r/Advice • u/TheGhoulNextDoorr • 4d ago
Neighborhood Stray Cat
We have a stray cat on our street. I use the term “stray” very loosely here, because the cat followed one of our neighbor’s (I’ll call him George) to his home from the gas station one day—he lives all the way down the street on the other side from my house, so I don’t really know him—Kitty cat is clearly young, maybe around one, and definitely not fixed.
This cat has been hanging out up and down on our street for several weeks now. A few weeks ago, my direct neighbor (I’ll call her Chloe) took him in for a night as the weather was really bad. Chloe asked me and another neighbor in a group chat if either of us knew where this cat came from; other neighbor mentioned she knew the cat followed George home, and that he couldn’t take the cat in his house because of an “aggressive dog.”
So sounded like this sweet kitty just needed a home, and Chloe was going to ask George about him.
Early the next day, George and his girlfriend came knocking on doors looking for this cat. Chloe gave them back the cat explaining herself, and they told her “they’re going to get kitty fixed, vaccinated, and take care of him.”
Two days later, the cat is back down on our part of the street, and Chloe’s toddler let the cat back into their house. Apparently, she already committed to rescuing a kitten from a friend since returning the “stray” cat broke her toddler’s heart. So she let the cat back outside, and he did not want to go. It was actually so sad… I mean he sat there and was not interested in going back out.
Fast forward another week, he’s just been hanging out around the street for a while and stressing everyone out. All of my surrounding neighbors have been asking about him since he keeps trying to go in everyone’s houses. I already have a few cats of my own, and Chloe is nervous he’ll get in her house with the new kitten now… We’ve heard stray cat get into fights, and I saw him almost get hit by a car. We also found out George’s solution to keeping him was a box with a blanket outside of their house. 🙄 It’s almost winter where we live (Ohio), and that is simply not sustainable enough for a cat in winter conditions.
So with all of this said, Chloe’s cousin has asked to take the cat in and give it a warm, loving forever home. Seriously, the sweetest cat all of us have ever met. He truly deserves the best 💔 We all think confronting George and his girlfriend about the cat’s conditions would just cause unnecessary drama as they’re both young (maybe early 20’s?), and they won’t do anything to change the situation either. We all collectively agree we’d be incredibly heartbroken if anything happened to this cat. I’m even considering taking him in for the winter despite having a full house of cats already…
What would you do in this situation?
1
u/Tight_Steak_232 Helper [2] 4d ago
Indoor/outdoor cats are problematic. I have a grand kitty who is indoor/outdoor. One of the neighbors regularly takes her in and cuddles, but she always lets the cat out at dinner time. That's when the cat returns to my son's house. The cat does not hunt birds (has terrible vision) and is fed kibble at home. It just loves being outside, even in winter.
But when someone "keeps" a cat and doesn't let it inside, it's a social feral cat. It's fair game. Take the cat to Chloe's cousin's home.
And for the record, I understand how having a house filled with critters doesn't make one go whoa. Instead, it's "what's one more?" We just took in two feral kittens 3 weeks after getting a kitten from a local farmer. But mama was a cat pancake. We knew they needed help. Now, we have three kittens, six dogs, two birds, 16 chickens, two goats, and two tame yard rabbits (were wild, but they tamed themselves and now live in a fenced enclosure safe from birds of prey.)
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u/Beneficial-Yak-8629 4d ago
Take it and rehome it. Did they microchip him?