it sooner.

If the cats were loved and cared for it would be different but they're not - they have been shut in with no food, they haven't been neutered etc.

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