Feeding other people's cats?

Question

One of my neighbours (a few doors down) is pi*sed off with me as his cat keeps eating my cat's food.

I have a cat flap and three cats of different ages including one elderly. Because they are fed dried food and are not greedy, I tend to leave food down for them to help themselves - it's much easier and I feel better for the older one who likes to eat little and often.

The neighbouring cat comes in and eats some of the food - I shoo her away when I see her but she usually does it when the house is empty or at night.

Do I have to change my routine just to please this neighbour - its not my fault his cat is greedy! Why should I have to shut my cat flap when my cats love their freedom?

Thanks for the comments - that is what I was thinking. I did consider getting collars and magnets but once had a cat who had a nasty accident with one and mine are all tree climbers who only keep a collar on for a couple of days!

This cat is a bruiser! He can break through a cat flap easily - and then couldn't get out again - more hassle.

to those who say keep the cats inside - I would never do that! We do not have busy roads, have great long gardens and countryside around. Cats are not bound by the same 'leash' rules as dogs - checked this out with Cats Protection. They are seen as animals with a mind of their own! there is nothing wrong with the cat that comes in and if there was it is for the owner to keep it in, not for me to stop my cats doing something that is good for them and they enjoy!

Answer 1

It's not your fault. The cat is coming into YOUR house. It's not like you're going to his house and putting out food specifically for him is it?
Cats are trickle feeders and most food companies advise either feeding several meals a day or feeding ad lib.

As for the strangely obsessed person above, who saw fit to start banging on about how its not right to let cats outdoors- SHUTTTTUP!!!
You may be be a vet, but you can still be wrong. In fact when someone like you is wrong it's more dangerous, because people put faith in you. Millions of cats roam the great outdoors, rarely, if never getting ill. We, as humans, get exposed to colds, viruses and other things when we go out but we don't shut ourselves in do we? It deprives them of mental stimulation, exercise and socialisation among other things. Staking a territory is something cats are supposed to do and is natural and good for them regardless of risks. I cannot stand paranoid people- its like the people who are forever dousing their houses in chemicals, battling the imaginary war against 'germs.' Exposure to illness, scraps, etc is just LIFE and we shouldn't deprive our cats of the wonderful outdoors because of our paranoid little hangups.
Plus, that is NOT what this question is about, so will people stop using people's questions as an excuse to rant about something entirely unrelated!!!!
P.S I am an animal care student, and have studied parasites. I would never stop my kid playing in sandbox- you are pushing false beliefs and unnecessary hangups onto your child. In the UK only around 2-3 people a YEAR, actually pick up these worms from DOG poo, and those that have gone blind by it- its very rare. Permanent blindness is even rarer. The hype around this is due to the media- you should know better. Being around animals all the time has made me more confident, and certainly more relaxed about things like blood, poo etc. What the hell happened to you?

Answer 2

I have exactly the same problem except my neighbour isn't pi$$ed off with me. Its hardly your fault this cat comes in, its in its nature, it knows there is food available and will just help itself - how can you stop that especially at night or when the house is empty? We have a cat that comes in from across the road and there is nothing we can do really, we can't lock our cat flap because then our cat would be a prisoner and it would be unfair to him. Our neighbour is totally understanding about it, and we often have a laugh about it too - seems like your neighbour is getting his knickers in a twist about something that you can't do anything about - if he has a go - reply with a 'catty remark' LOL!!!

Answer 3

You could try 'discouraging' this cat, although obviously this will mean you losing sleep by waiting up for it to sneak in. Arm yourself with a water pistol (not a super-powerful one, just an an ordinary pistol-type one) and squirt the cat when you catch it in the house. Make sure the cat's escape route back through the cat flap isn't blocked! I'd be amazed if you have to do it more than twice - cats are very quick learners where water pistols are concerned. This has worked brilliantly for me and my timid little cat, whose food bowl was being treated like the local cat cafe by neighbourhood moggies.
PS Your neighbour is being a twit.

Answer 4

your neighbor is a bad catparent!!! Leave the kittyflap open,. and mayhap feed the other kitties, because they nee dto be fed, too. The older one should be fed little and often, and if your d&%n neighbor doesn't like it, then he shouldn't have the pets in the first place. Sorry if I tend to get angry, I just love cats and hate to see them mistreated in any way! I do not know much about older cats, as mine is in the summer of his life, so i am probably no help to u there. don't change your routine, but I would not leave the flap open at night when u go to bed,just me, cause i would not want strange kitties in my house at night when i go to bed! Maybe not the cat is greedy, but hungry!

Answer 5

Id ignore the neighbour.and stick to YOUR cats routine.its his problem if his cat looks for food elsewhere not yours, Id advise though picking up the Bic's of a night just to stop him calling then,but if it doesn't bother your cats or you him calling ,then keep things as they are, Dont lock yours in.its their home .dont let your neighbour dictate what you should do.
I had the same problem with a cat coming into mine during the day while her "owner" was out at work all day,and the neighbour asked me if id stop feeding her cat.I said Sorry if the cat comes in hear looking for company and food then I'm not going to stop it. Needless to say the poor little thing got killed on the road .wandering about for company,
Dont back down to your neighbour .stand your ground,theirs nothing he can do,cats are free roaming.

Answer 6

No it's not your fault the neighbor's cat is coming in your house to eat your cat's food. I do know that if your's and his cat weren't allowed to roam freely in the great outdoors then neither one of you would be having a problem with this. I personally can't stand all the cats that roam my neighborhood only because I'm tired of seeing them dead in the road or swerving to miss them. I would feel like crap if I were to hit one. There are too many dangers for cats allowed to roam free. Cars, disease, cat fights, and just mean people to name a few. Cats destroy other people's property when they climb on top of cars and scratch the crap out of them and yes if you can prove it was the person's cat then the owner is liable for damages. This happened to me and they had to pay because we were able to finally get it on tape numerous scratches later. Cat's are the same as dog's when it comes to leash laws and can be picked up and hauled to the SPCA too. I don't mean to sound mean but this is a long going battle in my neighborhood where some feel it's necessary to own so many cats it's ridiculous and then not take care of them. My 16 old cat is an indoor cat and is extremely healthy for it. Ask any Vet worth his or her salt and they will tell you the same.

Answer 7

I understand your point but I have to wonder if there can
be special circumstances.
My cats vare indoor/outdoor with one of them being a diabetic that is in remission and can stay that way if he doesn't eat dry food. because of the carb content in dry foods, anything like that could cause the diabetes to come back which would mean testing again along with 2 shots of insulin per day.
I have spoken with my neighbors about this and none leave any food out.
I don't think you need to or should lock the catflap.
I would find out if there are any special circumstances and if there are, maybe the food can be placed in a different location

best to you

Answer 8

i would try again to have a word with your next door its not your fult the cat comes in at the end of the day its theres

and for the person who says its not right to let cats out come on use your loaf did the cat ask to become a humans pet? no did they ask for housing to be built ... no y should we deprive them its not different letting kids out to play there is a risk no matter what u do if i cat wants to go out they will get out one way or another and having lost a cat b4 and have a jurk bang on at me about that i am a bad cat owner when my eldest cat is gone 10 being from over america and have had the cats nails removed coz they didnt want the cat scratching there sofa now that is sick dont u think?

Answer 9

You are OK letting your cats live as free as possible. Your neighbour is not wise. This neighbour should better talk to you say what is better to do if he(she) is smarter than getting pissed of with your cats being not greedy.
I brought a young cat I found in the streets to my flat and fed it. After that he started to pull the string of my running pant and after it became still. Later on I let him go away if it pleased and it didn't go. Now I got to watch thesonofabitch!

Answer 10

carry on as you are, its not down to you to keep the other cat away, its down to your neighbour if they object, and as they saying goes all cats have two homes.

The only other solution is to get a cat flap with the magnets on the collar so only your cats can enter/exit ~ but then why should you pay out.

in this case I would leave the onus of the neighbour to make sure his cat is fed properly or kept away from your property

what a thing for a neighbour to grumble about ???

EDIT

The only other solution I can think of (and it will take time) is to lay in wait for the cat and squirt it with water as soon as you catch it coming through your cat flap. we did this with a cat near us and it soon put him off............but you have to be quick and keep the squirter near the cat flap at all times, however this cat only visited us during the day, so was quite easy to catch.