Advice re: greedy wandering cat
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 4:55 pm
Good afternoon all - I am looking for some non judgemental advice regarding my cat.
My 9-year-old neutered male cat Murphy is a greedy Wanderer. For the past 2 to 3 years he has been frequently visiting a neighbour - approximately 25 doors down my road - who has been feeding him.
I found out after 18 months who was feeding him - she is an 83 year old lady who lives on her own. Murphy is the kind of cat who likes to have company during the day day and she fit the bill with an addition of tasty treats including wafer thin chicken and cheap biscuits.
I've tried many things for him not to go there including asking her not to feed him, collecting him everyday and keeping him in overnight, keeping him in permanently, and giving her food to feed him. No matter how much I try and reason with her she continues to feed him. He hates being kept in and howls. When I gave her food she just kept feeding what she normally fed him on top which made him fatter than he already is (hes approx 7kg and overweight even though hes a large cat anyway).
I have his brother also who is a home cat (goes out occasionally). Unfortunately Murphy and his brother do not get on so things are tense when Murphy comes home so he's stopped coming home. Because of this and the above I bought Murphy a microchip feeding bowl so I can try and ensure that he comes home and eats the food I give him (high protein dry and wet food) and so I could monitor when he was actually turning up and he was still alive.
Over the past few months Murphy has been staying away for 4 weeks or more. A neighbour of the old lady came to me yesterday to say she was worried about Murphy's condition. I have therefore booked him into the vet's tomorrow for a check-up.
There are two things I would like advice on
1. Is there any good high-protein food youd recommend which is also diet that I can give to the neighbour to feed Murphy in pre designated bowls so he's getting the right amount and the good nutrients he needs?
2. If she continues to feed him and this impacts on his condition the only thing I can think of is to potentially re-home him away from the area. I cannot keep him inside as my other cat goes in and out and Murphy would really hate that. I do love him but he's no longer my cat when he does come to the house he shies away from me like I'm a stranger. I am happy to keep vaccinating flea treating and insuring him but I can't control what other people are feeding him and also I'm paying out for something that I'm not really benefiting from. Would this be the right thing to do? If so what would be the best way to go about this?
Thank you in advance for any thoughts or advice.
My 9-year-old neutered male cat Murphy is a greedy Wanderer. For the past 2 to 3 years he has been frequently visiting a neighbour - approximately 25 doors down my road - who has been feeding him.
I found out after 18 months who was feeding him - she is an 83 year old lady who lives on her own. Murphy is the kind of cat who likes to have company during the day day and she fit the bill with an addition of tasty treats including wafer thin chicken and cheap biscuits.
I've tried many things for him not to go there including asking her not to feed him, collecting him everyday and keeping him in overnight, keeping him in permanently, and giving her food to feed him. No matter how much I try and reason with her she continues to feed him. He hates being kept in and howls. When I gave her food she just kept feeding what she normally fed him on top which made him fatter than he already is (hes approx 7kg and overweight even though hes a large cat anyway).
I have his brother also who is a home cat (goes out occasionally). Unfortunately Murphy and his brother do not get on so things are tense when Murphy comes home so he's stopped coming home. Because of this and the above I bought Murphy a microchip feeding bowl so I can try and ensure that he comes home and eats the food I give him (high protein dry and wet food) and so I could monitor when he was actually turning up and he was still alive.
Over the past few months Murphy has been staying away for 4 weeks or more. A neighbour of the old lady came to me yesterday to say she was worried about Murphy's condition. I have therefore booked him into the vet's tomorrow for a check-up.
There are two things I would like advice on
1. Is there any good high-protein food youd recommend which is also diet that I can give to the neighbour to feed Murphy in pre designated bowls so he's getting the right amount and the good nutrients he needs?
2. If she continues to feed him and this impacts on his condition the only thing I can think of is to potentially re-home him away from the area. I cannot keep him inside as my other cat goes in and out and Murphy would really hate that. I do love him but he's no longer my cat when he does come to the house he shies away from me like I'm a stranger. I am happy to keep vaccinating flea treating and insuring him but I can't control what other people are feeding him and also I'm paying out for something that I'm not really benefiting from. Would this be the right thing to do? If so what would be the best way to go about this?
Thank you in advance for any thoughts or advice.