I was stupid. I listened to some people and because of it I failed a cat.

[WillParkinson]

About a month or so ago I posted here that Paul had almost run over a cat and that I was going to call the shelter to have them taken off the streets. In the replies to that message I was told I was stealing cats or worse.

Well I didn't send the cats to the shelter and today I found out that the one that I've been returning to the owners (5 times in a about 2 weeks) has been missing for over a week and no one knows what happened to her.

So that sweet, friendly cat could be dead because I didn't follow through on what I wanted to do.

Next time I'm not going to ask for advice. I'm not going to let naysayers tell me differently.

I'm not going to fail again.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Your heart is in the right place, but you can't just steal someone's pet.

[WillParkinson]

4. It's not "stealing"

If they cannot or will not care for it then it's hardly taking something from them. I returned the cat to that house no less than 5 times. They did nothing to keep it in. She swore to me it was an indoor cat. This cat was too friendly to be left outside like that. Especially in a high traffic area like ours.

If you can ignore something like that then you go ahead and do so. I won't. Not anymore.

[boilerbabe]

8. Exactly! Thank you. n/t

[blueraven95]

2. ...

:hug:
Don't beat yourself up too much. I think most people would hesitate before taking a neighborhood cat to a shelter.

I hope the cat will show up healthy soon. Please just make sure the shelter is no-kill.

[WillParkinson]

5. Milwaukee Humane Society is a no-kill shelter...

They're very good at what they do to get animals adopted into a loving home, not the kind of place the cat was in.

I found out about it from another neighbor. Never once did they put up signs, never once did they ask if I'd seen the cat, even though I returned it to them numerous times.

As for beating myself up, yeah, I do that a lot. Mom said I'd have made a great Catholic because I always feel guilty.

[boilerbabe]

9. Maybe I was wrong to judge you based on my own experience

Just keep the kitty then! Make it easier for everyone! What's one more kitty, anyways, when you have one, two, three, it gets easier to have more.

I am sorry, because I posted based on what I thought was a person just gratuitously feeding cats and tempting them from their owners, etc.

Just keep the kitty. No big deal if it does not return to it's owner.

I just have a problem because of my very nice neighbor stealing my outdoor cats, and the only thing I can do is keep my remaining kitties indoors. She is just too nice, that I could not even think of doing anything to be mean to her. Preventative maintenance is all.

[WillParkinson]

12. I understand...

I'd never ever try to tempt a cat or dog from its human. If, however, they are not being taken care of then, yeah, I'll do what I think is right.

[blueraven95]

14. trust me, I get the guilt thing!

Bringing the cat to a shelter might be a wake up call to the neighbors - that is, if they go to the trouble to get him back then they might realize how much danger the cat was in and take care of him better. If they don't get him back, then at least you know the cat will find a better home.

[MrsBrady]

3. someone else probably took her in...

we took the neighbors cat...
correction....KITTEN....last month.

Last month, my husband happened to be home for a few days. on the third day in a row, when the neighbor two doors down left their 3 month old kitten out all day, that was it. This kitten found my husband home and in our garage. She kept coming over to our house. we had had enough of it.
I told the neighbor if he wasn't going to take care of it that we could take her or we could take it to the shelter for him.

She was thin and hungry and I was not going to tolerate it.

So...now we have 3 cats. :) She's not hungry now.

[WillParkinson]

6. 2 of our 3 cats...

Came from a shelter in Michigan. We drove 5 hours to pick them up. (One at a time.) Won't even tell you the kind of people who had them.

If I could find the cat I'd like to take her in, but I would be afraid the neighbors would call the police and we'd be forced to send her back to them.

[boilerbabe]

11. Glad you kept her...

with the consent of the people that had her in the first place! That would be my main point right there--make sure that you have the consent of the people that originally had the kitty??? Am I wrong?? Most times one might never know where the kitty came from, but I have had some problems with well-meaning neighbors (apparently feeding my outdoor cats, which were neither starving or abused) with better food? Needless to say, none of my kitties are going outdoors.

[boilerbabe]

7. I don't get what you are saying in this post

If it is in regards to a cat that appears to be lost--ok. I found out the hard way not to let my kitties out of the house. My neighbor, well-meaning as she might be, started feeding my outdoor cats to the point that they would not come back to my house.
Now, you have to gauge whether this cat that is just crossing your yard is a stray (is it starving? NO) so she took over two of my cats and I just don't think that it was right.

So I don't let my remaining kitties outdoors. Not only that, nice as my neighbor is, she feeds all wildlife which has contributed to the fact that raccoons are now inhabiting my attic.

My advice is, don't ever think that your goodwill has no consequences.

I will never let my cats outside due to well-meaning people (like you?). Ever. So think about where your altruistic leanings are really taking you!

We all mean well, but it does not mean well, necessarily!

[WillParkinson]

10. What I'm saying...

Is that this cat, according to the woman, was not an outdoor cat.

She was covered in fleas each time I took her back to them. I told her this when I took her back the first time. Each time I had to change my clothes in our back porch to keep from getting my cats and dogs infected.

When she went missing I had to find out from the neighbor I work with. She said that they just said they hadn't seen the cat in about a week. Never once did they ask me if I'd seen her, since I returned her to them each time she was out. Never once did they put up signs.

There were several cats in our neighborhood that were running loose, no collars. I said that they'd be better off in a shelter than running on the streets. I was taken to task by some. I acquiesced and gave the people more than one opportunity to take care of the little bundle of fur. They did not. Now the cat is missing and I find myself thinking if I had gone ahead and called the shelter the cat would be in a home that it was given love and not wandering the streets somewhere or worse.

[boilerbabe]

13. i apologize!!

I remember when I had a kitty that gave birth to kittens while having severe fleas, it was a nightmare, none of the the kittens survived. I was not in a position at the time to ensure the health of my cats.

I am so sorry that I went off on you in such a way. Maybe if you do get a chance to catch that poor kitty, then what you can do is dip her in dish liquid (it does work to get rid of fleas). I am hoping that you will be able to integrate that poor kitty into your household.

I am so sorry that I came off so harshly. I was definitely projecting here. Please forgive me!!

XXXOOO

[Pithlet]

16. You still did the right thing.

Don't beat yourself up about it. I didn't see the original thread, but from what you've posted here I don't think I would have supported you taking it to a shelter. I don't think stealing pets is the right way to deal with neglect. If the level of neglect is so bad that it warrants removal from the home, then authorities should be involved. That's not a popular opinion with some. You did the right thing. Sometimes cats go missing. She may have told you the cat was an indoor cat, but obviously that wasn't entirely the case. The cat may still turn up. Our cats were indoor/outdoor when I was growing up, and they'd occasionally go missing for weeks at a time, then come back. I don't believe in outdoor cats and mine stay in all the time, now. Don't feel bad. Again, I strongly feel you did the right thing :hug:

[WillParkinson]

18. Stealing implies something of value was taken...

They obviously do not value what they've lost.

[Pithlet]

19. It still wouldn't have been right.

Personally, I think it's better to keep cats indoors too, but I don't think that people who let their cats out necessarily value their cats any less. Intentional or not, a cat getting outside does not rise to the level of taking away. Authorities wouldn't have come and taken the cat away over that. I don't think you would have had the right to, either. And you don't know that she didn't value the cat. Cats do just fine out of doors. I don't personally believe it's the best for them, but I don't believe it's neglect to the level of removal for them to be outside, either. It's possible she was careless in letting her cat out. She may have sworn to you it was an indoor cat, but she may not have been all that concerned about it. You don't know. So, try not to feel bad about it. The cat may very well turn up. My sister had to give her indoor cat to my dad, who believes cats belong outdoors. It had never lived outdoors, but it made the transition just fine, and lived for years outdoors after that. Even disappeared for a week, once. I honestly think you're being way too hard on yourself, here. Edit I read your post again. You wanted all the cats removed that were outdoors? Not just the neighbor cat you thought was neglected? Why? Maybe I'm not clear on what you meant.

[WillParkinson]

20. The cats...

There's a family of cats (Momma and 4 kittens) that were free roaming around our neighborhood. Paul almost ran over one of them one day because it was under the wheel of the car and he didn't see it. Our street is very busy (we live down from a factory so there's vehicles all day and night). They don't have humans, they live under a building nearby.

This other cat, the subject of the original post, was always uber-friendly. If I walked outside and called to her she'd come running. The one day I couldn't get hold of the neighbor I sat outside with the cat for 90 minutes waiting for someone to get home. The cat just lay in the grass and rubbed against me to be petted. While petting her I noticed the fleas. I explained to the woman about the fleas and she said she'd take care of it. Several days later the cat was out again and still had them. The woman had even removed the collar that was on the cat.

And we're going to have to agree to disagree on valuing this kitty. If any of my kids were missing there would be door-to-door knocking as well as ads in the paper and flyers on trees. When my dog broke her chain and disappeared one day there were ads in the paper the next morning.

Though it shouldn't matter, the people next door cannot afford to pay their bills. They are behind in their car payments, etc. I do not know if they tossed the cat out so they wouldn't have to deal with it or not. I do not know all the details (the guy assumed we called the police on them one night because they were shooting fireworks and got angry and started shooting them closer to our house. We, of course, did not call the police because I was at work and Paul will sleep through anything)

And though this message probably sounds disjointed, I just got home from work. Not feeling 100% and am really tired. Hope you understood the whole mess.

[MrsBrady]

17. in my city, the ordinace states that no cats are to be left outside at all

so..
in my city, i guess you could have turned them in and maybe they would have gotten fined...
but how many cities actually enforce their pet laws? It seems to me they don't bother unless they need to enforce them as a reason to do something else.

or you could have just turned her in to the city shelter (our is mostly no-kill)
How would your neighbors know? They wouldn't.

If someone is clearly being negligent, then I say screw the owners and take the cat.

There is a cute orange tabby that I see outside my window sometimes. I've seen him under cars at several different houses on the block.
I don't know where he lives, but clearly he's being cared for. He looks healthy to me.
No I don't agree with leaving cat's out, but he seems fine. So I wouldn't try to take him.

Now on the other hand, the kitten we took in was being neglected. Hungry and thin and dirty!
She had ear mites! and we've had her at the vet twice already to make sure they were gone.
I didn't really care what the "owner" thought. We took the kitten in, we didn't ask him, he didn't bother us, he knew where she was. He's the neighborhood ass anyway. That was the end of it.
Now she's healthy and spoiled.

[jobycom]

15. Someone else took her to the shelter, so now she's missing.

If you had, she'd have been missing two weeks earlier.