Neighbours leaving cat out while they go on holiday

Our cat is 15 yrs old and I wouldn't dream of leaving him on his own whilst we went on holiday for two weeks. I would never be able to relax and enjoy my time away as I'd be so worried about him. We go away regularly twice a year for two weeks and every time I book him into the same cattery for the holiday duration. Its certainly the lesser of two evils because at least I know that he's safe and well fed. He isn't best pleased with us when we get to pick him up. It costs quite a lot but I'm happy to pay it for peace of mind. He loves going out through our cat flap but increasingly does not venture beyond the garden boundary.

Yes we left our cat Friday to Monday with several bowls of water and dried food. She had access to the conservatory with cushions to sleep on and access to the garden with a cat flap. Fed before we left Friday evening with wet food and greeted us on return Monday afternoon. Always sleeps in the conservatory anyway and it was warm mid summer weather. Wouldn't go for any longer and my neighbour kept an eye out for her.

I have always had cats and really love them but they are independent and resourceful generally. I wouldn’t do what your neighbour does and would always have someone coming in twice a day to give some attention to the cats and feed them. However what I do think is cruel is the people who have indoor cats who never have the excitement of being outside exploring and hunting. Having a cat restricted to the small space of a house is very sad I think. I know people say that they don’t know any different and are happy but that’s not the point. Cats should be out and about , it’s their instinct and this lady’s neighbours cat is much luckier even being outside all the time than pampered indoor cats with selfish owners.

This is animal cruelty by neglect. If it were my neighbour, I would volunteer to go in and feed the cat, let it in/out etc, but if I couldn’t do that, I would most definitely report it to the RSPCA as a cruelty case (just don’t hold your breath expecting any action by the RSPCA, in my experience they are completely disinterested in this kind of situation. I think as a last resort, I might kidnap the cat and take it to a rescue centre, anything rather than leave it abandoned, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night! It is one thing for a feral wild cat to survive when fending for itself, exposed to the elements, but not a domesticated pet!

A neighbour’s cat adopted us around six years ago (we love cats but are severely allergic to them they trigger asthma).
She lives outside virtually full time. We feed her in the small back porch. She didn’t want to come in any further in until she had lived in our garden for around two years. She sleeps in a cat cabin in the garden that I bought for her. She will now come inside for an hour or so at a time in winter (her choice) but always asks to go out at around 10pm. She will now occasionally sit on my knee but mainly when I’m in the garden.
We happily leave her outside for a fortnight when we go away. The neighbour (former owner) comes and feeds her twice a day and checks her water etc. but she’d hate it in a cattery.
I suppose she always has the option to return to her former home where there’s still an indoor bed and cozy corner and food for her, but she doesn’t seem to want that at all!

Firstly you cannot make anonymous phone calls to RSPCA they won’t accept them. Secondly my neighbour did the same and I spoke to another neighbour who is a vet and apparently as long as there’s food arranged it’s not classed as neglect so we got no where with reporting it. We put note threw there door when they were away anonymously and they haven’t done it since.

Cats do not always find anywhere warm to sleep, nor do they all kill birds when they're hungry. I always had a cat-sitter for mine (I had 3 at one time), as well as sons calling round. I haven't got any cats now (last one died 18 months ago) but I feed a stray and have bought him a waterproof kennel (whether he'll us it, I don't know)

We had a neighbour who bought a dog from a friend who was emigrating to SA, but shortly afterwards he started a business which meant he was out of house for 10-12 hours a day. My DH offered to help look after the dog. A little late she came to stay with us and we never left alone for more than 2-3 hours my in-laws even gave a week of their summer holiday to allow us to go away. She turned out to one very spoiled dog, but it was worth it. People shouldn’t just abandon an animal to fend for its self.

This is not right, it’s disgraceful.
Domesticated cats do not look after themselves!
Having a pet is your responsibility. I’d be very tempted to report these selfish people!
I go away on holiday, my cat is an indoor cat and I have someone to look after him every day. It costs but I know he is safe and cared for.
Some people shouldn’t have pets and the same applies to children.

No not over reacting! We have a cat sitter who comes in daily to feed and give lovely cuddles. Puts the prize of hols up but he is our precious boy...

It’s not true that cats will always find somewhere snug to sleep. The cats were never put out at night in our family, they slept inside.

Cats will always find somewhere snug to sleep. It was common practice years ago to "put the cat out" at night.
We have stopped having cats now. They did have a flap that allowed them into parts of the house where there was no carpet when we went away and people came once a day to leave food in the shed. The cats were always waiting for them when they came. Cats are not daft.
I will stick my head above the parapet here and say that if you called the RSPCA and said a cat has been left out of the house and is only fed only once a day they would say it is not a priority.

I have a cat flap so my cat comes and goes as he pleases. My neighbour would be more than happy to feed him when I go away but I prefer for him to go to a cattery. We have a marvellous cattery a couple of miles away and he is very well looked after, he is fed according to his own particular needs including having his teeth cleaning crunchies at the right time of day. He is a long haired cat and is groomed daily and comes back looking wonderful.

Look at the Cats Protection website.They do not prosecute like the RSPCA but they provide info on the 5 welfare needs that must be met by cat owners who otherwise can be legally charged with cruelty or neglect.
Like everyone else I am appalled by your neighbour's lack of care in this respect.
I appreciate what has been said about the RSPCA though - our own experience of this organisation is not nearly as positive as that of CP.
You could perhaps let the neighbour know that they COULD be reported by someone (other than you!) Or risk losing the animal if it decides to find another, more reliable home.And then offer to feed it if they pre pay your costs. Maybe even take it to the vet if it suffers an injury, as long as they have agreed with the vet beforehand that they will pick up the cost of this too....

We have always had cats.Including one that adopted us after suffering cruelty from a neighbour' s child.And another that was ill treated and dumped in our village, and had no idea how to go and find food for himself.He camped in our garden for over 6 months before he was sure we were not going to hurt him, and then joined the rest of the group indoors as well.
We have happily used catteries where our cats have been well looked after.Lately, we have had a friend call in twice daily to feed/ water and look after them, and change their litter trays ( they are kept indoors for their safety, but are given plenty of room to run about).This has the added advantage that the house is kept an eye on, too.We pay this friend,the going rate a cattery would charge, plus her petrol costs.It is worth every penny as far as we are concerned.

I'd worry about the cat having an accident or becoming ill. As the owner it's your responsibility to keep your animals safe and I wouldn't leave them like that.

NEVER left our cats (3 at one time !) ....we had lovely neighbours who fed them, we also had a cat flap .......and left the shed door open with beds inside ! (we lived in France at the time where once a neighbour moved and left the cat, a lovely ginger tom (he had been neutered so they must have cared for him !) ....other neighbours bought him round to us...'You are English, you will look after him ! ha ha ...which of course we did ! another pregnant stray turned up one day ..we took her in too, and managed to find homes for the kittens with the help of the local vet .....sadly over the years two of them had to be put to sleep one with incurable cancer of the tongue and another with a neurological disorder .... BUT in return, I would feed neighbours cats, take them to vet appointments, even had a DOG for two weeks once !!! took it walkies twice a day and it had free roam of our large garden ! surely some neighbour could have fed this poor thing ! why do people have animals if they cannot look after them ! [anry]

When we had cats we used a cattery. The owners were lovely and one time, when they were full when we were going away for a weekend, they agreed to take them and have them with their own cats in an outside run. Unfortunately they closed down and though we used another one once we weren't totally happy as they seemed less caring and more expensive. We had a cat flap so we arranged for a neighbour to come in twice a day to feed our, by then, only cat. He lived to be 19 and by then we were living in a house with no-where to put a cat flap so he had become a house cat. After he died I decided not to replace him as the lack of a cat flap meant dealing with a litter tray and less freedom for the cat.
I miss having a cat and wonder about having one again if I move to a move suitable house when I downsize, but the responsibility worries me as I go away more now I'm retired. A pet is a responsibility one has to take seriously. I guess it may depend if I have good neighbours with cats so can arrange reciprocal care.

Catterygirl Your cat hotel sounds wonderful.

We take our cats up to a lovely boarding kennel where they have a heated or air conditioned sitting room, access to an outside area and places to hide. Talk about luxury. It costs nearly as much as the rent on a holiday cottage,though. If we are just going away for a weekend my daughter feeds them but they have to stay in the house, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving them outside. It is illegal to let cats out after dark here, anyway. Some Councils won’t allow cats out at all under any circumstances but ours allows them out in daylight hours.

My son and DiL have two cats and regularly go away but have a cat flap and a wonderful machine that dispenses dry food (which they always eat) twice a day. My granddaughters have recorded a message on the machine which plays to call them for their food when it is dispensed, but the cats can anticipate the time it comes down into the bowls.

Our cat had a cat flap and our next door neighbour would come in and feed her twice a day. This did not stop our cat going across the road and "telling" those people she'd been abandoned! They said she was over every day looking pitiful! Cats are very canny lol.

Joseann thanks for explaining. We did have a couple disturbed by other cats. Had to put them in the quarantine area by themselves and cover the door to reduce the noise of nearby cats.

Years ago our neighbour used to feed our cat when we went away. One year I told her that it was ok for her to feed him in her garden to save having to go into the house (he had the cat flap so he could come and go from the house). When we got home she said he’d been sleeping in her compost bin because he’d thought he now lived with her. He was the best cat I ever had and it breaks my heart to think that he thought we’d deserted him.

I know someone who “inherited” a cat from a friend who died, who also left a large sum of money to care for the cat.
They feed this cat on the cheapest junk food and she lives mostly outside. They are retired and go away every few weeks, when food is put down by a neighbour.
The cat is not neglected but I think the dead friend believed she would be a pampered pet, as she had been in the past. Poor cat.

It's not that I don't trust the cattery to look after my cat properly, Catterygirl, we have used them often in the past, but when we rescued our current young boy we were told by the RSCA that he was very upset by the other cats around him. They made him feel stressed and anxious, and he lashed out. He had to be kept in a special side room as far away from the other cats as possible.
My concern would be that if he were in a cattery, and got distressed, and I was abroad, I couldn't just come home to collect him. So I wouldn't risk it. Luckily between neighbour, cat sitter and DD to visit, he can be left home alone with a cat flap.