July 14, 2010
Can I contact a government body to make sure I protect my cat from an abusive neighbour?
By Planet Wealth
I live in a cul-de-sac and the house 2 doors down from mine is rented by 3 people who share accomodation. When we went here 2 years ago I was pleased that my cat will be safe in a silent street. I rescued him from the shelter and been advised that he suffered previously serious abuse and needs to be cared for.
Since these people went here my cat has been hit several times( I can hear the person trying to smack him with a broom or a pole- so yards are so close). A couple of days ago I let my cat out in the morning( he is always kept indoors during the night) and I heard this person hitting him and he could hardly stumble back as I was calling him due to a hit on the head.His left eye was closed and after a few minutes swell up completely and there was a huge swelling on the top of his head , the skin was broken and he was bleeding.
I don’t know who to contact in this case.If I call the RSPCA I will be told that I have to prove that it was that particular neighbour who did it.
Topics: renting shares | 18 Comments »
18 Responses to “Can I contact a government body to make sure I protect my cat from an abusive neighbour?”
Comments
« How does the housing market affect the stock market so much? | Home | Is 7 day trading ever coming to WA? »
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I like my cats, and I would be HORRIFIED if anyone was hurting my kitties. I don’t agree that cats have to stay inside. It’s not in their nature. If your cats are excellent and stay by your house, I don’t see why hitting and abuse is at all valid. Call the cops, they will help you out, not the emergency line but the regular line. File a complaint. I would try and keep them in to keep them safe though.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
The government is not going to protect your cat. You need to protect your own cat by keeping it in YOUR house!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
As a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to keep your pets on your property unless leashed. That includes cats.
Keep the cat on your property and he won’t be hurt.
There are special fences that will keep him penned if he has to go out.
You are in the incorrect, not your neighbor. They have the right to keep their stuff from being pooped and peed on by roaming cats.
Sorry.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
With neighbors like that, it’s better to keep a litter box inside and to only let the cat out when you can be outside with it. Call the RSPCA too.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
police have definatly better things to do
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Unfortunately, to get any official agency to do anything you realyl would have to provide proof. And that would be hard. I mean, even if you could film froma hiding place, would you really want to stand by and shoot a video as it happens, rather than protecting your cat?
The safest thing you can do is to convert your cat to inside-only. This will protect him not only from your evil neighbors, but also from dogs, cars, poisonous substances (anti-freeze that might drip from cars or be place out in purpose by animal haters like your neighbors!), and all kinds of other dangers.
If you don’t want to keep him completely inside, you could build an enclosure in your garden 8make sure it’s cat-proof!) or leash train your cat according to this method:
http://cats.about.com/library/howto/htwalkleash.htm
Other than that, keep him inside. It’s the only way to keep him safe and healthy.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Next time you let your cat outside (there’s no law against it) and you see this person abusing your cat, video record them, then, take your cat to the vet and walk up to your neighbor and hand them the vet bill. Make sure you tell them that you’ve conducted internet research based on people’s abuse toward animals and if this continues, whether the cat was on their property or not, make sure you have people around your house to video record (so it doesn’t look fishy.. like you set it up) when you have this to report to the RSPCA…. that way you’ll catch your neighbor in the act of abusing your animal! Which is against the law!
Of course, if it were me and someone did that to my cat, I’d probalby bash them in the face with the broom handle!!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
You are the one who is lending to the abuse yourself. Take your cat and keep it inside full time where he is safe from these people. How hard is that to do, if you keep him in at night, just keep him in during the day too. You let your cat loose to run and you should expect things to happen to him. There is no excuse for letting your cat be subject to what you have described, if you can hear the abuse then your at fault for letting the cat have it happen to him.
Perhaps your cat is getting into their trash or spraying the house. Would you like it if some one else’s cat was doing that to your property? I know I wouldn’t. Doing anything to the cat other then coming to you is incorrect on their part.
I let some of my cats out, but I know things can happen and hope that nothing does. I have 11 fixed females and they spray over territory in the house if I keep them all in. 2 of my 3 fixed males are indoor only, the one that goes out is a sprayer too.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I know your kitty is use to going outside but you can’t stand by and allow this to happen. These are obviously people who don’t care if they seriously hurt the cat or even worse. For now he has to stay inside where he will be safe. I would be too worried to let my cat out under these circumstances. There will be an adjustment period for him but it won’t last long.
If you are looking for help that will be hard. Most agencies are understaffed so they don’t have the people to conduct a full investigation which means that it falls to you to prove your allegations. That means subjecting your cat to more abuse to allow you to collect the evidence. In my books it is not worth it.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Two issues here. The first is an abusive neighbor. Maybe the cat is doing its business in their garden. It is still no excuse for animal abuse. That is illegal, period. The larger issue is with the cat itself. I have always had cats. I also worked at a vet for years. Cats need to be indoors, period. It is safer for them. You would be miserable if a neighbor let their dog run loose and do its business wherever it wanted. Cats can get poisoned, run over, attacked by another animal, any number of things when allowed to roam. Do you both (and the neighborhood) a favor, and keep him inside.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Sorry about your kitty but if Want to protect your cat from a neighbor KEEP YOUR CAT INSIDE. Maybe your neighbors don’t want your cat in thier yard, eating thier plants and pooping in thier flower gardens.
You can report the abuse, but most likely they will tell you its your responsibility to keep your animal from bothering other people and the neighbor will be given a "verbal warning"
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
iseen your question about your cat being abused by your neighbors.how can a human do a thing like that.that is crazy ‘that some Jeffery dahmer $hit.we in Seattle had some lunatics skinning cats a few years back.and last year some idiot killed a mama duck and smashed all 7 of her babies…i feed 3 feral cats here because i like animals and i don;t want someone trying to feed these poor animals and then hit them…I’m so sorry for your poor cat,he’s already been thru enough stuff for 5 lifetimes…you could call the humane society and tell them and question if there’s anything you or they can do…it;s a darn shame you can;t even let your cat out for a min as your CRAZY IDIOT neighbors will Mame or kill him,,,buy kitty some toys so he;ll have something to play with…my cats like to look out the window’ maybe you could make him a spot by the window to look at birds or squirrels…excellent luck and god bless you and kitty and your family….
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
yeah, you need to keep your cat in your house. unless someone came on your property and did something and you have at least 2 witnesses, you can’t do jack.
why do you keep letting your cat out? after the 1st instance i would have never let my cat out again!!!
i don’t let my cats out at all. i wonder if the place you adopted him from knows this? most shelters make sure, with their questions that they question you in the adoption process, that you won’t let them roam free.
you’re looking to blame someone for doing something terrible, and it is terrible, when it would have never happened in the first place if you were a resposible pet owner!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
yeah or you can sue her
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I would call the SPCA and see what you can do. It is not honest for your cat to have to stay inside because she is being beat up by a jerk. It is like keeping kids home from school because they are being bullied instead of punishing the bully. You could try talking to your neighbor too. Call the SPCA and find out your rights, then go to the neighbor for a friencly chat, and just mention that if he has a problem with your cat could he please talk to you about it because he really hurt her. Plus, since you already called, you can let him know what your rights are if you have any where you are. Maybe there is a excellent reason he doesn’t want your cat on his property, and maybe not, but it doesn’t give him the right to animal abuse. But (although I don’t agree with it long term) keep him/her in until you can get this resolved.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
If this was happening in your yard you could do something. Since your cat is wandering into their yard, it’s considered your fault. Technically, if they want to get rid of the cat they could call the police and say that your cat bit them in their yard and the cat would be place to sleep (probably after they sued you). This apparently isn’t as nice of a place as you thought it was. If you’re going to let your cat outside you need to find a way to make sure it stays only in your yard. But, more practically, just keep it inside like everyone else says.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
You should take the cat to a veterinarian and tell him/her what happened. The vet will probably tell you where to call. After seeing the vet, I would call the police. In most places now there are laws about abuse. They will investigate. But making sure your kitty doesn’t get hurt is your responsibility, so if you know people are hitting your cat, you need to keep kitty indoors until the problem is solved. If they are hitting the cat now, they will eventually kill it. I keep all my cats inside, because I had a neighbor one time who finally killed one of my kitties, even after I complained to them.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Unfortunately, some people just despise cats. In my neigbhorhood there is someone who poisons them once in a while. It’s a sick thing. Obviously these people are somehow annoyed and frustrated with your cat being on their property. You have to do what is right in this case, and that would be to keep your cat inside. Your cat is your special pet, but it’s a nuisance to someone else. Legally, they can call the Animal Control, but they shouldn’t be hitting the cat. There is no reason for them to hit a cat when shouting "boo" or squirting it with water would be just as effective. Please just keep your cat indoors. Why subject it to that? If your neighbors despise your cat that much, who is to say they won’t do something more drastic to it in the future? Why take that risk?