# adpoting cat from our garden?



## kitten77 (Nov 15, 2006)

hi there, 

just wondering if someone could help.  we have a cat who lives in our garden (well its our next door neighbours who chcuked it out when they got a dog!! ) she has been living in our garden for about 2 years now.

we are hoping to adopt it soon, as i feed it everyday, but now it breaks my heart to see her with frost on her.

but....will this be the best thing for her? as if she has been living in the cold for 2 years and then comes in will this make her ill? 

also, i have another cat, who is my baby who i spoil soooo much, and he dont like her, they dont really like each other, and im worried this will upset him if she comes in.

to be honest i dont know what the best thing is to do.

can anyone help with advice?


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## brownowl23 (Jan 3, 2006)

KItten

If you hadnt got a cat of your own I would say take her in without a shadow of a doubt, but the last thing you want to do is upset your own cat.

How about taking her to a cats home/adoption centre where they can rehome her. She really needs to be out of this cold and well fed this time fo year, the poor thing has managed for 2 years by scrounging food or tohers feeding her, so she may not get on well with other cats as she could see them as taking her food away which she will be very protective of.
I have taken in a stray cat from a rehoming centre and she was just like this very protective of her food, in fact she xshovelled her food in so fast she had a permanent brown nose where she stuck her head in and troughed so much, it took her a long time to realise the bowl of food was really hers till it was gone. I did have other cats at the time who were very good with her and they all got on, but if they hadnt it would have been very hard and unfair on my own cats. I did manage to check that they all fitted in together beofre committing to have her. 

PLease take her to a rehoming centre or call the RSPCA so she gets out of the cold from today. I hate to see animals suffer. 


CHris


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## kitten77 (Nov 15, 2006)

hi chris

thats the thing, i still think next door feeds her sometimes to, so will know it would be us if we called the rspca (they are not very nice and dont want them doing something to my cat to get their own back, if you know what im saying).

i am worried about my cat as he loves having his mummy and daddy to himself and doesnt like the fact that she is outside (he went thro a phase of spraying in the house). they tolerate each other in the garden to be honest, but not to sure if he would in his house.

do you think trying to introduce them by leaving the door open for her to come in when she wants to? 

i hate seeing her outside, she looks so sorry for herself and only wants a hug, i dont know what to do for the best.


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

I would phone the rspca or cats protection and explain the situation, then they can talk to your neighbours and either educate them or rehome the cat 

Cat x


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

I had the exact same situation almost exactly 4 years ago, except in my case the cat just helped himself in through my front door one day! It turned out to belong to someone 2 doors away and it was only a kitten still but skin and bone. I phoned the RSPCA about it and they weren't interested / couldn't help me! The pet wans't injured or a stray so they just didn't want to take it in and had no powers to act against the owners. I was a bit miffed!
However, since then new animal protection laws have come into force so it might be very different. I'm pretty sure one of those conditions is giving the pet appropriate shelter and, as your neighbour isn't giving them any (i.e. the cat lives in _your_ garden, they might be able to act. But...they will probably deal with it by talking to the owners rather than just taking the cat in for rehoming which may not resolve the issue and might not help in the short term.

Perhaps your best bet would be to go round to the neighbour and ask outright if they still want the cat, maybe say you know someone that would love to take her in. Or just tell them outright about the animal protection laws and say that either they let you rehome the cat or you'll call the RSPCA (depends on how much to care about what they think of you!) Or, just say it's been living in your garden anyway so would they mind if you adopted or rehomed it? You might be surprised that they are commpletely happy for you to do so and don't bat an eye. People often are when confronted with the situation. 
In my case I simply took the cat in, reasoning that if they didn't want it or didn't feed it, then they forfeited their right to know what happened to it. I would have kept him but a friend had just lost his elderly cat and was looking for a new one and he took him in.

I doubt very much you will do it any harm taking it indoors and I'd imagine it would be really happy for a warm comfy bed for a change. You won't make it ill, but I would get it checked out by a vet before you let it mingle and feed with your cat just in case. I wouldn't worry unduly about them not getting on - my two cats were hate at first sight and not much has changed in the last 5 years! They do have a relative truce though; one sleeps on my feet, the other on my head! 

If you can't give it a permanent home, what about temporary fostering (i.e. take it in and then help find a new home, as I did. You will probably find the lonely cat-at-Chirstmas tale will touch someone's heart. 

Good luck. I hope you get it sorted soon. I hate to think of the poor kittie out in the cold over Chirstmas (reminds me of the Cat Carol... *sob* )

C~x


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

I am glad I am not the only one who has one cat on their head and one on their feet


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## Suzie (Jan 22, 2004)

As I type in bed on my laptop I have one cat at my feet and one on lap covering keys!


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

Suzie mine does that too I think it likes it because it is warm haha 

Cat x


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Suzie said:


> As I type in bed on my laptop I have one cat at my feet and one on lap covering keys!


*sigh* yeah that and all. And if I'm at the PC at the desk then one sits on the desk to the left of the keyboard and the other vies for space on my lap. It's....frustrating!

As for on the head; Monkey (my head cat) actually paces with her claws and everything on my scalp. That's just lovely when she starts that up at 3am, especially given her really loud purr and if she's come in from the rain all wet. 

Why we let them get away with this kind of behaviour is beyond me! 

Kitten77, any decisions on what to do yet?
C~x


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## wouldloveababycat (Mar 21, 2004)

Mine queue up now to be dried when they have come in from the rain as they know Mummy dries them on a fluffy cat towel ..not that they are remotely spoilt  

Cat x


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## kitten77 (Nov 15, 2006)

well i phoned the rspca for some advice, and nothing they can do as its not injured or 'homeless' so to speak!!!! 

just keep treating her i suppose, poor thing. even got xmas presents for her and its sad that she isnt able to come in and open them under the tree.


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## sallywags (Jun 27, 2005)

kitten - i would let her in hun if you're happy too - particularly as it's so cold now.  She will just naturally adopt you!


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## kitten77 (Nov 15, 2006)

what about my cat tho? i dont want him running away or being upset in his own house


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## sallywags (Jun 27, 2005)

hmm.... maybe you could slowly introduce them? i.e. in different rooms to start with etc? i suppose that might be impossible/time consuming/difficult depending on your house and circumstances!  

Do you really think he will object that much?

Oh hun this is a toughy - have been in a similar situation myself, and we confronted the owners and offered to take him on. they refused, but his treatment did seem to improve a little after that.


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## kitten77 (Nov 15, 2006)

we are at work all day and there will be no way i will leave them in the house on their own, so yer it is a tough one! 

oh and believe me, he objects when anyone other than me and DH is in the house!!!! he is spoilt! oops!


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## sallywags (Jun 27, 2005)

I know what you mean, i've got two, and one hates the other - even though they are related and have been together forever!!


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

kitten77 said:


> well i phoned the rspca for some advice, and nothing they can do as its not injured or 'homeless' so to speak!!!!


Yeah that's pretty much the same as I got. However I thought it might be different since the new animal welfare acts. Aren't owners now obliged by law to provide suitable shelter for an animal? I'd say under a bush in your garden isn't suitable for any domaticated pet in the current winter climate. Surely they can act to speak to the owners at least? 

Perhaps try Cat's Protection League instead? Or just, word of mouth among family and friends that you have one in need of rehoming? 
Other than that the only suggetsion I have is as sallywags said - another room. We locked Edgar (our one when it happened to us) in the conservatory which is completly shut off from the rets of the hous eand no access to the cats. You could, perhaps, make a nest of some sorts for this one in the bathroom or somewhere while you're at work anyway?

C~x


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## Stalyvegas (Oct 14, 2007)

Kitten what a horrid situation, and how nice that you want to adopt it.
They may not get along now but probably after a couple of weeks of hate then they will learn to tolerate each other - my BF and her hubbie now have 5 between them which have had to learn to live together recently.

If you do decide to let the garden cat in, then it might be an idea to give them both some rescue remedy - our vet suggested it to us when we got a dog years ago. Its human stuff - bachs rescue remedy from boots etc... - couple of drops on the tongue and it chills them out, bit like a mini sedative, so they dont just attack each other and get used to the different smells.

Good luck
R
x


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## sallywags (Jun 27, 2005)

Ooh - i might try that on my cat, she's got a few 'issues' at the moment!! good tip!


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## Mummytoone (Mar 23, 2002)

Hun I would just let the cat in, it is 100% guaranteed that they wont get on to start with, but they are cats and are naturally used to living in groups and they will soon sort it out and just avoid each other.
You can always buy a Feliway diffuser and plug it in and it will help stop them both from becoming stressed.
The RSPCA are the most useless animal charity, they are a huge organsation, it is common knowledge within the veterinary world that they are about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. You could try contacting a smaller local animal welfare organisation.
To see a cat with frost on it would break my heart I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Let us know what happens

Big hug

Lou xxxx

Opinions expressed here are the view of me and not ff, blah blah blah


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## speeder (Jul 9, 2008)

hello!

what a nice break from fertility chat (I love cats and dogs)

we always had two cats when I grew up and found that you could introduce a new cat to your home, with an existing cat, with a bit of care.  I would just let them get to know each other in their own time.  apparantly, if the cats fight straight away you will probably never achieve harmonious living.  if they just snarl and tsk at each other they will get used to it and live quiet happily (ours just avoided each other and occasionally hissed but sometimes touched noses too!)  I think when my black cat died (aged 1 my newer cat pined for months (just wouldn't admit it)

what strikes me is that your cat is possibly ok with the other cat anyway if it spends a lot of time in your garden.  if your cat wasn't ok with it, she would be at the door constantly trying to guard her territory (presumably she is an outdoors cat too?)

good luck - I think no animal should have to live outdoors in the winter.  if you are unsuccessful maybe you could speak to next door about finding her a new home via gumtree?

xx


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