Cats

[ILG]

I am looking for some suggestions. We have a neighbor that called the city about our cats being in their yard. We had a cat a while back that disappeared before we got the kitten we have now (the other cat we have now is a neighborhood stray that we adopted). Our kitten has been coming home with strange but somewhat serious injuries. We have not had to take him to the vet, but considered it. He has had two bizarre injuries that have taken a few weeks to heal up each. The thing is that the neighbor we think is doing this has dogs that bark all the time and an emotionally disturbed son who comes over all the time. Even when we eat in our back porch he comes and talks to us through the screen and invites himself over and talks about how good it smells. We have been very tolerant and have had him over a lot. He has spent a number of meals here and we have never complained about their dogs or their son. We do sometimes not answer the phone when their son calls ours about 5 times in one evening. We are considering putting up a privacy fence but that still doesn't help the cat situation. Aside from keeping our cats inside 24/7, I am not sure what to do. I can't understand why someone would be so petty as to be this way when the cats are only in their yard once in a while.

[Tina]

Hmmm.. tell them you'll keep the cat home if they'll do the same with their son?

I'm not much help am I?

It's hard to keep a cat from roaming... unless you invest in one of those cat tunnel play things... to put him out to play in when he wants out.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Tina

Hmmm.. tell them you'll keep the cat home if they'll do the same with their son?

I'm not much help am I?

It's hard to keep a cat from roaming... unless you invest in one of those cat tunnel play things... to put him out to play in when he wants out.

That's my whole point. How is a person supposed to keep a cat from roaming (aside from getting them fixed, which helps). But cats are cats!! I am not sure what we are supposed to do!

[ILG]

I'm really frustrated this week. So, I guess I am also venting. A renter we had who refused to turn his utilities over in a timely fashion and refused to pay the bills is giving us a hard time about keeping some of his deposit, as if we owe it to him.

And then, yesterday at work a co-worker who had complained to me about some issues last week griped me out because I offered to make an action plan to fix the issue. I told her that if she would approach the director with the issue, she could tell the director that I would be willing to train the whole staff on the issue. She did this and we got the whole thing set up. Then, she said to me yesterday, "Why are YOU doing this training, as if I am not good enough to do it!!". I was flabergasted. I couldn't believe it. I said "You go ahead and do it if you want". And she won't do it. So, she's all mad at me because I am doing it and not her when she set the whole thing up!

And then I came home to this cat issue.

Sheesh.

I am planning on buying my co-worker a flower and blowing the whole thing off. I don't know what else to do. There's my action plan for the co-worker. Or, if she's too bad today, I may have to be proactive and tlak to my boss.

But I don't know what to do about my poor beaten up little cat.

[rgcraig]

I do not have a solution, but I do have that problem.

I'm allergy to cats!

There's this one cat that just loves my wicker rocker on my patio and he stays there all the time. The padding on the rocker is dirty and cat hairs all over it from the cat lounging there all the time.

I can't do anything about it - - just don't sit out on my patio much now.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by rgcraig

I do not have a solution, but I do have that problem.

I'm allergy to cats!

There's this one cat that just loves my wicker rocker on my patio and he stays there all the time. The padding on the rocker is dirty and cat hairs all over it from the cat lounging there all the time.

I can't do anything about it - - just don't sit out on my patio much now.

That's what I would do.....just try not to be petty like you are trying not to be. Having neighbors is all about give and take. Anyway, I'm sure you wouldn't try to cut the cats tail off.

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

I had a neighbor who used to complain about cats- yet had bird feeders and the associated birds all over his property.

Duh! may as well have planted catnip in the flowers too!

[ILG]

Originally Posted by BoredOutOfMyMind

I had a neighbor who used to complain about cats- yet had bird feeders and the associated birds all over his property.

Duh! may as well have planted catnip in the flowers too!

Our neighbor has a bird feeder. Never thought of that one. Good point.

[Theresa]

while I can sympathize, I have to say, as someone who is allergic to cats, it's annoying to have the neighbors cars roaming all over my yard, car and patio any time and all the time...there are 4 that just make themselves at home and it is driving me crazy. They roam in my flower bed, track up my car and lounge on my patio furniture.

My husband left his window cracked the other night and a neighbors cat somehow got in the crack and was sleeping on the seat like he owned the place.

I'm no advocate of cats or dogs running loose, it's not fair to the neighbors who for what ever reason, do not have pets

HOWEVER, that does not give one permission to be cruel to the animal. If your neighbor has issues with your cat being on their property, they should have said something to you - and likewise, you should say something to them about their son. If you dont, then you are allowing it and telling them it's ok..

and who knows, the son may be the one hurting your cat since he's mentally challenged - you should at least address it...


and you might want to consider some kind of system that prevents your cats from roaming outside of your yard...

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Theresa

while I can sympathize, I have to say, as someone who is allergic to cats, it's annoying to have the neighbors cars roaming all over my yard, car and patio any time and all the time...there are 4 that just make themselves at home and it is driving me crazy. They roam in my flower bed, track up my car and lounge on my patio furniture.

My husband left his window cracked the other night and a neighbors cat somehow got in the crack and was sleeping on the seat like he owned the place.

I'm no advocate of cats or dogs running loose, it's not fair to the neighbors who for what ever reason, do not have pets

HOWEVER, that does not give one permission to be cruel to the animal. If your neighbor has issues with your cat being on their property, they should have said something to you - and likewise, you should say something to them about their son. If you dont, then you are allowing it and telling them it's ok..

and who knows, the son may be the one hurting your cat since he's mentally challenged - you should at least address it...


and you might want to consider some kind of system that prevents your cats from roaming outside of your yard...

The only way that I can think of is to make them house cats, which they are not. I am asking for suggestions.

I am allergic to many things. Dust, chemical smells, perfume smells. There is a lot I have to live with in that regard. So, I sympathize with that as well but I just have to live with it when people wear perfume and spray chemicals etc.

I really wanted to help their son by letting him feel he has a place to hang out at. We try to draw reasonable boundaries but it doesn't always work. At the same time, if you live next door to people, there are things that happen and you have to let it go to some degree. It is not their son harming the animals. We do know that.

It may not seem fair to have my cats in the neighbors yard, but it's also not fair to have to listen to barking dogs like we do. I am not complaining about barking dogs. I am complaining about people not understanding that we all have to give and take. So, if you have reasonable suggestions to keep a cat from going into a neighbors yard, I am listening.