Where does the law stand on cat napping ?

[Turboderv]

We have had an ongoing problem for a couple of years now and I wondered if any one here knew any way I can resolve it by way of law.

We have three cats, basically, one of our nearby neighbours locks our cats in for one or two weeks at a time and will not let them out. Our eldest cat who is 11 years old eventually returns from the house in a bad way and appears to be in pain. I have heard the guy in the house shouting at the cats and i am sure that he kicks them or something.

It is usually the eldest cat that they lock in but tonight they have kept in one of our other cats who we could hear meeowing when we called her, she was suddenly quiet and it made my wife anxious.

Cutting to the chase; I was on my way round there to ask if they had kept our cat in, and to return it to us for her supper (may sound daft but our cats have a routine !! )

Anyway, if this was not forthcoming it has come to the point where I would have been naughty to get the cat back and bring an end to this stupid situation.

Well, my wife stopped me and told me to think about what I was about to do. So, taking a more intelligent view on it, is there a specific law or any other legislation which I can throw at the guy to persude him to stop keeping our cats in against their will ?

They dont have their own pets put have a cat flap, when any of our cats go in they lock it and wont let them out, our cats have been seen trying to jump out of the first floor windows to get out.

I'm at my wits end with this, has been going on for about 5 years and I thought nothing of it at first but when our cats appear sore when they eventually "escape" it made me mad.

Thanks guys !!!
Si

[XDC]

Erm.. Si - WTF do you put up with this? :D

I'm not advocating any extreme action here - far from it, but in your situation, I'd be wanting to know exactly why this guy was taking possession of your cats. Why doesn't he get his own? :tdown:

Seriously, I'd be having a chat with him to find out why he does this and I'd be letting him know in no uncertain terms that I wanted it to stop - pronto! Maybe you should have confronted this situation long ago before it's become a routine thing?

From a legal standpoint, you can steal an animal, but for a theft charge you have to prove he intended to permanently deprive you of possession of the cats. It seems in this case he's only borrowing them. :D

Cruelty is another possible offence if you can prove it, and I suppose it's arguably conduct likely to cause a Breach Of The Peace - kidnapping people's moggies, but it's all a bit thin really. I can't think of any other suitable offence and in all honesty I think a chat with your neighbour is the way to deal with this, but keep a firm check on your temper and keep things civil. ;)

Let us know how you get on.

[G-Rich]

In addition to the above; part of your conversation should cover the fact that if he has a lockable cat flap; tell him to keep it locked thus the cats won't be able to go in in the first place; if he does not own a cat there is no need for it to be open in he first place. (failing this, the dead of night and a tube of good superglue may solve the problem)

If you do not get cooperation, alert the RSPCA who can prosecute for cruelty to animals.

[Turboderv]

I'll try to have a chat within them then, seems to be the best cause of action and hopefully that will get me somewhere. I know I have let it go on for a long time but they used to only have them in for perhaps a day or when the weather was bad which we didn't mind.

I don't know the people so i'll introduce myself, I always try to avoid any form of confrontation if possible and started to think that I was just being "petty".

Our cats are well kept and wear collars with their name inside etc so they look like they are owned so to speak, I could understand it if they looked like strays.

I always hoped that felix, sooty and smokey would leave a massive number two on the guys bed LMAO he would probably stop keeping them in then! DOH ! we shouldn't have house trained them !

Felix is still sore on her sides this morning, but it could be that she has been overfed otherwise I sense a Vet bill on the horizon :(

Thanks for your comments, I had the superglue idea least night too !

[HIGHLANDER]

Collect all the cat turds in the vicinity & throw them through the cat flap

[G-Rich]

May be worth a check up at the vet to be on the safe side; it won't cost too much for the peace of mind.

[chi_chee]

but why on earth does your cat wonder into his house in the first place?

[Smiffyz]

I'd keep yours in the house for a few days, find a real nasty ferral cat from a local industrial site wack it through his flap and superglue it up.
By the time it's ripped his house (and him ) to shreads he wont do it again!

[A_n_T]

first of you have more patience then me, we don't have cats but we do have dogs and if some one tried to harm one they would be in a lot of pain for a long time.

having said that on the other hand cats are clever and if something bad was happening to them whilst there surly they would never go back again?

[G-Rich]

Problem with cats is that as well as sometimes being clever, they can be thick as two short planks when offered food. Some are too trusting of people as well; I'm glad my cat is nervous of strangers which will mean he never gets into the above situatoin.

[Turboderv]

Thanks for your input into this guys, sorry I haven't been on here for a while i've had a lot going on.

Well, as an update to this, we had a surprise tonight.

The guy who has taken a fancy to our cats knocked on our door and said "i think your cat is dying on my kitchen floor" :eek:

So, cutting to the chase, poor felix is spending a night at the Vet and is quite poorly, they have drained 100 ml of fluid off her lungs.

We are giving her tonight and a sample has been sent to a lab to try and find out what is causing it but we fear the worst.

I must stress though that this appears to be natural causes due to her age (12) and not due to her being thumped as I first thought a couple of hours ago !

So, when i'm in his house collecting our poor cat his wife starts banging on about how one of other cats goes there every day and they have a little cat bed for her at night .........

Anyway, i'm rambling on now !! thanks for listening !!!!

Cheers
Si

[G-Rich]

All the best mate... as a cat owner I know how you must feel. The buggers are pretty resiliant though so I hope he/she will pick up.

[Dani]

yeah good luck and I hope the poor little thing is ok :)

[Izzy]

Fingers crossed and all that - hope the little mite gets better soon

[Turboderv]

Thanks for your kind wishes :)

She is home at the moment and is having a blood profile done tomorrow, looks like it is something to do with her thyroid (sp). It's either that, which can be controlled with tablets, or something nasty, so we are waiting to see.

And i'm £300 notes lighter !!

[XDC]

And i'm £300 notes lighter !!
In the next life I wanna be a vet!

But I'll probably come back as a cock pheasant on 1st September.

[dreamer]

Good luck for Felix !

And if the neighbours feed them and have a bed for them, of course they're goin gto end up there! :rolleyes: Might be worth asking them to kick the cats out when they turn up before they move home!

[Turboderv]

Yeah, I know ! it is a funny situation really. It just annoys me that they treat them like they are their own cats then knock on my door when there is a vet bill to pay !! they took another £95 of me today for two more tests !! poor felix, I can't afford to keep paying the vet like this.

Anyway, they have ruled out a few things now but have found that she has a very high white blood cell count which she will have anti biotics for.

Thing is, if she has a hyper thyroid she will need a tablet a day which will be difficult if she goes missing for a couple of weeks ! or the thyroid can be removed by operation, another £100 !!

Oh well, I suspect it will all work out in the end. I am going to see the guy when I know exactly where we are with felix, I don't mind them keeping them in once in a while but locking them in for 2/3 weeks at a time is taking the micky and that is what I plan to tell him, and to tell him to get his own cat LMAO

[Smiffyz]

I cant see them doing yours any harm when they have a bed for them, at least i hope not. I'm not a cat lover but i wouldnt harm one.

[Izzy]

If it's "just" a case of hyper thyroid, just have it removed if she's not too old to have an operation, it will save a lot of hassle long term (think of the daily battle of having to give her tablets) and it will work out cheaper as well.

[Masked Marauder]

What ever happened to having sick animals put down for £20.

I sometimes think people care more about their pets than about people.

[Turboderv]

Well, Felix is no longer with us :( the test results were bad and she stopped eating/drinking. Her white blood cell count was 52 when apparently 5-18 is normal.

So, thanks for putting up with my posts ! it's good to have a place to air your feelings !!

Thanks guys
Si

[cyd]

Very sorry to hear she didnt make it :( :(