Neighbours feeding cat- how to stop??

[Boddle]

Has anyone had any success getting neighbours to stop feeding their cat??

She put on a lot of weight and has been on a veterinary diet for nearly a year, but is still not down to the right size. We've asked the neighbours we know about to stop but I think she must still be getting food from somewhere! She is very charming and also a thief, so it could be anywhere. We're worried about her health and it's also costing us a small fortune in food and vet visits (not to mention the lovely cleanup job in the garden when she has a bad tummy!)

Any good ideas/success stories?? Its lovely that our neighbours like her but I'm worried about the long term risk to our little fur ball...

[rendelharris]

One can order collars with printed messages on them, something like "FOR MY OWN GOOD PLEASE DON'T FEED ME"?

[Boddle]

Thanks Rendel. Sadly she already has one! (in case anyone else is interested/needs one: http://www.kittycollars.co.uk/personalised-cat-collars/)

[Saffron]

What kind of veterinary diet is she on? I ask because the basis of some high volume, low calories, animal diets is carbohydrates, particularly in dry food. Sometimes cats eat less, because they simply don't like the diet. But then, they may look for food elsewhere. A high protein wet diet of minimally processed meat can be better for many cats. This might include transitioning to a 'raw' diet.

Of course you may already be doing this, and it's still not helping? In which case, if you've already spoken to your neighbours, what more is there to do? Keep your cat indoors until she's lost a safe amount of weight?

From your post, it's unclear if you've confirmed that the neighbours are still feeding her after you've spoken to them? But if her range is pretty decent, she could be begging treats from several roads away from you in any direction. If she roams from your garden, she could simply be stealing the food of neighbors' pets (in addition to begging for treats).

So, change the diet and/or limit outdoor time? xx

[Boddle]

Thanks Saffron.

We had her on Lily's kitchen wet food (which I think has a high meat content in comparison with others?)- but she ballooned! She's now on a Royal Canin Obesity diet recommended by the vet (wet/dry combo?) I'll look into the ingredients. Any good ones you know of?

I've just put flyers through the doors of some of the neighbours we don't know further down the street, and in the next street- so as you say if she has a bigger range than we realise maybe that will help! I imagine she is stealing other pets food and, if it comes to it, we may have to keep her more. Which makes me feel sad as we adopted her from Battersea on the promise she could get out. But this can't carry on!

[Jules-and-Boo]

change her collar to say - I am allergic to normal cat food - it can make me ill. Please don't feed me.

[rendelharris]

Ah...not sure what else can be done then. We had this problem with our family cats way back in the day, finally tracked it down to a lovely old woman who'd convinced herself (despite their collars and general sleekness!) that they were strays and gave them a second dinner every night. Difficult, I'm sure the people feeding them see no harm in it. We have to, very reluctantly, scare off cats that keep trying to cosy up to us and get in the kitchen when we know damned well they have excellent owners a few doors away!

Quite an expensive option but for about ?60 there are GPS collars available so one can see where mog's been going, so you could maybe find where to target a polite note?

[jaywalker]

It is just as likely that she is acting against the diet food. On the TV secret life of cats, several were recorded raiding other cat's dinners unknown to the human providers. Most cat flaps are not micro-chip sentries: cats work out precise times they can raid safely.

[Boddle]

The tracker is a great idea! and maybe I'll try locking her in when others are likely to be feeding their cats - I'll be at home more soon to be able to manage that. Thanks everyone!

[stringvest]

I don't think theres anything you can do. I have had many cats with all sorts of ailments. Never went out looking for a cat, they just turned up on the doorstep in a bad way, skin and bone, worms, bald, wounds, toothless, abandoned!!. Obviously the first thing was a trip to the vets for health care and try to find an owner etc ...

I think cats try to look after themselves in weird ways, I had put a fat cat on a diet and he would just go round the neighbours bullying their cats, in and out the cat flaps, he wouldn't bother to catch a mouse! You can't expect people not to leave food down for their own cats and shut their flaps.

There was a friendly cat turn up everyday that would feed. I think its owners went out all day to work and it was just VERY lonely, it would curl up with our cat. Again I tried to find who it belonged to without success. Cats can be quite needy for friendship and as not as independent as many people think.

So many cats are given kibbles, or diet food I think they may be completely peeved with their dinners and go and seek variety elsewhere. Who of us could live on a diet of jacobs crackers for ever and not sneak in the burger place?

I wouldn't be pleased if people were feeding my cats, but they don't WANT to eat elsewhere, I would be grateful they were being kindly, as some people can be very nasty to cats.

Good luck.

[Boddle]

Thanks String Vest. She was on some very nice Lily's kitchen food before and still went thieving/begging! She's heading for obesity-related health problems, so looking for things to try as she's our responsibility after all.

We adopted her from Battersea cats and dogs home when she was three and apparently the previous owner gave her up as he couldn't afford to feed her & wasn't able to let her out, which was causing her distress. So it may be she's been very hungry in her previous home and its ingrained behaviour to scavenge because of this. I don't know how we help her feel more secure. We've tried free feeding (with the Lilys) during the day, giving her her portions in two meals, giving her 3 and 4 meals, but no amount/pattern seems to fill her up!

I am very glad our neighbours are so nice to her, I just want to take as good care of her as we can. I'm at home most days but I think if someone on the street starts cooking she dumps me and heads for their kitchen! I dont want to lock her in because of comments from previous owner, but may have to think about limiting outdoor time.

Glad your cats are so contented tho.

[teddyboy23]

There's only one option kill the neighbours.😀

[lavender27]

Try putting a collar on her saying, "Please do not feed this cat" might work you never know.

[katanita]

If there is a chance it's stress related/feeling insecure, you could try Feliway diffuser plug-ins. I think it helped my rescue cat settle in and stop having stress related UTIs.

[Loz]

Plug-in diffusers for cats?

The world has gone mad.

[katanita]

ah Loz, I'm guessing you've not had the pleasure of taking an anxious cat to the vet for antibiotics every couple of weeks or so because they keep developing a stress related illness that has the unfortunate effect of being potentially life-threatening. It wears thin/costs serious ???.

It's not like the diffuser is patchouli or ylang ylang, it's meant to be the same pheromones that cats use to mark their territory, the idea being that it convinces them that they are safe and on their own territory. I also use it to spray in the cat box before transporting them to the vet, and it does seem to have made a difference in both cases.

Anyway, Boddle, could be worth a shot. Or maybe looking at any other potential stress factors you could reduce around her feeding. Good luck!