hi! my neighbors have an "outdoor cat"; which i know is a very unhealthy and dangerous lifestyle for a cat. she has always looked very skinny to me; I can see her flank moving under her coat when she breaths (which I think is unusual, although I don't spend a lot of time with cats). her owners recently mentioned to me that although she is skinny, she eats a lot of food, which has made me worry that she has worms. (cont in next ask)
(cont from previous ask). This cat is very skittish and "wild" and will scratch or bite people who try and pick her up. For this reason, her owners don't take her to the vet often. How can I help this cat without stealing her from her owners (which is illegal, probably)? Thank you so much <3<3<3<3
So first, I’m going to reiterate -
Under no circumstances should you ever take someone else’s pet, even if it is for the benefit of the animal. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS report what you expect to be animal abuse or animal neglect to whatever local authority handles it (some areas have animal control, others will be handled by local police).
This is not because I don’t want what’s best for the animal. This is because no matter what good you are trying to accomplish, taking an animal without the consent of the owner will never turn out well for you or the animal.
There really isn’t much you CAN do. Aside from looking into your local laws, if they are the sole family feeding this cat, it is legally their cat, and unless a case of obvious abuse is there, which you would have to regularly document and report to your local authorities. But taking your cat to the vet AT ALL, even if it’s not regularly, is a sign of an attempt to care, which will go against any attempts to make an animal abuse case.
Now, I will say underweight cats are tough for most people to spot, because what a lot of people recognize as a “healthy” weight tends to be a little on the overweight side.
This chart is the most in-depth one that I’ve been able to find.
But again, check your local laws. You may be unable to do anything short of calling the authorities. I do not recommend feeding someone else’s cat. In some areas, if you feed a cat, you become legally responsible for it. Yes, it may sound heartless, but there are reasons people need to go through the channels available to you, and it’s to protect both yourself and the animals involved.
Yes, it is difficult. Yes, I see a LOT of feline casual neglect and there’s often nothing we can do about it. What you can do is try to educate people on proper cat care. Make sure people know how dangerous allowing cats outdoors can be. If they don’t want to do anything about it, don’t waste your breath, and move on to the next person who’s willing to listen. You may not always be able to save THAT specific cat, but you may be able to help A cat elsewhere.
