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!

OP just referring to your comment re being a LP / working, some charities offer really discounted neutering for certain financial circumstances

Ok so if they were born in April I need to give it another 1/2 months to make sure they are the right age?

Still no sign of neighbours. And having the kittens here solidly for two days now I've seen just how much attention and love they need. I'm genuinely floored that anyone would have thought it ok it lock them in a room for this long. They are constantly looking to play, to cuddle. DD spent hours this morning charging round the garden trailing an old piece of washing line behind her and they were chasing it and pouncing. They follow us about the house, come up for strokes and cuddles every time you stop moving or sit down. They mew for me if I have a shower or pop out the front. And they have so much energy. Up and down the tree in the garden, tearing up and down the stairs. They must have been going mad shut in that kitchen.

I'm very nervous about neighbours coming back because I'm concerned that if they get possessive they might start locking the kittens in day and night. And I would then be powerless to make sure they aren't just shoved in a room with one small bowl of food and left for the day. I'm just hoping that they carry on as they did the past few weeks, with being out the house most of the day.

I think you just have to see what happens when they get back, OP, and take a view once it's clear how they are treating the kittens.

Can I ask you again – do you think you could have the 'I could take them off your hands if you've got too much on your plate' conversation with them, without them getting defensive or aggressive?

No I don't think I can. I'm particularly wary because i spent the best part of the past year living in fear from a man up the road who knew I was the one phoning the police on him every time he got violent with his wife and kids. It was awful and he was finally sent down last month. I finally feel safe in my own home again and so I'm very very reluctant to engage in any conversation with anyone in this road which may lead to confrontation. Besides which I don't think they think they need any help with the kittens - they clearly think it's fine to throw food their way occasionally and shut them up for days on end, so why would they need any help. Do you see what I mean?

Yes, I absolutely see what you mean. What a difficult situation. I was only asking about you having a conversation with them because there are some posts here that seem to suggest that you'd be able to. I'm sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick about that.

I suppose you do just have to hope that the kittens are allowed out of the house enough to 'adopt' you properly (there is no doubt at all that they do WANT to live with you!). And, I suppose, that the neighbours would either not notice or not care if the kittens left home.

I'm sort of hoping that they vote with their paws enough and if the neighbours confront me I will appear apologetic and say that they just keep coming in, that the neighbours will grudgingly accept that they can't make the cats live with them. It's the long game, and rather sly, but I don't see any other way round it without causing angst and opening myself up to confrontation or risk the cats being shut up without adequate food again (which would be hard to prove if I did report to the RSPCA and which I desperately want to avoid as it means the kittens suffer).

They've both fully mastered the cat flap now so even if all my windows and doors are shut they can always get in. Interestingly the whole time they've been here they have not once gone in their own garden. There's a hole in the fence they could get through but they are instead chosing to go the other way and run the gauntlet of spaniel and husky to find new places to play. Which seems rather telling.

We've renamed the girl that's actually a boy 'Merlin' on account of his huge hypnotising eyes.

I think the cold weather will help. The neighbours are less likely to be in their garden in cold weather as it's just a square of grass whereas we will be as we have a large veggie patch and chickens. So they shouldn't be out there to witness the cats coming in and out the cat flap.

I think that sounds fairly likely and I know they want to vote with their paws! I suppose it will go one of two ways: either the neighbours will get affronted at the kittens wanting to move out and shut them in, or they'll shrug and lose interest. They seem so uninterested in the poor buggers at the moment that hopefully the latter is more likely.

And I don't think that approach would be sly. And I wouldn't worry even if it was. Better that than neglectful like they are.

It'll be the nearest vet that my cousin recommends as I don't drive so it'll need to be a taxi job. Will see if I can borrow travel box thingy from cousin as well. Do you think they will have had everything else - jabs, flea and worm treatments? I imagine they will have been jabbed by breeder? (Going off what chicken breeders do here)

Are they pedigree or moggies? Because moggies ate not usually immunised

Probably not.

Some vets do a discount package for kittens of neutering, jabs & microchipped.

It can work out a lot cheaper for the first year.

I have no idea crazynanna. I'd assume moggies but wouldn't have a clue how to tell a pedigree apart!

I can't really get them microchipped can I? What if the neighbours already microchipped them? And surely then it'd count as me trying to steal them?

Seeing as you know your stuff thecatneuterer I'm going to blindly trust you and will see if I can get it all done in one go.

We have a development. I suspect neighbours are on holiday with other family from up the road because they left at same time and the men work together. Well other family have just got home. So the neighbours may arrive home tonight and find cats gone.

I did leave a window slightly open but that doesn't account for how they got past the child safety lock which was keeping the window from opening more than an inch. I'm thinking they trod on the catch in their desperation to get out. That must be the explanation as no one would have been able to unlock it from the outside, not even someone with a screwdriver and very small hands

I've been coming up and reading in bed at 9pm and so shutting them in then. I will continue to do this when neighbours are back. Both cats have woken me up by purring and climbing on my head. This is a new level of affection, I'm obviously doing something right!

Are the neighbours back OP?

Neighbours not back. I have adjusted window to look like escape. I'm assuming neighbours are back sat as most hols run sat-sat. Unless they are away for 2 weeks which would make the whole thing even worse! I've completely fallen in love with these boys though. They are utterly gorgeous. I was upset earlier about a family drama that's ongoing and went and sat on my bed for a min to have a cry without DCs seeing. Merlin came bombing in from the other room, purred at me, licked my tears away and snuggled on me with head under my chin all sort of upright and like an actual cuddle. It's like he knew I was sad and as giving me a hug! And if I call them they come racing up and try and climb me and purr loads.

And now is confession time. I actually have a fairly hefty cat allergy so had never spent even 5 mins with a cat. The first few times they came in the house I wheezed and sneezed like mad. It happened every time they came in but they were only occasional visitors then so I sort of rode it out. When I rescued them the other day and they spent all day here I could hardly breathe, took loads and loads of my antihistamines and inhalers and survived it, went to bed expecting to wake up having a full blown asthma attack. Well I woke up and was fine, and I haven't had to take a single tablet since. Not one sneeze, wheeze or snuffle. Which makes me think this is meant to be. My cats. Or maybe it's power of the human mind - I've totally fallen for them so ive decided not to be allergic anymore? Either way I can now kiss them and cuddle them and have a jumper covered in cat hair without batting an eyelid. Which I'm thoroughly loving.

I've also spent actual money now. Before I'd been using an old box and chicken bedding as a litter tray, buying the cheapest kitten food I could and they had old baby bowls which were a bit too deep. They now have a nice area of the utility room with an old rug they seem to like, proper cat bowls and an actual litter tray with actual cat litter. I've also bought them nicer food, they've had a treat of kitten milk and have taken custody of two old fleece blankets and my dressing gown!! There's no hope for me now is there? Oh and they sleep on my bed and share my bedside glass of water!

Good grief you're as bad as the rest of us.

You refer to yourself as "mummy" to them don't you?

Oh dear, OP. You have been bitten by the cat lovebug! I really hope the neighbours are reasonable on this...

Yes I do! I know wantacatplease. They seem to have settled into a fairly predictable routine now though which makes me think that they were out and about so much before because they were hungry and so looking for food. Now that they're being fed enough they are spending much bigger portions of the day in the house, and if they stick to that once neighbours are back I don't think they will be seeing much of each other at all especially as neighbour is usually out from mid morning.

If it comes down to it though, on basic animal instinct, they'll go where the food is, and that's here. It's also occurred to me that they may be shut OUT by next door once the weather turns. They don't have a cat flap and I can't see them leaving the living room windows wide open through winter on the off chance the cats may want to come in.