How do I talk to my neighbor about her cats?

#21

I have to assume that you live somewhere that it’s ok, for them, to be outside. Spayed/neutered or not. Where I live, there is actually a bylaw preventing people from letting their cats roam free.
Which unfortunatly dosen’t stop them all.
Maybe some pamphlets from your local SPCA, tucked into her mailbox, may help. Or find out if there is a program in place to help cover the cost of it. I think allot of people don’t have it done because of the cost.
Which is a sad thing…

And if the male is spraying your deck furniture, then it is your business!

#22

I got the point and agree. Cats, if let outside will roam, it’s their nature. And they will spray. It is sad that there are so many pet owners out there that don’t spay or neuter their animals but it is their choice.

#23

I think more and more communities are passing laws both about this and about mandatory spaying and neutering animals. They tried to pass a law here that made every pet in the city limits subject to mandatory spaying or neutering unless owned by a licensed and certified breeder. They are trying to cut down on strays. It wasn’t successful but they did try.

#24

If you have room for another cat you could tell the shelter to call you if/when it comes time to put it down and you’ll take it.

I just think if you manage to get your spay/neuter agenda across you’re going to make your roaming problems worse, not better.
I know dog people (who don’t have the long history of no leash laws helping them rationalize) who use being fixed as an excuse to let them roam.
Fixing doesn’t take away the disease issues and roaming is caused by someone letting them roam not whether the animals are fixed.

I also imagine that your spay/neuter agenda will be met with the same deaf ears it’s met with when it’s spread over the TV 20 times a day.

Maybe if you talk to them about the roaming the spraying will be brought up and then you can suggest that fixing may tone that down.

#25

I can’t believe it but I disagree with you! Vehemently! :slight_smile:

The cat is spraying on her deck. I LOVE cats, I have one, a beautiful NEUTERED male who stays indoors. But spraying the neighborhood is just nasty and it is a natural male cat thing to do.

I also am very vocal about neutering cats and dogs to cut down on the stray population. Neutering is the right and humane thing to do.

And I’ll tell ANYBODY that!:slight_smile: This is one cause that is everybody’s business IMHO.

#26

I don’t want to sound mean, but I just don’t think you should have pets if you can’t keep them home. I don’t think I should have to clean up after other folks’ pets in my yard or bring my pet in from her yard when another pet comes over and barks at her. When my daughter was little a neighbor’s dog would come into my grandparents yard and growl at her. They weren’t in the city limits so nobody would do anything about it and the owners didn’t care. I’ve known people whose pets were attacked and even killed in their own yards. There’s a chow that lives a couple of doors down that comes to my yard all the time. My dog is tiny and eats premium food so there is nothing to really clean up but I have cow patties all over the dang yard because of that one. You should keep your pets from being a nuisance to your neighbors or don’t have pets.

#27

I’m with you.
Keep the animals home and whether they’re fixed or not becomes a non-issue. Them carrying diseases becomes a non-issue. Them marking territory becomes a non-issue.
I’ve had a lot of dogs that weren’t fixed and have produced zero puppies. They didn’t reproduce because I kept them home.
The one cat I had was never outside off a leash.

Seems to me that the big push for fixing is an improper repair for the real problem, irresponsibility.

#28

I agree. It is terrible to have to deal with other people’s out of control animals. There is a big black dog that appears in my fenced back yard. He is friendly but I don’t really want him in my yard. The neighbors let all their animals, dogs and cats roam. We live on a busy street and someday, one of them is going to be killed.

#29

Of course the animal’s spraying on her property is her business. The owner of the animal is responsible for that. But as already mentioned, neutering at this point probably won’t stop that. I was referring more to the neutering than the roaming or spraying.

I agree that people should neuter their animals and they most certainly should keep them under control, that’s basic responsibility, but whether they choose to neuter them or not is their business unless a local law says otherwise.

If the spraying is the problem, then that’s what should be discussed, the neutering is irrelevant to the issue.

#30

this is such a touchy issue.

I know when we lived out in the country, we let our dog roam freely. He was ‘fixed’ and the nearest neighbour was a 15 minute walk away. When we moved to the city after we owned him for 8 years, I made sure I found another family to adopt him because I felt it would be cruel to chain him up. That being said, while he did roam, 90 % of the time he was on our property. We never had reports of him being bad, and if we had we’d have responded.

I know we once had a cyclist who liked to bike at 3 a.m. (I dunno why) complain that our dog would chase him, so we kept him indoors at night from that point on.

Now we have a small (about the size of some people’s cat) dog, and he is kept on leash at all times that he is out doors unless we are at the dog park.

But our cat (that was with us on the farm), is fixed but is allowed to roam in the summer time. I have not had someone complain about that, but we keep him in all winter if we can. He likes it outside.

Anyhow, we had 4 different neighbours show up asking if “Nick” was okay because they had not seen him for a long time.

To me, dogs and cats were originally wild creatures and it is their nature to roam and be free. I find it highly cruel to keep them locked up. Especially if they don’t have a chance to exercise otherwise. We are especially good at walking our Bischon Poodle, but he’s tiny so 4 walks a day around the block make him happy.

I would never keep my kids inside 24 hours a day, they need the sunshine.

That beings said I don’t condone poor animal care. I’m in favour ‘fixing’ the animals just to control population. My pets are also micro-chipped, mainly because the cat wouldn’t wear a collar [but did, ironically, once we got the little dog].

I agree that the issue is with the spraying and the pet being outdoors on cold nights. That is something you have legal rights to pursue.

But if it was my cat Nick, I’d tell you that often, despite our best efforts, he gets out and refuses to come in and after 12 p.m. I go to bed even though he’s still out and I’ve called for him every 15 mins before that! They are independent creatures!

#31

I have 2 indoor/outdoor cats,yes I know all the arguments about keeping cats indoors only, but my cats don’t understand any of that, they just love to be out in my garden hiding among the plants and flowers.They are older now and their outdoor jaunts have lessened considerably and I monitor them when they are outside. Having said all that if ever I got a kitten his life would not include going outside but when taking in strays if is very difficult to lock them up from the pleasures of the great outdoors.
I believe all companion animals should be netured and I think it is everyone’s business to try and educate other folk about this,same as it’s everyone’s business if you see an animal or a child being beaten up.I have many strays come into my yard and most are neutered,for the others I would take every opportunity to speak with the owners to try and educate them.I would(and have in the past)offered to help with the cost or to help find a less expensive vet service
About the spraying,that is like the animal newspaper,my guys go out and sniff all around,then they know who was there,when,where he lives and maybe even his name LOL and then they come in and report it all to me.

#32

I agree. I think you should talk to her about the spraying issues but as far as the neutering that is up to her, it is best for them but still…she might know that and still not want to have him neutered.

I have 2 cats and we try to keep them inside but I tell ya they are fast and tricky trying to get out the door. When you have small kids coming in and out well they do get out, unless I put them up in a room all day in the summer and I don’t wanna do that.

#33

I have a neighbor who has a permanently painted “free Kittens” that they put out 3-4 times a year
They keep their cat inside during very cold months, but they keep the kittens and mothers outside in a shed with litter boxes and bedding for spring, summer and fall as soon as the kittens can roam and find mama again
animal welfare has been there a few times, and the family believes it is animal cruelty to fix a cat
they do get VERY offended when people approach them about it
in october last year I had 4 young cats move into my garage, 3 died, animal control would not come get them (He believed they were adopted by me) I got on in a farm setting

it sucked

#34

I haven’t read this entire thread but I do want to say that we got our male cat neutered at 6 months, or whenever you’re supposed to (it was a long time ago) and he still looks unneutered. I don’t want to get too graphic but, ahem, he still has some fuzzy guys back there. Maybe the male is neutered and he still looks intact? Now, our cat doesn’t spray so that may be an indication that he’s not neutered.

Oscar lived inside for years and had the fat life until our son was born with severe asthma and he has had to live outside since. He is in my heated studio in the winter and out pretty much all summer. He won’t come inside in the summer, he loves it outside.

Anyway, just my two cents on cat guy stuff!!! :roflhard:

Oh yeah, our vet says that you can tell if a female is neutered because they put a little nick in their ear, maybe they do the same with the males? I never looked at Oscar so I don’t know…

#35

I am pretty sure they only nick the ears of ferals for identification. That way they don’t try to spay or neuter the same cat twice.
My cats are both neutered one is male the other is female and neither have nicked ears. My boy is the same way he still looks somewhat intact, but I am very sure he isn’t!

#36

They nicked my female’s ear even though she was indoor at the time. I suppose all vets do things differently. She is in kitty heaven now, lived to be 18! Catching mice right up to the end. My cats were so good at catching animals two summers ago that I was afraid they were going to start working together and bring home a deer!!! Oscar,the surviving male, isn’t as motivated without his hunting companion so I’m not having to clean up his “presents” as often!

#37

:roflhard: I’m sorry but that is too funny. :roflhard:

#38

you also made a huge mistake in feeding the cat. Once they know where to find food, they start seeing it as THEIR territory. We had a male (very malnourished) wander into our back yard 2 years ago. i made the mistake of giving him water and he WON’T leave. he also can’t be inside as he’s highly destructive (i’m tired of cleaning cat feces out of my basement and he keeps spraying on my house, porch, and patio furniture). I HAD called animal control and was told “not part of my job description” and the animal shelters said they were “full”. You need to check the laws carefully because I’m not sure if it’s the national dept. of agriculture, but here in NYS they’re considered “wild animals” and animal control doesn’t deal with them.

I also have issues with strays thanks to my twit neighbor across the street… she’s part of the catch/spay and neuter/release program through the SPCA so she leaves lots of catfood out, thus encouraging the strays to come around who fight with the male that thinks our house is his home.

I also have 5 females inside (i had planned for 3 max, dh had other ideas) and they spray whenever the male’s inside. no, they’re not fixed but i never thought i had to since they are strictly indoor cats.

#39

I have three cats and I cept them in tell they where fixed… But I am as gilty of letting them rome as any one… My home is not a cat person… I will not ad the the number of strays in the world… I love my cats I got them fixed and I skip meels twice a year so they can have there shots.

But they get cranky if they don’t get out side time and I will not have them trapped inside and tairing each other to bits.

#40

I have literally not been without a cat in over 30 yrs. In my experience cats that are kept indoors from the beginning have absolutely NO problems staying indoors.