Irresponsible cat neighbors?

[gtaus]

The past couple of days there has been a young black and white cat, no collar, hanging out around my garage. Tonight, it tried to get into the house. The cat looks well fed and allowed me to pick it up to bring it outside. While I was bringing the cat outside, I noticed my neighbor's light was on in their house (~8:30 pm). These are some new neighbors that live just a couple houses down the way.

I walk the cat down to their house, knock on the door, and ask the neighbor lady if the cat was theirs. It was; indeed, they just got it on Easter, 10 days ago. I told her that it had been hanging around my garage for the past few days and wondered if it was their cat, because I knew that they had some small dogs and a bunch of kittens last summer. Well, yes, she said that all those kittens went away so they got a new cat this Easter. Well, I said their cat was back home safe. She thanked me. I left.

On my way home I thought to myself, I'm not really a cat person, but who would have a bunch of kittens and just let them run wild until they all vanished? We live on a lake, lots of wildlife including Bald Eagles and hawks, fox and wolves, and I imagine those kittens never made it to a happy home. I don't know these new neighbors very well, and I'm trying not to point my finger at anyone, but maybe some of you cat people here on the BYC forum can tell me if that is the way you normally treat your cats - just let them run outside wild and replace them if they never come back?

Oh yeah, she left the cat outside and did not bring it into their house. I suspect I'll be seeing more of this cat, until it just vanishes one day...

 

[CoopBoots]

Some people take a very pragmatic view of a "barn cat." Yes, I have neighbors who also intend for their cats to roam their property, and recently their latest adoption rehomed itself down the street. I know because it showed up at a family member's place while I was there!

It was caught and returned to them, only to run away back to the new home it had chosen. They gave up after that.

My own attempts at barncats ended up moving into the house for the most part. For the ones that still go out, I worry a lot, but they have hunting and roaming instincts not satisfied by indoor life. The ones I raised inside aren't brave enough to go out, nor do I trust them to look out for themselves, so in they stay.

 

[HobbyHoarder]

maybe some of you cat people here on the BYC forum can tell me if that is the way you normally treat your cats - just let them run outside wild and replace them if they never come back?

I haven't had a cat since before my son was born and he's allergic so I'm unlikely to get another unless he gets older and is game for doing the allergy shots. That said, my cats have always been indoor only cats, or had a catio if they were more outside inclined. But I know plenty of people who have barn cats, or cats that are outdoor cats that never come inside. Its relatively normal for some people to not keep their cats inside, controversial and not terribly good for your local wild bird populations, but pretty common.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It sounds like OP lives in a fairly urban setting, as they were able to walk the cat to the neighbor's house. Things are different there from the very isolated rural setting where I live so my observations may not be germane to OP's experiences.

We have two cats. Shinju was a 5-yo indoor cat when we got her. She stays indoors by inclination for the most part. Occasionally she'll go sit on the back step, look amazed, and come back in. Her pedestrian little brain just can't take it all in.

Silva, on the other hand, is an in/out cat. She's the ranch manager, camp director, all-around snoopervisor. When I feed the chickens, she's there making sure everyone gets a fair share. She observs from the top of the well house, the top of the lawn swing, or the top of the porch railing. She's everywhere. But she sleeps indoors at night. A mighty hunter she is not. Her prey is GC's hair ties which can amuse her for hours, or lacking that, a crumb on the floor will do.

I guess what I am saying is - we let our cats live as they wish. Cats are known for their independence and we would not presume to dictate to them how they should live. We do, however, spay and neuter all our animals. We would certainly not allow a cat to have kittens to become fodder for the predators around here. That's cruel and irresponsible.

 

[gtaus]

Some people take a very pragmatic view of a "barn cat."

But I know plenty of people who have barn cats, or cats that are outdoor cats that never come inside. Its relatively normal for some people to not keep their cats inside, controversial and not terribly good for your local wild bird populations, but pretty common.

OK. Like I said, I'm not a cat person, so I don't have much insight as to how people keep their cats.

We would certainly not allow a cat to have kittens to become fodder for the predators around here. That's cruel and irresponsible.

Well, last summer, we would get their 5 kittens over to our house all the time. Of course, all kittens are adorable, aren't they? I just did not know what to think when I heard that all 5 kittens just vanished over the summer. It seemed cruel and irresponsible to me to let the kittens vanish like that.

I know that if I let my chickens free range, they would be taken by the Eagles and hawks that are overhead all the time. So, I built a large chicken run and put bird netting on top for protection. I don't even consider my chickens as pets. Not exactly livestock either. As someone put it, they are something like "petstock" as laying hens are with you for a number of years, so you get to know them pretty well.

But you guys are probably right, the only people I have known that had cats kept them as indoor pets. Almost part of the family. I imagine one might have a different view of their barn cats? Not quite pets, but fun to have around until they disappear. Perhaps not too different than the way I feel about my laying hens. With my dual-purpose hens, at the end of their egg laying productivity, they go to freezer camp. That's why I'm not pointing fingers or throwing stones. Just trying to understand. Thanks for the responses.

 

[Debbie292d]

We have two "barn cats", each with an ear cut as they do to them to designate they are fixed in case they go feral.

They were friendlier types though, so both are indoor, outdoor. They hunt mice and chipmunks both day and night, and primarily stay within our two acres or the forest behind us.

Our neighbor across the road has a farm and won't get cats for her own reasons, but says she sees one of ours on her camera at night hunting over there. I apologized and said I didn't know what we could do to keep Stella home, and she said she'd rather she came there as she's got rats and Stella was hunting them. Oh great, we don't have rats, so our cat is over there hunting.

We don't just lose our cats, and keep them fully vaccinated so would be heartbroken to lose one. But, that does sound familiar as there are some in our county I've heard that act like that about their cats.

 

[Suzz]

I have 6 outside cats who are all rescued strays they roam free during the day and have a “barn” they are closed in at night with the promise of some fancy feast I sadly did lose one but letting them roam free is worth it I think. I live in the country so they aren’t a bother to anyone they are all fixed