Neighbour gone away-Cat starving: What would you do?

S

SlurrySlump

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Our neighbour has headed off for the Easter but left their cat outside. It hasn't stopped crying. I want to give it something to eat and probably will but I am really annoyed at the behaviour of these people. What would you do?
 
I'd feed it. But I'd talk to your neighbour about it when they return. People shouldn't have pets if they are not going to look after them properly.
 
The cat shouldn't starve.

It will kill mice or birds if it gets hungry enough.
 
Is the cat in an enclosed space or can he get out. As RMCF said he may be able to get mice etc, but thats not good enough they shoud'nt have left the cat with no food. They should'nt have a cat if they can't look after it. Do give the cat some food and a great big hug!
 
It seems strange that if this household has had the cat for some time that they would just head off without leaving any provisions for it. If they have then despite RMCF's correct observation, it is bad form for any pet owner to leave their pet to it's own devices. If you feel inclined to do so then leaving some water and food would be the right thing to do IMO. Bearing in mind that if the neighbours think that you're on hand to do this they might abdicate their responsibilities altogether on future absences so a polite word might not go adrift anyway on their return. We have 2 tabbies and whenever we are all away, the next door neighbour has a house key to come in and put out their feed and drink daily which they are happy to do.
 
maybe they have arranged for a relation to call and feed it? cat might just be lonely and looking to get into the house as usual. i would try feeding it to see if it is hungry.
 
Ok so it's clear there are plenty of people out there who do not like cats. I'm not a great fan of dogs, but I would never suggest running one over or feeding it to something else. If I saw one in distress or hungry I'd try sort the situation out or feed it ( preferably something suitable and not a cranky AAM poster) . Give the animal a break. After all it's not as if it's a banker is it.
 
RMCF said:
The cat shouldn't starve.

It will kill mice or birds if it gets hungry enough.
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Nonsense. Unless a cat was trained as a 'mouser' by its mother, it won't catch anything. Mousing is not an instinctive skill, and in fact, is 'dying out' among domestic cats. Kittens are often taken from the mother at such an early age that passing on the skill is not possible.
 
some people are real simpletons, like those who leave their cat to fend for itself while they leave for holidays or those who just feel compelled to say something they find funny but what's in fact just simply stupid
feed the cat and give it a shelter - if it's an outdoor/indoor cat, it's not used to being outside the whole time and might be freezing right now - that's what i'd do, definitely ..
i'd give your neighbours a hint about calling the ispca next time something like that happens ..
a domestic cat will not kill birds or mice for food, they might manage to kill them but even if they did, they won't eat them, they are way too much used to getting food from their owners
 


Are you suggesting that if tomorrow all of the owners of domestic cats stopped feeding them the cats that hadn't been taught to hunt would all starve?
Cats are one empty stomach away from being wild animals.
 
haminka1 said:
some people are real simpletons, like those who leave their cat to fend for itself while they leave for holidays or those who just feel compelled to say something they find funny but what's in fact just simply stupid
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Funnily enough only the great apes (humans being one) are capable of understanding humour. Some sub-species of great ape take themselves too seriously to find much funny. I can't quite remember their name.


haminka1 said:
a domestic cat will not kill birds or mice for food, they might manage to kill them but even if they did, they won't eat them, they are way too much used to getting food from their owners
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Rubbish. When I was growing up our neighbours had a couple of vile white fur-balls of cats that killed off the last few red squirrels in our area. They used to leave their half eaten corpses, along with numerous dismembered birds, in our back garden.
 
Cats, healthy ones at least, are natural predators, as others have pointed out. Just watch them at play with each other or with their toys and they simulate hunting, stalking, ambushing and killing prey.

As a cat owner for many years, I have no qualms about heading off for a week-end and leaving my cats outside. I don't leave out food for them because this only attracts vermin - mice, rats, grey squirrels, jack-daws, crows, pigeons, etc. I only leave them water in the summer as despite the fact that my cats drink domestic water in the house, once outside they make beelines for rain-water puddles for a drink.

The beauty about cats is they're self-sufficient and the relationship with their "owners" is a mutually beneficial and rewarding - food, shelter, care and attention as well as opportunities to take a "walk on the wild side" occasionally for the cats and vermin-free houses and gardens for the "owners".

Unlike the much less intelligent, pack-oriented, and owner-dependent dogs, cats are fiercely independent and are capable or switching "owners" if the current relationship is not to their satisfaction.

As per VOR's post above the whingey cat is probaly whinging for eh, cat of some kind.
 
Purple said:
Funnily enough only the great apes (humans being one) are capable of understanding humour. Some sub-species of great ape take themselves too seriously to find much funny. I can't quite remember their name.
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well, there is humour and there is humour - guess the op was genuinely asking for our opinions and the thread seemed to be going in a completely different direction

Purple said:
Rubbish. When I was growing up our neighbours had a couple of vile white fur-balls of cats that killed off the last few red squirrels in our area. They used to leave their half eaten corpses, along with numerous dismembered birds, in our back garden.
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not really - my cat, who was adopted straight from the street after having been dumped and having lived "rough" for a while would also chase birds and tear them apart but if you "assembled" their bodies you'd see there isn't a lot missing - he's doing it for fun but prefers dining in the restaurant home sweet home
 

depends - if the cat spends most of her lives indoors, she won't be as street smart - I've seen a cat who couldn't even climb a tree properly because he was kept indoors most of the time
 
We regularly leave our cats for 24 hrs, sometimes 48 but never more.

We leave out extra dried food and water for them.

They're fine. We barely give it a thought.

Our thinking is that they often disappear for a day or more anyway even when we are around.
 
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