I think one of the neighbours is feeding my cat

[red rose]

Clearly its ridiculous of me to want my cat to eat properly and be healthy

There is a trend starting regarding feeding cats raw meat rather than cooked meats/commercial cat foods but its not as simple as just giving your cat cuts of the meat you buy in your weekly shop. Cats need the calcium from bones to stay healthy, they can get sick from eating red meat and the worms in pork can kill them. Whilst cats have a faster metabolism and are therefore less prone to food poisoning they are still susceptible, and its recommended that if you are preparing your own raw-meat cat food you par-boil the chicken to get rid of surface bacteria. Its also important to understand that whilst cats eat mostly meat they do need a small amount of vegetables/fibre in their diets to help their digestion, too much salt can make them prone to urinary tract infections - the number one cause of death in cats.

I like that my cat is good with people, and I like that my neighbours are friendly. But he is my cat and I want to make sure that he is healthy, I don't want to see him suffer with UTIs and other illnesses because of people who think that since wild and feral cats live on dead birds and rodents means they'll be fine with any meat, or that it is acceptable to give them cat treats every day.

Frankly if you aren't the one who is going to have to fork out for the vets bills if the cat gets sick then leave it alone.

 

[hektik]

a cat came in through our dog-flap once, and started eating my dog's food...it only made that mistake once mind you.


now it perches on the garden wall while my dog lies on the grass, waiting for it to come down..

 

[Mungy]

Get out.

i liked it. i thought it was funny. just told it to my wife and she gave me her, "thats not actually funny, you know" smile.

 

[innit]

"effing and jeffing" = hallmark of an utter tool

FACT

 

[sim667]

Get a collar cam and do some spying?

 

[space-tout]

To be honest, i dont think there is a lot you can do once your cat is outside.
My mum lives in a bungalow in a row of around 20 bungalows, the back garden backs onto another bungalow, also in a row of around 20. The gardens are around 60ft long each.
Most of the residents of the bungalows are pensioners and cats.

Around 3 years ago in the summer my folks had the back door open and were watching tv when a ginger cat came striding in, the cat was'nt young but had no collar. My folks thought it may have been a stray and gave it a drink and some food and it's been there ever since.

It turned out that the cat belonged to a lady over the way that had two cats.
The cat that turned up at me mums 'elle' was 9 years old when she wandered in, the lady said she had had both cats from young, and that the other cat would regularly attack elle so she just did one.

It just shows really that even at the age of nine a cat has no loyalty.

 

[Epona]

People shouldn't feed anyone else's cats - if anyone here is feeding a neighbours cat, please stop doing it. You don't know if it is on a restricted diet due to diabetes, chronic renal failure, bladder problems, or allergies (especially chicken or fish allergies) all of which are common in cats. It's irresponsible to give food to a cat if you don't know its medical history and dietary requirements. It may be on a restricted diet at home due to medical issues, and someone else offering something tasty but outside of its diet could compromise its health and cost its owners a fortune in vet bills.