They are stealing our cat!

[72hoursinaande]

Has anyone experience of this. I have had cats all my life. We currently have two beautiful boys we rescued about three years ago. Over the last couple of months one of our boys had been disappearing for days on end. Everytime we have been worried sick.
He had an apple air tag on his collar but we swapped it for a GPS and basically discovered he had been spending all his time at a house approx 0.5 miles away. We went over and it turns out an older couple (70’s ish) have been letting him in and feeding him. We have politely asked them to stop but weeks have passed and they continue. We have spoken to them a number of times and they just don’t seem to get the message - we are at a total loss what to do.
incidentally our lovely boy is gaining weight at a rapid rate as being fed in two houses! We have explained this isn’t good for his health.
Help!

Funnily enough they had also renamed him with a girls name! He is very much a boy (neutered obvs)

I would keep him in at night, call him in for dinner and bed and go round and bang on there door every time

@Wbeezer Complete nonsense! 🤣

It's not nonsense.

It's actually always been illegal to steal someone's cat as they're regarded as property - the new law just officially gives the police etc. more powers.

Keep your cat in your house . Simple .

Cats naturally roam. There are several cats who come in my garden who would gladly come in my house if I allowed them to.
I am allergic to animal hair, so have to keep doors and downstairs windows closed at all times. It would make my life easier and more pleasant in the summer if cats weren't allowed to roam anywhere.....
Just adding the opposite view for balance......

Law wise dcats are now legally property... Ring the non emergency number for advice. Or check the tag every time he isn't home and go round. Get less and less polite as you go round. What can they do ring the police on you demanding your property back?

All the people saying cats naturally roam! Yes they do. But it’s not ‘natural’ to let in a cat you know isn’t yours and it’s not ‘natural’ to feed it when you know fine well that it’s already being fed at home. Just don’t let it in. Or if it gets in by accident, shoo it back out again or even lift it up and place it back outside. Rinse and repeat until it gets the message it won’t be fed and isn’t welcome. Surely it’s not that hard?

’Dear nutters. I need to ask you to please stop feeding MY cat and letting it in your home. You are making him unhealthy by feeding him when he has already been fed plus encouraging him to come back. If he gets in by accident please place him back outside. You have my permission to use any safe, humane deterrent you deem appropriate (I used to use a spray of water when a neighbours cat kept coming in my garden)’

You don't understand cats, do you? 😂

My aunts neighbour did this, kept letting the cat in and wouldn’t allow her to leave for days on end. Not long after she knocked at my aunts door and told her she was going away for a few days so could she keep an eye on the cat?! Then a few months after that she knocked again and said she’d had to take the cat to the vet and could my aunt give her £200 towards the fees. My aunt is a woman of very choice words so gave her what for and told her the cat now belonged to her. If she’s decided to take it to the vets and feed it/allow it to stay at her house it’s effectively her cat now! Not the outcome she wanted but the neighbour was essentially locking her in. Cats aren’t loyal unfortunately, my elder cat often frequents to my next door neighbours and will happily lounge in their dining room. They don’t feed him luckily and he always comes back but I guarantee if someone started giving him food he’d probably never come back 😂

I often pull into my drive to see one of my cats sitting very comfortably in my neighbour’s window. Thankfully they don’t feed her, she comes home for food and goes straight back next doors for peace and quiet - I want to go with her.

If I were you I’d definitely knock and ask for the cat back.

Our much loved cat is shared with our elderly neighbour on the understanding that as he's a bit of a porker, she doesn't feed him (too much) lest he develop diabetes. It works well for us as she kindly takes him into her home when we go on holiday but she doesn't have the responsibility of a pet which she doesn't really want at her age. The cat is loved all round so everyone is happy. Maybe something like this might be thrashed out? I think the issue for us was the double feeding which we feel we've go under control now (we think)

How cute.
I have read that so many cats do have two or more families.
Ha ha ha.
Ideas:
Make your home less easy to leave by increasing the food cat likes the most and putting up a a physical barrier, like a cat run.
Attach a metal name and number tag to his collar.

Your cat is deciding to spend time where it like to be.

Personally, I would thank the elderly couple for taking good care of cat but I'd insist that they do not feed him more than once a day with a balanced dry cat food and water... for reasons of good health.

Ask them to care for both cats while you are on holiday.

As long as you let your cat roam, people are free to interact with your cat as long as they are not actually cruel. That is your choice. Plenty of countries keep cats indoors by default.

Oh I have one of those cats too. A chancer who sneaks in, sleeps in my cats beds and, if I'm not quick enough, eats my cat's food. I tell him every time that he doesn't live here but he ignores me and continues to do what the feck he likes 😂

instruct a solicitor to send them a cease and desist letter

This!

Ours have never roamed. In a lot of countries it's normal not to have roaming cats.

We had this. Twin rescue cats. One started disappearing every now and then for a few days then went missing for six and a half years!
We canvassed the area, posters everywhere. Nothing
Suddenly a few weeks after moving he just appeared in the garden.( we hadn’t sold our old house at that point )
I grabbed the cat carrier put him in and he’s back with us now in our new house.
I noticed a few weeks later the people who stole our cat had advertised him on the local pets reunited, with a picture, age unknown ( yes because they stole him ) and a different name. They lived in the house directly behind ours. People that I had spoken to and asked to keep a look out for our cat.

I eventually outed them on petsreunited as thief’s and asked others not to steal other peoples cats

I also know of a parent at my kids infants who locked a neighbours cat in their garage for two weeks so that the cat would forget who their real owners were and they get a free cat. Disgusting isn’t it. When the6 moved house they left the cat behind too.
Some humans are really cruel

Indoor cats don't have this problem...

Your cat shouldn't be free to wander. If you kept them in and invested in a catio, you wouldn't have this problem.

I have always had cats and until a few years ago let them roam. Then I did some research on the health, safety and other implications of letting cats out - it's quite irresponsible. They are more likely to die or get sick (FIV, poisons, cars, being overfed by the neighbour), not to mention nocturnal hunting - which they ALL do.

This lady is quite right.
Legislation to make pet abduction a criminal offence received Royal Assent today (24 May).
Under the Pet Abduction Act 2024 – which was a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Anna Firth MP and Lord Black of Brentwood and supported by the Government – anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
The new law recognises that cats and dogs are not inanimate objects but sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other emotional trauma when they are stolen from their owners or keepers.

Your poor cat is on his way to becoming Diabetic, that will cost you even more money.
The only thing I can suggest is keep him as indoor cat and monitor his health.

try and keep him in for a while to stop him going there.