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

Can I actually do anything about this damn cat?

15 replies

MissAdvantage · 27/02/2026 16:05

He’s a 4 year old male and he’s been living in my garden since last July. He’s made himself cosy by tearing a hole in my garden furniture cover and that’s where he sleeps.

He has an owner. A woman who lives round the corner. She has mental health issues, lives in total squalor and has 7 other cats - all unneutered. She chipped him when he was a kitten as part of a charity initiative but as he was un-neutered, he refuses to stay in her house.

He wasn’t neutered until last month when I arranged for him to be done (we have a wonderful team here called the neuter rangers who round up stray cats and have them done. His owner gave her permission and he was done , taken back to her house and on my doorstep precisely 2 mins later.

He’s a nice boy but he’s a pain. He causes my elderly cat stress, he begs for food constantly , he is never - and I mean never - out of my garden and I’ve had enough of him tbh.

I have started taking him back round to her house in a cat carrier: - we have had two days of peace since last July - that’s the longest she’s kept him in for

she doesn’t care he’s in my garden. She doesn’t care he doesn’t come home unless I march him round. He won’t stay in her house - probably because he wasn’t ’done,’ he just got used to wanting to be outside . I’ll often message her and say ‘ oh your cat is here , you can’t have seen him for weeks! I’ll bring him round for you!’ And she says ‘ok’ and then , sometimes he’s back at my house before I’ve even walked back round

I’m not feeding him although I did in the depth of winter when it was bitterly cold and I just couldn’t not!

Any suggestions? I’m really aware that a cat will go where a cat wants to go but I don’t want him in my garden , I don’t want him constantly miaowing at my back door and like I said, he stresses my cat out and he is living in my garden. Not visiting often - living there

Just wondered if there was anything I could do that I haven’t thought of.

OP posts:
TemporarilyCantDoMyself · 27/02/2026 16:08

Ask her for money for his keep, and if she refuses say you want to take him to a rescue then. I dunno, that's all I can think of. Difficult one.

MissAdvantage · 27/02/2026 16:14

@TemporarilyCantDoMyself really difficult! I’d have taken him to a lovely rehoming place I know of if she hadn’t chipped him

but to all intents and purposes, he has an owner. Their house is disgusting with piles of cat food in bowls all over the place and litter trays, stinks of ammonia. Cats everywhere

the answer to this is not my garden though

OP posts:
TY78910 · 27/02/2026 16:18

OP I would be ringing cat rescues around you to describe the conditions they are living in and to see what can be done here. Clearly the cats are fighting for food, probably bin surfing. If they’re all un-neutered she’s clearly not taking care of them.

One of my rescues came from this exact situation and she’s now happy here with me but it took a long time to get her to relax and not scoff food up like she thought she’d never see food again. It was so sad.

That woman (like you say MH issues) is not capable of looking after animals. They need to be rescued and hopefully rehomed.

EveryKneeShallBow · 27/02/2026 16:19

🦁 Lion poo!

CatServant1 · 27/02/2026 16:31

Poor cat (not that I don't see your point of view). It sounds like he's not being kept in suitable conditions and he'd just prefer to live elsewhere. Could you ask her about rehoming and then do something through the Cats Protection direct rehoming service? That way, they advertise him but he stays in your garden for now which saves the need for a rescue place.

MissAdvantage · 27/02/2026 16:38

I could ask her about rehoming him I suppose. Him being chipped means I’d have to. She’d have to agree to surrender him

the issue is he wouldn’t make a good pet tbh. Hes friendly etc but he just wants to live outside -!he has no interest in being in my house unless it’s to try and get food - he wants to be fed and he wants to live in my garden

I’ll look at lion poo - problem there is I have a rather elderly cat who’s been poorly recently and I just want her to be able to potter around our garden in peace without him constantly THERE

OP posts:
giddyboo · 27/02/2026 16:40

Phone the RSPCA. The rescues cant really do anything as he is classed as being owned. The RSPCA has more power to do something. A visit from them might get her to buck her ideas up. They'll ask her if she wants to sign any of them over to them which will be the start of him getting a decent home. They can also offer her help if shes finding it hard to cope. They'll make her clear her home up too. She can live how she likes but the animals cant chose to. Don't feel bad about phoning them you've tried to help the poor cat and her.

Beechtrees19 · 27/02/2026 16:58

giddyboo · 27/02/2026 16:40

Phone the RSPCA. The rescues cant really do anything as he is classed as being owned. The RSPCA has more power to do something. A visit from them might get her to buck her ideas up. They'll ask her if she wants to sign any of them over to them which will be the start of him getting a decent home. They can also offer her help if shes finding it hard to cope. They'll make her clear her home up too. She can live how she likes but the animals cant chose to. Don't feel bad about phoning them you've tried to help the poor cat and her.

This. I feel for you. We had neighbours with two cats who they left shut outside all the time in all weathers. They for half a can of cat food each a day. They were very thin and always screeching. Thankfully they didn’t try to get in our house but I hated it. Eventually one of them was taken home by a nearby office worker. They didn’t seem to care.

faerylights · 27/02/2026 17:31

He sounds like he'd suit life as a barn or farm cat - there are often rescues who ask for people who want cats like that.

Maybe ask her if you can re-home him? Poor boy, he has no life Sad

ForPinkDuck · 27/02/2026 17:45

Speaking from experience I dont think people wirh cronic mental health needs can pull their boot straps up after a strong talking too.
Its highly unlikely that the rspca will remove all the cats.
You have a relationship with your neighbour youll need to persuade her to rehome him.
Do any of your neighbours want him?

giddyboo · 27/02/2026 22:53

ForPinkDuck · 27/02/2026 17:45

Speaking from experience I dont think people wirh cronic mental health needs can pull their boot straps up after a strong talking too.
Its highly unlikely that the rspca will remove all the cats.
You have a relationship with your neighbour youll need to persuade her to rehome him.
Do any of your neighbours want him?

Maybe but at least help will be offered and if the animals are in bad conditions and suffering then they will intervene. Also they can contact the local mental health team and get the owner of the cat help.

ForPinkDuck · 27/02/2026 23:35

Yes the condition of the cats is key for RSPCA intervention.

MissAdvantage · 28/02/2026 05:08

I think we overestimate what the RSPCA will do u fortunately. The cats have food (so much - all piled up in various bowls ) and they have shelter. The woman from the neuter rangers who kindly arranged his spaying said the RSPCA will not do a thing due to the above. Doesn’t matter that her house is an absolute state.

However I am going to contact them because it’s worth exploring that avenue

I don’t think he’d make a good pet for anyone tbh. He’s perfectly friendly but he doesn’t want to be inside. He doesn’t try and come in my house unless it’s to run to my cats bowl and attempt to throw food down his throat

no, he just wants to hang around in my garden all the time, live on my garden furniture and miaow constantly

OP posts:
HortiGal · 28/02/2026 13:51

You’d likely get a better response from a local cat charity, very difficult to get RSPCA out

Hopefulbride18 · 04/03/2026 18:31

Sorry OP that's so tricky. Beyond ringing the RSPCA to try and get them removed which you are going to try... Although yes I agree it's unlikely they'll intervene.

Do you think if you just fed him every morning he'd be less annoying and inclined to try to break into your house to eat your cats food!?

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