Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Flip

Original poster

Lost cat - AIBU?

22 replies

Waddlingwanda · 18/11/2017 08:37

So I’ve been totally annihilated on a post online and was wondering as other cat owners what you’d rather?

If your cat went missing would you want someone to keep it inside and feed it?
I have said on a post, saying just this and that they will be keeping it until the owners come forwards, that really they ought to put it out so it can find its way home or take it to the vets?
I just don’t get why people feel the need to ‘adopt’ cats!
We had a similar situation with our cat, had searched everywhere, been round the neighbours, vets etc. Almost given up hope when a friend of a friends post came up on Facebook about their new cat that they were keeping and had installed a cat flap for as the owners hadn’t come forwards.
I ‘innocently’ went round with said poster (they lived on the next estate) and asked if they had seen her, to which she appeared in the window and I took her home.
So AIBU to say leave the bloody cat alone unless it’s in distress at which point take it to the vets?

OP posts:

LemonRedwood · 18/11/2017 08:40

YANBU. Lots of cats are chipped so the vet can easily find out who the owner is. People who keep a cat in and feed it in the 'hope' that the owner will come forward are just stealing cats.

Allergictoironing · 18/11/2017 08:48

YANBU. How the feck would someone know that their cat was in YOUR house rather than any one of the hundreds in the cat's normal range? When one of the cats I was sitting last Christmas went missing (the night before I took over) I tried knocking on doors (no response from most), leafleting houses, sticking up posters etc in the road & most of the nearby ones.

Cat actually turned up over 3/4 of a mile away, I would have had to cover literally thousands of houses to get to where he was found; he had been sleeping rough for the month he was missing so wouldn't have found him through knocking/leafleting anyway.

Fiona1984 · 18/11/2017 08:55

I had a cat years ago that would disappear for days, especially when it the weather turned bad. I tried to keep her in if it was very cold or raining, but sometimes the weather would change while she was already out. I assumed someone was keeping her in to 'look after' her, but it was distressing when I didn't know where she was.
Apparently some other elderly neighbour claimed she was her cat (according to a neighbour across the road). This was despite me putting a tag on her and a collar with "DO NOT FEED ME" on it. She even came home in a new collar once after losing hers.
Thankfully I've never had any issues with my current cat, he loves us but is scared of strangers, which is probably a good thing.

Wolfiefan · 18/11/2017 08:57

YANBU. My cat is microchipped. Taking it to the vet would see us reunited ASAP. And old girl was on medication and specific food. A stranger feeding her whiskas and not medicating her would make her ill. Plus how will the owners magically "come forwards"? Knock on every door asking if they've got their cat? Not everyone will be on FB for instance.
If people want a cat they should adopt. Not steal.

BulletFox · 18/11/2017 08:57

One of my friends took a cat. The cat just decided she was its owner for quite a long time, then she had to move and she had a huge deliberation about whether to take the cat with her or not.

She went through several channels but couldn't find the owner.

In the end she took her when she moved and it's worked out well.

Having said that I'd be devastated if my cat went missing.

Fiona1984 · 18/11/2017 09:01

Forgot to add, my cat is on a special diet. He is very healthy, but the wrong food could make him very ill.
I would never feed anyone else's cat for this reason. You don't know their medical history, and could be doing more harm than good.
My neighbours cats are very friendly, and I always give them a fuss, but wouldn't dream of letting them in my house or feeding them.

thecatneuterer · 18/11/2017 09:26

You are completely right. If you have reason to think a cat is lost or a stray then of course you should feed it. Cats that get lost in places where people aren't interested and don't feed end up dying.

Original poster

Waddlingwanda · 18/11/2017 09:49

@thecatneuterer
We disagree entirely then. Most strays are not strays and by feeding them they are enticed to stay.

OP posts:

mustbemad17 · 18/11/2017 09:53

I hate it when people feed other cats. It just creates a reason for the cat to stay. We all know cats are very fickle; feed them & keep them warm & you are their new best friend!! I get very vocal on selling sites when people put up posts saying 'found a cat, will keep til owner found' wrong answer you catch that cat & you take it to a vet to be scanned.

People assume that because a cat isn't wearing a collar it's a stray, completely disregarding the state of it's coat etc. Without realising that collars can be dangerous for cats. I don't think YABU at all! Will that person pay your vet bills if the cat becomes ill whilst with them??

thecatneuterer · 18/11/2017 10:05

Sorry I misread your post. You are entirely and utterly wrong. Most strays are indeed strays. There are probably more strays than owned cats (I've seen the stats - can't lay my hands on them at the moment). Absolutely you should get it scanned if you're not sure, but the default should be, for an animal that appears to be lost, to feed it.

Cats do die because people are scared to feed them.

Original poster

Waddlingwanda · 18/11/2017 10:06

@mustbemad17
This was exactly what I put on said post and yet there are now 30+ comments on mine saying how ridiculous and of course she should keep the cat, and feed and keep it warm. It has a collar on ffs!!

I think it gets my goat because it happened to us, our cat is extremely skinny due to a car accident as a kitten. She had a broken pelvis and now needs a special diet. 3months she was ‘adopted’ for and guess who had to foot the vets bill as she’d been being fed meat.

OP posts:

Wolfiefan · 18/11/2017 10:06

But not shut in your house and expect an owner to miraculously appear. That's wrong.
Where we live there are definitely more owned cats than strays. Without a doubt.

Original poster

Waddlingwanda · 18/11/2017 10:08

@thecatneuterer
How are you defining a stray though? Not all cats keep a collar on or are chipped and they’re not about to tell you if or not they have a home!

OP posts:

thecatneuterer · 18/11/2017 10:08

I do agree that the first step though would be to scan the cat if you are in doubt.

Marcine · 18/11/2017 10:12

If a cats not chipped or wearing a collar then I kind of think its fair game to be honest - otherwise how can you tell its owned?
Someone 'finding' a cat needs to attempt to establish it is stray though by scanning it for a chip, posting on local Facebook groups etc.

mustbemad17 · 18/11/2017 10:13

The problem nowadays is a lot of cats have special dietary requirements. Christ i think all of ours have 😂 So okay you decide to feed the cat because it looks lost; but if you feed it the wrong thing & it takes ill, are you then going to be responsible for taking it to the vet? Because many people are happy to feed a 'stray' but that's their responsibility over.

There are many animal charities that will come & catch a cat to scan it. If no chip, you are asked if you want to continue to feed the cat or if you want them to take it. At least that way if the cat is chipped the owner has chance to get their cat back!

mustbemad17 · 18/11/2017 10:14

Nowadays there is no excuse for a pet cat not to be chipped. Collared i can understand, but not chipped.

Want2beme · 18/11/2017 10:43

We have a fare few cats turning up in our village. If they were left unfed, they'd probably end up in a sorry state. My neighbour, who said cats flock to, always takes them to the vet and if no microchip is found, she has them neutered, brings them back to the village and if they want to move in with her they can, but if they want to remain outside, they're free to do so.

All of my cats have come from the streets. I didn't move them in straight away. They were free to come and go. None of them were microchipped and were mostly in a sorry state. I never saw any lost postings for them.

mustbemad17 · 18/11/2017 10:52

See wentto i have no issue with that personally. My gripe is with people who just don't bother & make assumptions

Original poster

Waddlingwanda · 18/11/2017 11:22

Our cat was free to come and go from our neighbours. But they fed her meat which she loves but is not allowed, hmm guess where she chose to stay.
Funny how dogs aren’t such fair game.

OP posts:

thecatneuterer · 18/11/2017 13:27

A stray is a cat that either had a home and got lost or has been abandoned. A feral is a cat that wasn't born in a home.

Yes everyone who thinks they have a stray should get it checked for a chip. But if the owner hasn't chipped their cat then they only have themselves to blame. A collar means nothing. There are lots of stray cats with collars. They are generally in the worst position as people assume they're owned and so ignore them until they are at death's door, and sometimes even then. A collar with a phone number or something is of course a different matter.

Stray cats that can't find someone to feed them often die. If one of mine were to get lost then I would be very, very grateful to anyone who fed it.

GRW · 18/11/2017 15:13

My black cat turned up as a stray with a collar on, she was not chipped, but the vet thought she was spayed. I did try my best to find the owner by putting up posters and advertising on Animal Search and our local Facebook page but no one came forward. I suspect she may have come in a delivery van and not be local to the area. Tcn is right that if I had ignored her because she had a collar she would have starved. She was thin and ravenous but now nearly 2 years later she is fussy about what she eats and much fatter.

Flip