An excellent response to post #21 - ... "If the OP enjoys feeding it and the cat is liking what it is eating then where is the harm?"
I think you're under the illusion that a cat actually appreciates what it does for you, it doesn't. If a cat does not like what it is eating indoors from its owner, it will seek something better elsewhere. Do you know your cat enjoys its dried food? Has it told you? Or are you assuming because you consider it better for him? A cat needs meat to chew and also biscuits for its teeth. I give my cats a half sachet of wet food and a handful of biscuits three times a day. That is all. Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, they get half a tin of tuna ( in water) because they seem to enjoy it. I don't know 100% if they enjoy it but they seem to magically appear quick as a flash as soon as I get the tin from the cupboard.
If an owner knows their cat has bad thyroid issues, letting it out when it has a feast of birds, mice and other small animals on tap, is not wise and calling people, who just have kindness and concern in their hearts thoughtless, is not on, not on at all.
I think you're under the illusion that a cat actually appreciates what it does for you, it doesn't. If a cat does not like what it is eating indoors from its owner, it will seek something better elsewhere. Do you know your cat enjoys its dried food? Has it told you? Or are you assuming because you consider it better for him? A cat needs meat to chew and also biscuits for its teeth. I give my cats a half sachet of wet food and a handful of biscuits three times a day. That is all. Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, they get half a tin of tuna ( in water) because they seem to enjoy it. I don't know 100% if they enjoy it but they seem to magically appear quick as a flash as soon as I get the tin from the cupboard.
If an owner knows their cat has bad thyroid issues, letting it out when it has a feast of birds, mice and other small animals on tap, is not wise and calling people, who just have kindness and concern in their hearts thoughtless, is not on, not on at all.
It IS thoughtless, and incredibly selfish. A cat with a. Thyroid problem is not go into have major issues being let outside, the odd mouse isn't going I cause an in alance, but over feeding of wet food in particular CAN cause obesity and that affects thyroids, or causes diabetes, or just a fat cat.
The fact is that if the cat is not yours you do not get to dictate what the owner should or shouldn't do, and you can't interfere. If cruelty is presumed then report it, but taking charge is just rude. I cannot think of any other animal it would be deemed acceptable to just adopt because you think you know best. Imagine if someone saw a dog they liked, run I in the park, it looked a little thin so they took it home and made it thier pet. Would that be ok? Even of the owner was looking for him because he'd escaped or broken his lead?
I have two cats - brother and sister - and a few months ago, he went 'missing'. He's never been much of a stay-at-home cat, unlike his sister, and during the summer he never comes in at all, so I didn't think too much of it as I knew he'd come back when he got hungry.
Anyway, two months down the line and I still haven't fed him! He appears in the garden from time to time, and I've seen him in his usual haunts, so he's not far away, but the point is that *someone* has obviously taken him in and been feeding him since before Christmas!
I can't quite understand why people do this and, as others have said, will whoever it is be willing to share the vet's bills?
On the plus side, it's saving me a fortune in cat food...
One of my cats can't have wet food as it makes her sick & upsets her tummy horribly. This doesn't stop her trying to get the wet food I feed to the 2 others each morning for breakfast if she manages to sneak in while I'm feeding them. If some one else was feeding her wet food then they would actually be making her quite poorly with vomiting & diarrhea without realising, which I would then have to be scrubbing out of my carpets.
My 3 cats always have a ready supply of dry food & plenty of clean water so they can graze all day as they wish.
With regards to collars, my boy cat regularly manages to lose his collar, to the extent that if he wasn't such a scaredycat around any other people then I would honestly think they were being deliberately removed. I am always buying new ones for him with loud bells as he is a nighttime commando when it comes to small furry mammals & it is the only way to minimise the amount of mouse/vole guts he leaves strewn around the house
My advice would be to stop feeding the wet food as you don't know if it is detrimental to the cats wellbeing. If you feel that you must feed it then offer it dry food & water like it gets at home, that way if it is genuinely hungry then it will still eat it, if not then it wont as it wont be getting anything it doesn't get at home.
I have two cats - brother and sister - and a few months ago, he went 'missing'. He's never been much of a stay-at-home cat, unlike his sister, and during the summer he never comes in at all, so I didn't think too much of it as I knew he'd come back when he got hungry.
Anyway, two months down the line and I still haven't fed him! He appears in the garden from time to time, and I've seen him in his usual haunts, so he's not far away, but the point is that *someone* has obviously taken him in and been feeding him since before Christmas!
I can't quite understand why people do this and, as others have said, will whoever it is be willing to share the vet's bills?
On the plus side, it's saving me a fortune in cat food...
This is why I think cats are shady. They dont have a loyal bone in their body
A guy I know had a cat that was a miserable bugger, used to give him dirty looks and wouldnt go near him. The neighbour remarked what a lovely cat he was and confessed that the cat used to go into his house and snuggle down on the sofa with him!! The owner was gutted.
I take it the cat isnt sleeping at your house anymore?
I'm not going to join in the judgemental side of this thread, but I've found it interesting reading.
Personally, I would be extremely annoyed if I found out someone else was feeding my cat - how do they know whether she is on a special diet or not? In fact, I weigh her food carefully because she is a glutton and will eat anything put in front of her. She got really overweight when I first had her until I realised she would not just eat what she needed like my previous cat did.
My cat is fed on Purina One which is a good quality dry food and she loves it. She always has plenty of water available and I often see her drinking (though quite often from the birds' bowl full of rainwater outside).
To say that cats need wet food because they are carnivores is nonsense - no cat would survive without meat proteins which can come from either wet or dry food. What you cannot do is try to feed a vegetarian diet.
I'm not going to join in the judgemental side of this thread, but I've found it interesting reading.
Personally, I would be extremely annoyed if I found out someone else was feeding my cat - how do they know whether she is on a special diet or not? In fact, I weigh her food carefully because she is a glutton and will eat anything put in front of her. She got really overweight when I first had her until I realised she would not just eat what she needed like my previous cat did.
My cat is fed on Purina One which is a good quality dry food and she loves it. She always has plenty of water available and I often see her drinking (though quite often from the birds' bowl full of rainwater outside).
To say that cats need wet food because they are carnivores is nonsense - no cat would survive without meat proteins which can come from either wet or dry food. What you cannot do is try to feed a vegetarian diet.
Plus the fact that there's only about 4% 'meat' in wet food anyway if you read the list of contents. My vet specialises in nutrition and is a strong advocate for a dry food only diet. However, my Bernard was reared on wet food before he came to me and he loves it so I wouldn't deprive him even though he is very overweight and at risk of all those illnesses stated above. My 2 girls mainly eat dry so their weight is stable but I do give them the odd wet treat and they drink a lot from the water fountain (as does Bernard despite mainly eating wet food).
I only used to feed cats in my garden who looked malnourished and hungry. These days my 3 cats don't really allow other cats in the garden so it's not a problem I encounter now but I would like to think any of my 3 cats would get fed and looked after if they ever got lost.
Whiskas might only be 4% meat, but more expensive brands such as natures menu or Feline Fayre are 60%-70% meat/fish (I just checked the packaging on mine)
Whiskas might only be 4% meat, but more expensive brands such as natures menu or Feline Fayre are 60%-70% meat/fish (I just checked the packaging on mine)
Indeed - but it is obvious that most people buy the popular brands that they can get in major supermarkets. My 2 girls will only eat a fairly expensive form of wet food (I give them Applaws which is 99p for a small can), they just don't like the brands you mentioned (expensive mistakes in my cupboard) but my Bernard is a typical 'McDonald's' cat, won't touch the better food but wolfs down his favourites - at the moment, it's the Pets at Home own brand which, according to the packet contains just 4% proper meat. He really loves it! I never buy Felix or Whiskas, my vet really put me off them years ago but I suspect this is similar.
I daren't tell my vet that's what I feed him I have tried so many times to put Bernard on a diet and limit what he eats but he is just so persuasive and persistent. His next vet appointment is in April so I have a few weeks to get him to lose a few pounds!
Would you be upset if your cat was constantly being brought back to you and being told that someone else was feeding the cat?
If you wouldn't be happy knowing someone else was feeding your cat food you didn't want / knew it couldn't eat then don't do that to the other cat owner.
I take it the cat isnt sleeping at your house anymore?
Not in the house, no. but there's nothing unusual about that. I have a barn at the bottom of my garden that they both sleep in when it suits them - as I say, during the summer they're very rarely in the house at all. Pop back for a quick pit-stop then back out again.
But I haven't fed him since before Christmas, the little swine. He can be very charming when he wants - there's an old dear about 50 yards down the road and I think she might have been taken in by him. And taken him in!
I wish I could just ignore it but I can't. I did try and kept on taking the cat back home but aftera little while of doing this I stopped. I hate to think that the cat isn't happy there and is loking for a new home but that looks to be the case. Also I'm trying to find out if she has now chuckedit out....the cat used to have a collar then it was off and when I asked her about it she just said the cat had broken it off himself which sounds suspicious doesn't it?
Not at all. They are designed to come off easily for safety reasons. Why not let the owner know that you would like the cat if she doesnt, and then there is no need to worry about him being abandoned.
I'm sensing from your post that you're completely judging me in a totally negative manner and almost condemning me and I don't understand why??
Believe me, given the choice I wouldn't want to feed the cat. I already have two cats of my own, and I feed approx 12 stray cats ever single day that live in disused buildings close to where I live in Teulada, Spain.
I'm not sure why you make a comment such as (I do hope you're going to share the cost of looking after the cat....)
I'm not feeding this cat, because I want to be evil to the owner!....I'm feeding this cat because I genuinely believe it's not being looked after well, and I know it's only being fed dried food.
And when a cat is able to enter an apartment building, and arrive at your actual front door inside the building and sit there for hours crying until you give in and feed it, then obviously it has to say something about the cat doesn't it?
And also, I've taken the cat back to its owner at least a dozen times, telling her what the cat is doing, and the last comment from her was she's getting fed up with the cat and if it carries on, she'll take it somewhere to abandon it....
So now I'm not able to tell her what is going on for fear of her carrying out her threat and dumping her cat in a field somewhere.
Dried cat food is perfectly fine.
I think if you stop feeding him he will stop asking. You know he can go home if he likes and that he is not in need, so dont be afraid to ignore him I know it isn't easy, but the current situation isnt the best for him. What if he needed to be on hand to have medication, and they couldn't find him? Or was on a special diet ? What if you duplicated his vaccinations etc?
Technically though, the cat doesn't belong to anyone! It has decided where it wants to go because it picked up on the kindness the OP gave it.
A person may have a cat as a pet but it doesn't mean they "own" it. And, the official owner obviously doesn't care about the cat because it is clearly being let out at times it should be indoors.
If the OP enjoys feeding it and the cat is liking what it is eating then where is the harm? The thread starter has not claimed ownership of the cat so your brashness was unwarranted.
The law says different. People are quite rightly prosecuted for stealing cats. They might be fickle whiskers-addicts but it doesn't mean they are up for grabs to anyone who takes a fancy to them.
Whiskas might only be 4% meat, but more expensive brands such as natures menu or Feline Fayre are 60%-70% meat/fish (I just checked the packaging on mine)
I think when it says 4% it means the meat listed on the tin, such as beef. The rest of it might be mostly meat but it will be other kinds. (Mink, horse, duckfeet etc)
Umpteen posts all dancing round the issue when actually it's quite simple.
My neighbours cat is fed wet food but still sneaks into our house at every opportunity to eat our cat's biscuits. Perhaps she doesn't know she is a carnivore. A cat will always eat food if they are given it. Doesn't mean you have to give it though still less then try to justify it by ridiculous conclusions about neglect.
I've just read the latest post you've posted on here regarding my original thread.
No idea why you seem so angry, and confrontational.
If you knew the minute detail of this story, then you wouldn't be saying my conclusions are ridiculous. Btw, there are no assumptions I'm assuming as I've had several conversations with the woman who isn't interested in the welfare of her animal, as she has told me (after various times of bringing the cat back when I found it constantly sitting on my doorstep) that she will get rid of the cat if this continues.
I'm just sorry you had to read the thread I started and reply to it, I wish you hadn't.
I think you're under the illusion that a cat actually appreciates what it does for you, it doesn't. If a cat does not like what it is eating indoors from its owner, it will seek something better elsewhere. Do you know your cat enjoys its dried food? Has it told you? Or are you assuming because you consider it better for him? A cat needs meat to chew and also biscuits for its teeth. I give my cats a half sachet of wet food and a handful of biscuits three times a day. That is all. Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, they get half a tin of tuna ( in water) because they seem to enjoy it. I don't know 100% if they enjoy it but they seem to magically appear quick as a flash as soon as I get the tin from the cupboard.
If an owner knows their cat has bad thyroid issues, letting it out when it has a feast of birds, mice and other small animals on tap, is not wise and calling people, who just have kindness and concern in their hearts thoughtless, is not on, not on at all.
Well said. I can't believe the amount of judgemental posts I've read today about how rude and evil I'm being by feeding a cat that I 100% know is not being looked after!
To all the posters that assume the cat is on a special diet/medicine etc or that the owner is a kind, thoughtful person who only wants what is best for the cat, please believe me when I say this is very far from the truth.
The fact is (and I know this) she seems very haphazard in the way she's caring for her cat, and although she knows her cat prefers wet food, she isn't giving it to him because she doesn't want to buy it due to cost etc.
And to the other poster who said to report to the authorities if I suspect cruelty, then obviously they don't know much about the área of Spain where i live. Apart from charities who can't do much in these cases, noone would be interested at all in this. I've noticed that the majority of Spaniards view dogs as mere animals and not as pets, and cats are even lower down the list.
Comments
I think you're under the illusion that a cat actually appreciates what it does for you, it doesn't. If a cat does not like what it is eating indoors from its owner, it will seek something better elsewhere. Do you know your cat enjoys its dried food? Has it told you? Or are you assuming because you consider it better for him? A cat needs meat to chew and also biscuits for its teeth. I give my cats a half sachet of wet food and a handful of biscuits three times a day. That is all. Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, they get half a tin of tuna ( in water) because they seem to enjoy it. I don't know 100% if they enjoy it but they seem to magically appear quick as a flash as soon as I get the tin from the cupboard.
If an owner knows their cat has bad thyroid issues, letting it out when it has a feast of birds, mice and other small animals on tap, is not wise and calling people, who just have kindness and concern in their hearts thoughtless, is not on, not on at all.
It IS thoughtless, and incredibly selfish. A cat with a. Thyroid problem is not go into have major issues being let outside, the odd mouse isn't going I cause an in alance, but over feeding of wet food in particular CAN cause obesity and that affects thyroids, or causes diabetes, or just a fat cat.
The fact is that if the cat is not yours you do not get to dictate what the owner should or shouldn't do, and you can't interfere. If cruelty is presumed then report it, but taking charge is just rude. I cannot think of any other animal it would be deemed acceptable to just adopt because you think you know best. Imagine if someone saw a dog they liked, run I in the park, it looked a little thin so they took it home and made it thier pet. Would that be ok? Even of the owner was looking for him because he'd escaped or broken his lead?
Anyway, two months down the line and I still haven't fed him! He appears in the garden from time to time, and I've seen him in his usual haunts, so he's not far away, but the point is that *someone* has obviously taken him in and been feeding him since before Christmas!
I can't quite understand why people do this and, as others have said, will whoever it is be willing to share the vet's bills?
On the plus side, it's saving me a fortune in cat food...
My 3 cats always have a ready supply of dry food & plenty of clean water so they can graze all day as they wish.
With regards to collars, my boy cat regularly manages to lose his collar, to the extent that if he wasn't such a scaredycat around any other people then I would honestly think they were being deliberately removed. I am always buying new ones for him with loud bells as he is a nighttime commando when it comes to small furry mammals & it is the only way to minimise the amount of mouse/vole guts he leaves strewn around the house
My advice would be to stop feeding the wet food as you don't know if it is detrimental to the cats wellbeing. If you feel that you must feed it then offer it dry food & water like it gets at home, that way if it is genuinely hungry then it will still eat it, if not then it wont as it wont be getting anything it doesn't get at home.
This is why I think cats are shady. They dont have a loyal bone in their body
A guy I know had a cat that was a miserable bugger, used to give him dirty looks and wouldnt go near him. The neighbour remarked what a lovely cat he was and confessed that the cat used to go into his house and snuggle down on the sofa with him!! The owner was gutted.
I take it the cat isnt sleeping at your house anymore?
Personally, I would be extremely annoyed if I found out someone else was feeding my cat - how do they know whether she is on a special diet or not? In fact, I weigh her food carefully because she is a glutton and will eat anything put in front of her. She got really overweight when I first had her until I realised she would not just eat what she needed like my previous cat did.
My cat is fed on Purina One which is a good quality dry food and she loves it. She always has plenty of water available and I often see her drinking (though quite often from the birds' bowl full of rainwater outside).
To say that cats need wet food because they are carnivores is nonsense - no cat would survive without meat proteins which can come from either wet or dry food. What you cannot do is try to feed a vegetarian diet.
Plus the fact that there's only about 4% 'meat' in wet food anyway if you read the list of contents. My vet specialises in nutrition and is a strong advocate for a dry food only diet. However, my Bernard was reared on wet food before he came to me and he loves it so I wouldn't deprive him even though he is very overweight and at risk of all those illnesses stated above. My 2 girls mainly eat dry so their weight is stable but I do give them the odd wet treat and they drink a lot from the water fountain (as does Bernard despite mainly eating wet food).
I only used to feed cats in my garden who looked malnourished and hungry. These days my 3 cats don't really allow other cats in the garden so it's not a problem I encounter now but I would like to think any of my 3 cats would get fed and looked after if they ever got lost.
Indeed - but it is obvious that most people buy the popular brands that they can get in major supermarkets. My 2 girls will only eat a fairly expensive form of wet food (I give them Applaws which is 99p for a small can), they just don't like the brands you mentioned (expensive mistakes in my cupboard) but my Bernard is a typical 'McDonald's' cat, won't touch the better food but wolfs down his favourites - at the moment, it's the Pets at Home own brand which, according to the packet contains just 4% proper meat. He really loves it! I never buy Felix or Whiskas, my vet really put me off them years ago but I suspect this is similar.
I daren't tell my vet that's what I feed him
Would you be upset if your cat was constantly being brought back to you and being told that someone else was feeding the cat?
If you wouldn't be happy knowing someone else was feeding your cat food you didn't want / knew it couldn't eat then don't do that to the other cat owner.
Not in the house, no. but there's nothing unusual about that. I have a barn at the bottom of my garden that they both sleep in when it suits them - as I say, during the summer they're very rarely in the house at all. Pop back for a quick pit-stop then back out again.
But I haven't fed him since before Christmas, the little swine. He can be very charming when he wants - there's an old dear about 50 yards down the road and I think she might have been taken in by him. And taken him in!
Not at all. They are designed to come off easily for safety reasons. Why not let the owner know that you would like the cat if she doesnt, and then there is no need to worry about him being abandoned.
I think if you stop feeding him he will stop asking. You know he can go home if he likes and that he is not in need, so dont be afraid to ignore him
The law says different. People are quite rightly prosecuted for stealing cats. They might be fickle whiskers-addicts but it doesn't mean they are up for grabs to anyone who takes a fancy to them. The dried food is mostly meat too. I think when it says 4% it means the meat listed on the tin, such as beef. The rest of it might be mostly meat but it will be other kinds. (Mink, horse, duckfeet etc)
I've just read the latest post you've posted on here regarding my original thread.
No idea why you seem so angry, and confrontational.
If you knew the minute detail of this story, then you wouldn't be saying my conclusions are ridiculous. Btw, there are no assumptions I'm assuming as I've had several conversations with the woman who isn't interested in the welfare of her animal, as she has told me (after various times of bringing the cat back when I found it constantly sitting on my doorstep) that she will get rid of the cat if this continues.
I'm just sorry you had to read the thread I started and reply to it, I wish you hadn't.
To all the posters that assume the cat is on a special diet/medicine etc or that the owner is a kind, thoughtful person who only wants what is best for the cat, please believe me when I say this is very far from the truth.
The fact is (and I know this) she seems very haphazard in the way she's caring for her cat, and although she knows her cat prefers wet food, she isn't giving it to him because she doesn't want to buy it due to cost etc.
And to the other poster who said to report to the authorities if I suspect cruelty, then obviously they don't know much about the área of Spain where i live. Apart from charities who can't do much in these cases, noone would be interested at all in this. I've noticed that the majority of Spaniards view dogs as mere animals and not as pets, and cats are even lower down the list.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-wet-or-dry-food-better-for-cats.html