Potential problems with a neighbor...

[Jigghead]

We have a neighbor who is a bit otherwise, not very friendly but we have no real need to interact. We live in a small estate (22 houses).

 

We also have two cats one of which likes to visit on occasion. Now we've only had them for seven months, but they have developed a pretty stringent routine. Sleep all day, bugger around from around 16h00-19h00 then come inside and sleep. We keep them inside at night.

 

Around two months ago my 16 yr old son had to go next door to collect the wanderer. Strange people these, they didn't even open the door but chose to pass the cat over the wall passing a comment that our kitty was lucky given that theirs would kill any other cat that comes into their yard. Now, ours still being relatively small and theirs being a generally big cat, this worried me a bit but i just thought she was being a little bit of a windgat.

 

This was until last night, I was swinging my to smaller children on the swing when the lady of the house peers over with her daughter and asks if Bubbles (our cat) was all right. Now it was around 19h00 and just before bed time for my kids. She said her daughter was not keen to sleep until she new that our kitty was fine. A little weird I thought but I humored the little girl and said he was fine and that she mustn't worry because he's a little crazy. I hadn't seen him but that was not unusual at that time of day.

 

I put my girls to sleep, lying down with the one who is a bit scared of the dark etc. and fell asleep on her bed. My wife then wakes me at 22h00 to go to bed and says she can't find Bubbles. I get my torch and do a general once over of the estate and find nothing. So, we leave a window open in two of the rooms in the hope that his wanderings have taken him a little further than usual. I woke this morning and looked around the estate and found nothing again. I went next door and asked if maybe our kitties had fought last night and was told that it hadn't happened. Still no cat though.

 

I'm more than just a little suspicious, given the daughter's concern last night, that maybe my kitty may have fallen foul of either their large vicious cat or one of their dogs and they're hiding this fact. Now if this is the case, the whole family will be devastated as this little guy have crept under all of our skin. I am aware that cats do wander and get themselves into trouble from time to time so if this is the case, I'm not really going to hold anyone accountable, assuming I could.

 

All I really want here is to get some idea of what has happened to our pet so that we can get closure. How then, do I re approach these guys with my suspicions without causing them to clam up when all I want to do is put the puzzle together. My kids are upset and I can't help but think that there is more to my cat's disappearance than meets the eye.

 

Any ideas hubbers?

Edited December 6, 2012 by Jigghead

[Shebeen]

you ask them;

 

*if they've seen the kitty as it is now lost.

if yes, well then you'll know.

*If the answer is no, then you ask straight out why they were concerned for it yesterday? smoke=>fire

 

in my experience cats are unlikely to kill other cats over territory. they'll have a scrap but that's it.

[Cassie]

Yeah, you are quite correct..unlike dogs...you have VERY little control over cats...they are wanderers (even when neutred)...

 

I have a similar problem...but with a neighbouring cat coming into our house and eating MY cat's food every night... basically have to walk OVER me sleeping (via bedroom window) to get to the food...but he still does it! It pisses me off - purely because IF that cat decide to one day start "Marking his teritory" in my house...i'll be screwed! Cat piss smells only seconf to scunk piss...

 

so - battle is on...but how do i do it?...I don't even know which neighbour the cat belongs to...

 

 

Good luck...

Edited December 6, 2012 by Cassie

[Joe Low]

You cant have any complaints, & would be unwise to throw accusations; but you could ask your neighbour why they were concerned about your kitten as it's disappeared.

 

Best to get your kids to understand that there's a lot of death out there, pets and otherwise; you could throw in the "santa's not real either" thing and get that out the way at the same time.

 

My 9yr old went nuts last year when he found out we'd been lying to him - he was really upset.

 

I had a large dead rat outside the bedroom door at 6am this morning. Either the cat is trying to impress me or the neighbours have turned psycho.

[Jigghead]

Yeah, you are quite correct..unlike dogs...you yave VERY little control over cats...they are wanderers (even when neutred...

 

I have a similar problem...but with a neighbouring cat coming into our house and eating MY cat's food every night... basically have to walk OVER me sleeping (via bedroom window) to get to the food...but he still does it! It pisses me off - purely because IF thta cat decide to one day start "Marking his teritory" in my house...i'll be screwed! Cat piss smells only seconf to scunk piss...

 

so - battle is on...but how do i do it?...I don't even know which neighbor the cat belongs to...

 

 

Good luck...

 

I've found that if you trap the perp and put a sprinkler on him for an hour or two, he will stop coming into your garden. I did that after I got tired of having my house clean and deodorised.

 

As far as the ferocity of cat fights go, I had a cat that lived for around 20yrs and he needed to get sown up quite often after fights, so they can get nasty.

 

I just want some finality on the fate of my kitty.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Jigghead

[Danger Dassie]

Yeah, you are quite correct..unlike dogs...you have VERY little control over cats...they are wanderers (even when neutred)...

 

I have a similar problem...but with a neighbouring cat coming into our house and eating MY cat's food every night... basically have to walk OVER me sleeping (via bedroom window) to get to the food...but he still does it! It pisses me off - purely because IF that cat decide to one day start "Marking his teritory" in my house...i'll be screwed! Cat piss smells only seconf to scunk piss...

 

so - battle is on...but how do i do it?...I don't even know which neighbour the cat belongs to...

 

 

Good luck...

 

One to ten mix of heavily diluted soapy water/ammonia in a squirt bottle. Harmless and works a treat!

[El Dodgius Bastardo]

In dry season, sprinkle some peri-peri / chili powder on the walls where they cross.

 

Rumour has it that you can also get landmines from Angola

[Cassie]

I'm more inclined to get me some Lion turds from Kruger park....and scatter these on my lawn etc.

 

Works a charm for dogs apparently!!

[El Dodgius Bastardo]

I saw some Lion turds in the Super 15 last year...they should be available

[Tjokkits]

I've found that if you trap the perp and put a sprinkler on him for an hour or two, he will stop coming into your garden. I did that after I got tired of having my house clean and deodorised.

 

As far as the ferocity of cat fights go, I had a cat that lived for around 20yrs and he needed to get sown up quite often after fights, so they can get nasty.

 

I just want some finality on the fate of my kitty.

 

so perhaps young bubbles is trapped somewhere under a neighbours sprinkler!

 

hope you find him, my cat Tjokkits got lost a couple of times when smaal but at the end resurfcaed after a few days

[Jigghead]

so perhaps young bubbles is trapped somewhere under a neighbours sprinkler!

 

hope you find him, my cat Tjokkits got lost a couple of times when smaal but at the end resurfcaed after a few days

 

Hope so, the walls to the estate are 3.5m high and the bars on the gates are not wide enough for a cat. The guard seems to think that he's friendly enough to have been "adopted" by whoever may have picked him up.

 

Let's hope he is just under a sprinkler somewhere. Should teach him a lesson.

[kennyg]

Well, I have a story... We had just moved house about 5 years ago, the wife decided, we needed some company and we became cat owners, I had grown up with cats and have never worried about it. We had Kitty Kat, for 8 months. She then disappeared, she wondered a little and was spayed, we thought she had run away.

 

11 months later while we were on holiday the house sitter phones in a panick and says she cant get rid of this cat, eventually a neighbour MMS's a pic, it was her.Although, it was Kitty Kat, who is now Vet Kat,had decided to come home...

[Stretch]

Well, I have a story...

 

Well, I have 2 stories....

 

we had a cat that moved 2 houses with us...on the third house he decided he didnt smaak the new house and somehow managed to find his way back to the old house (about 2km's away). We thought he had gone there and went and collected him - he did it again....collected him...did it again.....collected him....did it again....but this time never to be seen again.

 

other story is..our much loved Jack Russel went missing after our new lab pup started terrorising him...we put posters up, canvassed the neighbourhood to no avail. the other day (2 yrs later) we saw her happily sitting in the back seat of an old ladies car...followed the car back to a house about 800m up the road from ours...we dont have the heart to take him away from the old lady

[Kranswurm]

Good Grief.......... what next on the Hub.......

[M L]

This thread just reminded me why I am a dog person. So thanks!

[Wayne Potgieter]

if they did anything to your cat...you are welcome to borrow my "anti animal abuser device"

 

Here is a pic.