Neighbors Cat?

Question

The family who lives behind me owns a male cat, I'm guessing is about 7 or 8 years old. Everyday he comes in my yard wanting food (he is very fat for his size) and if I do not feed him he sits on my front porch, puts his head against my door and meows very loudy. He will not stop until he is fed. Other than that he is very loveable and sweet and I have grown attached to him. Now instead of feeding him scraps I bought him some canned food and feed him that. Do you think it is wrong of me to feed him?

Answer 1

It's not wrong, but you might want to give a head's up to your neighbors that you do feed the cat when he comes over. They might not mind, but it seems like the nice thing to do -to just let them know their feline family member is getting some bonus meals!

Answer 2

There is nothing wrong with feeding the cat. However if I were you I would definitely tell the neighbor so that they know this is happening. You can continue to do this, but if he annoys you I would stop putting out food, and maybe put up a gate of some kind so he couldn't get up on your porch. You want to make sure that he isn't being overfed so you should definitely tell the neighbor the cat belongs to. And also canned cat food isn't that great for them. Canned cat food is usually only used for kittens and as a treat every once in awhile. So I suggest if your going to continue feeding the cat to get a bag of dry cat food. It's easier on their digestive system.

Answer 3

Not at all and if the cat is that fat, you are the only one feding proper foods. The reason for the hunger is because he isn't getting enough of what he needs. Maybe you can teach your neighbor

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process them. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Answer 4

No, it's not wrong of you to feed him, but it is best if you stop feeding him since he belongs to another person - this way he will break the habit of relying on you to give him food when he is hungry. Perhaps go talk to your neighbor and let them know what the cat has been doing and that you do feel bad when he comes meowing to you for food but if there is a way where he can break that habit. As sweet and lovable as he may be, you shouldn't invest money into another person's pet - it will only make your wallet thinner and you feel worse when he does vanish permanently.

Answer 5

Cats can be very insistent when they want food. But you might want to refrain from feeding him, in case the family is trying to put him on a diet.

Not that I don't know where you're coming from: A neighbor that lives a couple of doors down from us has a beautiful black and white cat who comes to us a lot for attention, and in the mornings for food.

Answer 6

I think your heart's in the right place but you shouldn't feed someone else's pet, for no better reason than for the health of the animal. A friend of mine put her fat cat on a diet on the vet's recommendation and couldn't figure out why it kept getting heavier, until she found out it was begging from the neighbors because he was hungry, naturally. That may be exactly what's going on here too, and if his owner is trying to improve his health by improving his diet, you could be doing him harm by feeding him things he's not supposed to have. You wouldn't want to do that to a sweet cat you're fond of, would you?

Answer 7

I would let the owners know what he is up to but also let them know you love the cat as well. Some cats are little piggies and will eat and eat all day. Pick up some treats and only give a few. But let the owners know so if the cat has health problems you know what he can and can not have. It is like with kids when you hand out candy they keep coming back for more.

Answer 8

If you've grown attached to him, and don't mind spending your money to feed another person's animal then I don't see a problem, as long as you inform your neighbor. After all, this cat is their pet and they (hopefully) know of any health issues and the like. Perhaps they don't have enough time to care for the kitty, and they should look for a new home for him or her. Maybe you can do it? I always hate hearing about indoor/outdoor or 100% outdoor kitties. Their live spans are so much shorter than indoor kitties. The average life of an outdoor cat is only 3 years versus the 12 years of an indoor cat.

Answer 9

I'm glad you asked this question because I have an ongoing problem with my neighbor who feels the need to take care of my cat. During the day, both my husband and I are at work so of course our cat roams the neighborhood. I have my own schedule of when to feed my cat, which is before I go to work, and when I get home. Recently, I've caught my neighbor carrying my cat into her home, and noticed that my cat doesn't eat her meals anymore. When I get home, she already smells like she ate, and I get frustrated because her eating schedule has been changed by someone who doesn't even own her. I find it to be rude, especially if my neighbor has no intent of letting me know.

Answer 10

Your not wrong for feeding him, but you are running the risk of acquiring a permanent friend. So unless you want him there constantly when he isn't getting what he thinks he needs at home, you need to stop feeding him. At least by feeding him you show you have a heart.