|
Post by bluemoose on Dec 31, 2010 1:02:12 GMT -5
The bf's house mates picked up a kitten from the middle of the freeway a couple months ago. That was good obviously but now they seem like they've lost all interest in the cat. At first she was inside, eating wet food (on my recommendation), and getting attention. Now I find out she lives in the garage, eats poor quality dry food, and is never allowed in the house.
I don't understand why people get a pet and then banish it to someplace they'll never have to see it. Their reason for sending the kitten to live in the garage is that they don't like the litter box. I gave them some of my World's Best Cat Litter when they first picked her up and then they switched to some weird sawdust litter that tracts everywhere. The bf offered to keep her in his room, litter box and all, but they don't want her in the house at all.
I don't can't see how the cat will survive in the garage. It's cold right now but she can probably get through because winter here is fairly mild. Summer is another story. It gets 100+ degrees here and in a garage it's even worse. Not to mention all the fumes and who knows what else is in their garage.
And then to add insult to injury, they're talking about getting a dog! How can they possibly care for a dog if the cat is too much trouble to bother with? I suppose it's not my business but I just hate to see people treating their animals poorly.
Anyway, I do have a question in this rant. Any ideas for how I could get them to allow the cat indoors? Personally I think they should just take it to a shelter if they're going to leave it in the garage it's whole life but I don't think they would appreciate me telling them that.
|
|
|
Post by angelfish on Dec 31, 2010 2:57:35 GMT -5
I don't really have any good ideas for you. I'd love to think that people that treat animals like that can be shown the light and realize that pets are living creatures and that they themselves wouldn't want to be treated like that. Unfortunately, in my experience, those people tend to see pets as just another "thing" to acquire and then trash when they're not interested anymore.
Maybe convince them to take the cat to a humane society or SPCA. Personally, I wouldn't care if it bothered them or not, I would still tell them that. Then again, I'm a somewhat confrontational person too.
When I was a kid, I saw some kind of commercial or television show that had a scene where the mother served the kid's meal on a dirty plate used at the previous meal that day. When the kid complained, the mother pointed out that he had fed the dog in a plate that was still dirty from a previous meal. She told him that if was good enough for their dog then it should be good enough for him. The kid then got up and served the dog dinner in a new, clean bowl. The lesson, obviously, was that one should treat our pets to the same quality of life/care that we treat ourselves. I wish more people would understand that.
|
|
|
Post by shilohismygirl on Dec 31, 2010 13:10:21 GMT -5
I wish you could rescue the cat-as in, sneak it off to the shelter, and say it ran away. Or, find a home for it and say it ran away. If they don't want it in the house, they don't want a cat. I had a similar situation with my old room mate before we moved. The roomie didn't leave the dog outside, but he didn't care for it like he should have, and so it was very destructive and unhappy. So, we had to move.
|
|
|
Post by WTFerret on Dec 31, 2010 14:33:36 GMT -5
Eh I'd just put the cat outside. Put food out everyday and call it good. I've got s cat I see it every other week or so and it seems to work for her as she's 6-7 years old and has never been in the house.
|
|
|
Post by bluemoose on Dec 31, 2010 15:26:52 GMT -5
Having outdoor cats here is not recommended. There are coyotes everywhere and I've never heard of an outdoor cat in this area that didn't eventually (sometimes very quickly) disappear. And at her size, hawks could probably snag her as well. They live next to a large field that doesn't even have trees for climbing or cover.
I suppose we could just sneak her out and rehome her and act like she must have escaped. The other alternative I was thinking of was for the bf to ask if he can take her when he leaves. Something about how he's gotten oh so attached to her and he'd love to have her. I can't see how they would care if she was gone.
|
|
|
Post by jacksmomma on Dec 31, 2010 15:53:17 GMT -5
Cats are social, curious animals. Keeping one locked away in a garage is just as bad as locking a ferret away in a cage. If they are so nonchalant about its well being then when the dog comes, they will care even less. I'm sure the poor cat will go days without a scooped litter box maybe even forgotten to be fed. If your BF is truly attached, I'd stage an escape (ie cat-napping) and take it along when he moves out. The guilt of leaving it behind would be a heavy burden on him. Of course even if he's not attached, the cat deserves better WTFerret - cats get hit by cars, attacked by wild animals and eaten alive by heartworm, fleas and ticks. Yes cats can (and do ) survive outside, but their life expectancy is significantly shortened
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Dec 31, 2010 16:11:31 GMT -5
I gather since they don't want to deal with a litter box, she comes and goes from the garage? Simple answer. I'd just take her one day. They won't even realize she's gone til the food's no longer touched.
|
|
|
Post by shilohismygirl on Dec 31, 2010 17:23:26 GMT -5
I'm with sherrylynne. I'd just take her, I think.
|
|
candiceboggs
Going Natural
Ferrets are nature's anti-depressant.
Posts: 187
|
Post by candiceboggs on Dec 31, 2010 18:56:40 GMT -5
I'm in agreement with those and sherrylynne who said to just take her, or have some kind of catnapping. Much as it would nag at me to do it, in the circumstances she's living in, a cold (alternatingly burning hot) garage where she never sees the light of day, which she would certainly be afforded indoors (CRUEL) I would do it. I agree they probably will never even miss her or be that concerned when she disappears, and if your bf likes her, that much the better.
WTFerret, when I lived at home a few years back and my parents would not allow my cat to be a fully indoors cat, he suffered multiple cat fights each year despite his being a neutered animal (doesn't help with that), one time getting so badly beat up that his leg was torn open and there was a gash so deep on the top of his head where you could see the skull. Several hundred dollars in vet care for anesthesia, shaving of his fur, antibiotics, and stitches is what having an outdoor cat can mean - if not death by mauling from other cats, dogs, cars, wildlife, or people (yes, I rescued an abused cat from a group of nasty children outside, the cat went on to live with my sister).
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Dec 31, 2010 19:39:58 GMT -5
As much as I would hate to provoke such subterfuge....I agree Smuggle the kitty. They're not really going to care. ciao
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Dec 31, 2010 20:09:54 GMT -5
Normally, I would never advocate stealing someone else's animal. Unless. Unless it's being abused or severely neglected, and/or put in danger. There are many people who live around me who's cats are indoor/outdoor, and i cringe every time i see a cat outside. We've got large hawks(one even tried to grab one of my cats on his lead in the yard!). Tons of coyotes, stray dogs/cats(one of those actually tried to attack one of mine on his lead in the yard). Ours have only ever gone outside either in the fenced back yard when we are right there, or on their leads. Again, only when we are with them. So when that hawk jumped lower and lower on the branches, then onto the fence, eyeing up the cat, I was shocked. Someone lost their kitten this past summer. Kitty evidently liked to walk the fence. It was the time of year the hawk is around. So- you would be doing this kitty a major favour by rescuing him!
|
|
|
Post by bluemoose on Dec 31, 2010 21:31:51 GMT -5
The bf does like her and he told me he sneaks her in the house at night to sleep in his room. He's also buying her wet food and once I get back home in a couple days I'm planning to take over some of the Wellness Core wet food one of my family's cats eats (only my kitten eats raw).
Yeah, I don't like to keep outdoor cats when there are so many risks. I've never heard of an outdoor cat having a happy ending. Mine only goes out on his harness or in the secure ferret enclosure.
I'm sure they would know he'd taken her if she happened to disappear right when he moves but they may very well be open to giving her to him. I think they thought their kids would like having a pet and when the kids lost interest, so did the parents. It's sad that mature adults can be so immature when it comes to animals.
|
|