Collarless Cats

Ian

@Arky @Foureyes I found their wording quite amusing. I would say that all of those birds would have died rather than most of them, unless the birds have some secret of eternal life they haven't passed on :-). Unlike the RSPCA, I'm not surprised that birds die every year. I'd also helpfully point out that they are missing the category of "old age" in reasons why at least some of them do.

nick_m

@ Emma - I don't know; bib, bell, whatever works. You'll be unsurprised to hear that I don't own a cat.

rainbow_carnage

This is only tangentially related...

A friend of mine acquired a cat a few months ago. She walked in through her open back door, hid under the sofa and refused to come out for a couple of days. When she did come out, my friend noticed that she wasn't well. She took her to the vet, who suspected that someone had kicked the poor thing.

Anyway, she brought the cat home, fed her, nursed her back to health. She even installed a cat flap so the kitty could come and go as she pleased.

Last month, the cat's original owner came back. Apparently, the arsehole left the country for six months, leaving the cat outside to fend for herself.

She's reluctant to return the cat. I agree. If the cat really wanted to go back home, she could have. But every day she returns to my friend's flat.

Any thoughts?

Emma

The person went away for <i>six months</i> without making provision to care for the cat <i>at all</i>?? Can they prove the cat is theirs? Is it microchipped? If yes, I would report the owner to the RSPCA.

sincers

How do you know they went away for six months? If you can get that on record, you can prove to the RSPCA that they're unfit to own an animal - they'll get an injunction or something. In the mean time, possession is 9 10ths of the law or summat. if they make a threat, report them to the police for threatening behavior.

rainbow_carnage

I haven't met the guy (or the cat, for that matter). I just know what my friend told me. She said that the guy came by asking for his cat. He was the one who told her that he'd been away for six months. I don't know if my friend wants to get involved in an RSPCA case. I don't know what kind of proof she'd need. She probably has a vet bill or two. Maybe that counts as evidence? But mainly, she just wants to keep the cat.

sincers

Deny everything. "What cat? No I haven't seen any cats around here."

Emma

As someone who had a cat, looked after him well, and lost him to someone else who decided that he *must* be neglected because he ate the food she gave him (and then refused to let us have him back), I would be careful about trying to keep a cat just because it's come in your house. Cats do that. They're not hugely loyal when there's something in it for them.

Your friend should make it a priority to get proof that the chap abandoned the animal and that she's been its sole carer for a long time now, and take steps to have that established by someone like the RSPCA - it's only fair on the owner and (more importantly) the cat.

Siolae

@rainbow_carnage. Tell her to contact Cat Protection in Archway 02072726048 They can advise her on the best course of action.

londonian

After leafleting our environs our cat was returned last night.

tableturn

Thats great news Timmymc. Was it a member of the local SG community that returned your cat, or did the moggie return of it's own accord (this suggests that cats have mastered the ability to read and understand the English language)...?