[jadis]

This is a little similar to a recent post but not as extreme. My next door neighbor of 6 years died last November. She had two cats. After she died her family came and cleared everything out of the house, had an estate sale, this was in like February of this year, and the house has been vacant ever since but not for sale. A couple of days ago my son told me there was a cat in the house. I went over and looked in the windows and sure enough, one of the cats was in the window looking back at me. Everything appears to be gone from the house, I literally only saw a broom, dustpan, and a can of friskies on the counter. Now someone is feeding the cat, she looked ok, but I only see a car over there about once every week to two weeks. I'm not sure what to think about this situation. I want to go over in the morning and put a note on the door saying I live next door and I can come over and check on the cat during the week. Thoughts?

 

[spirite]

Oh my goodness, the poor kitty! Do you think the other cat might be there too? If someone only comes once every week to 2 weeks, what kind of condition is that house going to be in? Litterbox? Yikes.

That's really, really weird to just leave a cat there.

Any chance you could catch the person during a visit? Maybe you can get a sense of what kind of person this is before you leave a note. I don't see how anyone could take offense at your offer. If it were me, I'd be so grateful, but you never know.

 

[Ritzpg]

I would post a note on the door or talk to the person if you see him/her. It is possible the owner/buyer thought the cat was lost and the cat made it back in to the house through some opening.

 

[3furbabies]

I would put a note in an envelope and slide it under the door. If its only getting checked on once every two weeks it won't be in good condition for long. Poor thing.

 

[jusjim]

Leave the note. It can do no harm. The cat may have been left there to discourage rodents from moving in. It does happen.

 

[Arianwen]

I'd definitely try to make contact.

 

[jadis]

I left a note today, I'm also going to try to catch them when I see a car over there. I looked in the windows again to try to see if it's one or two cats, but I didn't see either. She had a solid black cat and a tortie, the one I saw is the tortie. I did see the litterbox and a bag of litter.

 

[cinderflower]

the note can't hurt, but i can hardly see only checking on cats once or twice a week. maybe they have someone in the neighborhood with a key going over and that's why you don't see a car. otherwise, i can't imagine trying to sell a house where cats have been living unsupervised.

since you live next door maybe you can offer to "foster-supervise" (if you don't have way too many things to do already) the cat until it gets adopted out? that way you don't have to put your own through anything, and if you just put an ad up explaining the situation maybe someone will take it (them?). and just advertise a price that you can tell the person calling is waived if you think they're okay, so you can weed out the people who call for free cats because they have ill intentions. i know that sounds incredible but people do it.

 

[jadis]

There could be another neighbor checking on her, I hadn't considered that. I had thought that if they do want to rehome the cat I could see if the rescue I volunteer with would do a courtesy listing. The house isn't for sale and the situation seems like it would be ok provided someone was checking in often. It must be so boring for the cat though, especially if there is only the one.

 

[jadis]

So a new development, I heard from the lady's daughter who said I can have the cat or see if the rescue I volunteer with can adopt it out. She also said it's not the nicest cat ever. I don't want another cat so I'm going to see if the rescue will list her and just have her stay next door for now. She's going to let me in over there so I can see for myself what she's like.

 

[cinderflower]

i lol'd at "not the nicest cat ever". hey, some cats are probably like people, kind of cranky and like it when there's no one else around. good that she called you though. i wonder what happened to the other one.

 

[jadis]

I'll ask her about the other one....maybe it was nicer and someone in the family took it home. I'm concerned that this cat isn't exactly adoptable though, I've lived here 6 years and the cat was fully grown when I moved in, so let's say she is 7+ and "not that nice". Not the best situation .

 

[jadis]

Ok, chatted with the daughter and the son for a long time today, got some good news and some bad. The good news is I got alot of info and the cat isn't mean, just timid and shy and tends to hide from new people. She was friendly with my neighbor and with her nurse and sits in laps once she gets to know you, so they say. Her name is Surprise, she is 8 y/o, spayed, and was born to a neighborhood stray which is how my neighbor got her.

Bad news is, the house is in forclosure. They think they have maybe a month before the bank takes ownership and she needs to be out by then. I can't take her, at least not in a month, not until my fosters get adopted, and I'm afraid an 8 y/o timid cat would be a permanant foster for someone. I didn't ask why they couldn't take her and I'm kicking myself for it. I will next time.

 

[3furbabies]

Is there any rescues or foster homes you know of that can take her for a little while? Even if she has to keep switching foster homes, it's better than a shelter and she will get more exposure to new people.

 

[spirite]

I'm really glad that the woman's children turned out to be normal people who are at least showing concern for the cat - although they won't take the cat to a shelter themselves? It makes me wonder what they were planning to do when the house got foreclosed upon?

 

[jadis]

I'm hoping a family member will take her in and foster her while the rescue lists her, or else make a donation for her care.

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Thats no way for a cat to live. How sad. Hopefully you can find the kiiy a temp foster home asap. The longer this cat is issolated in there the more its going to revert into its timidity and possible semi feral state.

 

[jadis]

That is a really big concern Mitts & Tess. If I can get Payton adopted out in the next month and the family won't foster her, I will take her for now, but I think she will be unhappy in my house with 2 dogs, 4 cats, and 2 kids. She has lived with another cat and a dog before though, so who knows, it could go either way.

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Can you find a temporary foster home for now?

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Dang editing limit....hissss

This cat might do well with a savvy cat person who could work with it. Go to the feral cat section of CF. Look under the sticky Taming feral kittens and cats. Look for Heidis Kitty Boot Camp. Lots of great tips that has work for us who have socialized cats and kittens.