An older man who lived a few houses up from me died last Saturday. He was an alcoholic and alone, but he owned a cat which he loved dearly. I should have gone up there earlier to check on the cat, but I assumed his relatives would be looking after his affairs.

When I drove past the house today  - the dead man's daughter was in the front yard talking to her boyfriend. I asked her about the cat and told her that her father had needed help in his last months.  She admitted she hadn't seen her father for 20 years and had no concern for his cat, but would dispose of it next week if she had some spare time.

I went up later with a bag of food. The cat was hiding under a pile of rubbish on the front veranda in an unfenced yard. Fortunately the neighbour next door has been haphazardly feeding it. I found an open tin of food - full of maggots competing with the ants.

The cat was terrified, desperate for human company and obviously hungry. I fed it until it was full and put a blanket under an old chair so it could at least keep warm tonight.

You would think that someone who had just inherited a house would have at least cleaned up the front yard, taken away the rubbish and fed her benefactor's cat and made it comfortable - but no. The cat meant as much to her as her father did. He was a sweet man to the neighbours, but maybe not so good to his only child if she cared so little about his life.

My daughter will take it up to the RSPCA tomorrow. Not a good fate for the poor cat, but it will be given a little shelter and attention before it's euthanised.

mantra wrote on May 26^th, 2017 at 7:18pm:

Mantra there would be adoption no kill shelters in your area- I am getting my girl from one of these shelters The RSPCA may just put it down- a no kill shelter will take care of it until they can adopt it too someone if not they keep it until-  please try for an adoption shelter in your area  the cat will be loved and taken care of until he/she can find a new home - a shame about the daughter-

Agnes wrote on May 26^th, 2017 at 9:29pm:


Good idea AG. RSPCA animals only have a 50% chance of survival. I've found a no kill shelter in the area, but I haven't taken her there yet. I've made her comfortable with a pile of old jumpers in a cosy enclosed corner and my daughter goes up there twice a day to feed it and give it some affection. This cat just sits there all day and waits for food and a cuddle. She would make someone a lovely pet. I might have taken her in if Ruffy the housecat wasn't so aggressive and territorial towards other animals. He would hurt her.

mantra wrote on May 28^th, 2017 at 10:58am:


mantra male and female cats get along fine- its female to female where you will have a problem- ruffy would love this new girl- they both need company by the sounds of it- she is lonely~ ruffy would not be so needy with you all the time either~ I think it will work tbh - my girl is here tomorrow and I already have black male~ they will be ok together I am sure- My girl will go back to the shelter if I am hit by a bus - that is the beauty of these shelters- they always take back their rescues if they find themselves homelesss again and they take any cat that you cannot keep anymore they dont want to see them homeless~ they are run by pp who really love cats- I am going to donate to  my kittys shelter- they do amazing work and they really care

Agnes wrote on May 28^th, 2017 at 8:11pm:


Male and female cats don't always get on AG. Ruffy drove a female cat who was here before him away from the house. She would be gone for days hiding out in all sorts of weather. It was a nightmare. This gentle little cat ended up with a serious skin condition which after trying everything - I realised that it had to be a nervous disorder. She had to be put down. Ruffy was dumped on me as a kitten. He is spoilt and very dominant. I can't try and be a peacemaker again with warring animals and I can't manage two cats again. I've been down that path too many times.

mantra wrote on May 29^th, 2017 at 2:10pm:



Well looks like one way or another the cat will be fine ~ and of course you have your fair share of animals mantra - your story about that very demanding bird you had that time- had me in stitches- is it still going lol

You need to write a book about the story of your animals - you can be very funny in print 

I'm still feeding the cat plus another one who apparently this man owned - according to all these neighbours who I hadn't noticed before. The other cat is a beautiful grey persian cross who someone has abandoned. It's so timid, but he/she is starting to trust me.

The daughter of the dead man is still dithering about finding homes for them - as I am also. I'm providing food and feeding these cats, while she's just saying how nice I am to be doing it. Her attitude is evasive, but she's pretending to care.

Anyway - today I've put up a notice in a nearby shop about them. Hopefully I'll get some positive feedback and someone good will come forward and take them. No cat organisation will pick them up. I'm supposed to trap them or cage them and then deliver them which emotionally I can no longer do.

I wish now I hadn't got involved. The thought of two domestic cats - alone and without any protection from the weather and predators is a worry. When I go up there - they are hiding in the bushes waiting for me to feed them and they're scared.

Thanks for the reassurance AG. There has been torrential rain here for the last 36 hours and that's a worry. I didn't want to snoop around the house, but I went around to the back of it yesterday to see if there was any shelter there and found an open garage containing a beautiful old turquoise car covered in towels. I used to see him in it years ago and wondered what happened to it. I threw some bedding from home onto the bonnet so hopefully the cats have been sheltering in there.

The daughter sent me up 8 boxes of Felix yesterday which is a help. The cats are getting attached to me which is going to make it worse when they eventually have to be dragged off the property. When I left this morning - the grey persian went outside the front yard and watched me go into my backyard. He's probably calculating where his next home is going to be.