Being fed by neighbour & bad behaviour

[Lauryn]

Yeah, I thought that might be why. She's never been grumpy with them before, but then as I say she tends to be upstairs while they're downstairs.

My current solution is to keep her indoors. It's not ideal and it won't last forever, but she's mostly back to herself.

[Gillian Harvey]

I was just wondering if the grumpyness was due to the kittens still being around, kittens wouldnt naturally stay with their mums and usually mums are keen to get them off their hands!   

[Lauryn]

Unfortunately, still been unwell and haven't been able to take her to the vet. She's had moments of affection, though. I've deduced that she's sulking about not being allowed out, because it only starts after she's asked to go outside.

Yes, she gets time alone. I make sure they all do. They also all get time with me alone. Clearly the fact that they have read her tag (and I know they have, since they know her name without me having told them) which specifies she is on a special diet hasn't stopped them, so I'm not sure a word with them will. I will get around to going over, but confrontation on top of food poisoning is not my ideal combination. 

There are 3 little ones with me still, 2 have their forever home with me, the third will be going to his new home in about 4 months time (for complicated reasons I won't bore you with). They'll be 6 months on 1st December.

[Gillian Harvey]

How old are her kittens now, and how many are still with you?

[emmmy_lou]

I thought i had posted this but mustn't have:-
I'm sure i would speak to the neighbours if it was my cat, if they realise they have made dave poorly that might put a stop to it?
Does your cat have places to go if she wants some peace & quiet? We have a cat sometimes calls in just to have a kip under our table! Hope she's ok...

[Lauryn]

I wondered about an injury. I can't see anything, she's walking correctly and her paws seem fine.

I'll arrange to take her tomorrow. I should be better by then.

[Dawn F]

the change in character does seem a bit odd, I think I'd probably take her when you can, just to rule out that she has an injury or something that she is hiding

[Lauryn]

Unfortunately, I've not been able to go today. I've been unwell.

Thanks, she has to wear a kitten collar because she's so petite, but she did have a tag on saying 'Stop, Do Not Feed - Special Diet' clearly on one side, and our details and the fact that she's microchipped on the other. It had been taken off when she got home. I need to put another on her.

She's been kept inside all day. What I'm really worried about is her change in temperament. Yes, the neighbour thing is annoying. But it's like I've brought a different cat home. The growling and lack of affection is really getting me down. She's obviously being fed something too rich which doesn't agree with her because she's had a bit of tummy trouble, but other than that she seems in good health.

I had wondered about taking her to the vet to see if they could work it out. But with me having got ill overnight and the fact that our vet is a serious trek away, I don't want to do it nilly willy. What does everyone else think?

[emmmy_lou]

Did you get the problem sorted? You can get collars with DO NOT FEED or similar - I have seen them in pets at home.

[Lauryn]

I've replied, too!

I really have over complicated things with this second thread!

 

Unfortunately, they know where she lives. So it is one of those times I have to go over. I wish I didn't have too, though.

It was terrible when she was in the final stages of nursing and she had started to leave the house again. She kept bringing back infections and my little ones kept having poorly tummies and were always at the vet. As was she, actually.

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

replied on the other thread .... don't go round guns blazing until you've seen my post.  There are always two ways of looking at the situation.

[Lauryn]

Yep, it's tricky to know what to do, really.

Should also mention as I have in my other post that she had a collar specifying special diet with my contact details on it. She came back without it and I think it's been taken off rather than the safety catch has undone itself. I've just given her chicken which I roasted specially for her (I don't eat meat, so it really was a labour of love!) and she's still growling at me. She was bad tempered on Friday before she went missing, I'm at a loss, really.

In my mad moments, I've thought about getting those cameras for collars. I'm having a lot of mad moments. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Not good if a neighbour is trying to attract her to them.

Apart from telling them she has health problems and she must only be fed her special food by you, I cant think of anything to help............keeping her in maybe?

I also have a semi feral cat who has been staying out most of the time since May after Napoleon went to the Bridge, she cant be kept in cos of the panic she gets in.

This is such a difficult problem

[Lauryn]

Hi everyone,

You may have noticed I've had to report my female cat, Dave, missing a couple of times. I need a bit of help as I'm really not sure what to do with her.

I love her very much, I rescued her when she was pregnant and raised the kittens, some of whom are still with us. She also lives with her neutered brother.

She is estimated to be anywhere between 1 year and 18 months old and was neutered about 3 months ago.

Dave has a tendency to wander. She's been spotted by friends and family on the other side of a main road close to us, but is often out for 24 hours or more. I'd prefer it if she didn't go out for long periods of time, but I think some of this is just her nature. I'm not sure how much I can change about that.

She's always been a very petite cat and has put on a lot of extra weight recently. While her frame is still small, I think she's close to being considered overweight. I feed her a combination of Science Plan and meat (usually HiLife or Encore at the moment), they also get some chicken or liver as a treat once a week/fortnight.

I believe a neighbour is feeding her. Although I'm nervous about doing it, I'm going to confront them tomorrow (and probably make myself look like a mad bag in the process). It seemed pretty obvious as she turned up while they were watching me put missing posters up this evening.

She's quite happy in her usual spot, but is growling at just about all of us, including the other cats. She's usually an incredibly affectionate cat and likes a cuddle. We joke that you just have to look at her to get her to purr. She's let me hold her, but she's not happy about it. She hasn't acted aggressively in any other way.

What can I do? I'm at a loss. I had a cat with a similar temperament when I was little and a neighbour gave him salmon fillets until he wasn't interested in us anymore, so he left and lived with them. I'm worried this is the same thing.

I know I need to keep her in for the foreseeable, but it won't be easy on a long term basis. I let her have space away from the others.

Does any one have any suggestions?