General Chat

Thank you for your concern. She's perked up and eating now - she helped me eat my salmon salad this evening :o) I've been brushing her a lot - which she loves. I don't do it too often even though she's long haired, as she's quite capable of grooming herself and I don't want to discourage her!
It's also a good way to distract her if there are fireworks outside.

Her brother's behaved themselves for 24 hours, then decided she should play - that's their version - not hers, and she wasn't too happy about it!.

Luckily she found a safe sanctuary in the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. The scales are blocking the door and it only opens enough for her to get through - so neither her brothers nor the tom can get to her. 'Sigh' more tidying up I can't do!! LOL

Actually - she's back to normal now - she just this minute jumped on George from a height!!

Hi Mo,
Betty wsn't as badly savaged as your poor boy, thank goodness.
She perked up when I gave her a brush, but has slept most of the time since yesterday and has only gone out in the garden (for necessity) with one of her brothers, and she hasn't eaten yet.
She is, at this moment asleep on my computer chair and I'm perched, very uncomfortably, on the edge!
I'll cook her some fish - she's the only one of the cats who like it - if she doesn't eat soon.
Have to admit the boys are being very gentle with her - George hasn't played his favourite game of 'Jump on Betty when she's asleep' - but Betty hasn't played her game of 'Jump off great height onto George then pretend he's being horrible to me when he chases me'!!

I lived in Freemantle for a year or so, and my mum's side lived in Chapel in a 2 up 2 down terrace for 4 generations - until the house was bombed.

My Boy is 15 now, and when he was younger was constantly attacked by a Ginger Tom that lived two doors away, He had a sinew hanging out of his tail at one time,bites on his back and even a wound on his tongue. Costing us dearly at the Vets.
Until this Ginger Tom went missing, and the owner was upset, and another neighbour told her, he will go missing after She cats, did she have him neutured.
But we have noticed the last two years in March/April, a terrible smell of cats during the night, we have looked around to see if another cat has come through the cat flap, and sprayed, but found nothing, we can only assume, he has had another cat pee over him.
Anyway do hope your little darling is recovering Maggie, it does sadden me when things like this happen, as cats are the loveliest of animals.

Not far away from you Maggie, in Bassett, Southampton.

Mo

both my cats male and female are neutered

hate the smell of Toms,

My british blue is in love with the dog thinks shes her mum its so sweet they cuddle up together and clean each other.



Hope your poor cat ok .

Hi Athena,
Sorry to hear about your cat - probably another victim of the un neutered male. My cats - (2 neutered toms and a spayed female) are quite capable of creating a 3am chorus - I've seen them- my 3 and another 3 or 4 sat in the road screaming at each other - but they don't attack. a quick hiss or glass of water usually disperses them (yes I throw water over my own cats!) - strangely it doesn't bother them,

Not being a vet, I can't tell whether she was actually raped or not - but she was very mucky round the nether region and had the tell-tale signs of wetness/teeth marks around the neck, whatever it was - it was a very violent attack. There was an awful lot of fur on the path as well.
Most cats around here are spayed/neutered and I would imagine a tom, needing to do 'what comes naturally' wouldn't bother about whether or not the victim was in season. No choice - pick on the smallest!

Oh you may have a good score behind you Maggie if you can prove the owners are causing him harm by neglecting him...PDSA maybe could advise them and help with costs to get it neutered.and tested for any illness it could spread around.
Try the menthol where you think its getting in,,,but rain will wash it away and needs re--doing every few days......

Kay,
I agree it's every pet owners choice what they do with their cats, but feline AIDs is on the increase and surely a responsible owner should get their cat neutered/spayed - are they happy for it to get this disease and spread it around - or do they believe everyone else should keep their cats in?
There are plenty of kittens and cats needing homes - why increase the burden on cat charities?
As for cats not liking menthol - do I spread it around the neighbourhood?
There is a strong possibility that as 'cats don't like menthol' - my cats won't like it either!!!
Do owners really like the smell of an un-neutered tom cat? Do they enjoy the howling in the night? Is the smell of cat spraint enjoyable to them?
It's bad enough when a neutered tom does it - but when a 'whole' tom does it, it can be vomit inducing!
I know all cat's have scraps - but they're never as brutal as an un-neutered tom.
BTW I do intend trying to find the owner, but if it's who I think it is, one of her many cats is actually called Bully - for good reason, and the PDSA have been around to her house on because of the state of most of them. Of course it's up to her what she does to her pets - but neglect is a criminal offence.

Eldests kitten she had for christmas is a male but is too young to be neutered yet so doesnt go out. As she is a student I rang cats protection league for her and they sent her a voucher for £20 to get him done so she will pay about £10 herself.
They give £25 for female cats.

Not sure what teh one over road is but its a big brut he had better not pick a fight with Ollie can see daughter going over there with a hose to get it lol

If they are responsible enough to have their cat microchipped they are unlikely to let it wander about procreating at will.

Sorry but its every pet ownes choice what they do with their pet,,,,,,,if they have choosen not to have it *done* then thats their choice.as for kidnapping it in a bid to have it neutured then it could be micro chipped so no vet would do it unless the owners consented..
People cant demand every pet owner have their cats neutered.

They dont like the smell of menthol..so oils may help keep him at bay.....

We have a little rescue cat and we were only allowed to have her on condition that she was spayed. We would have done that anyway.

She is very small because she was the only girl in a large litter of much bigger boys. She's a dear little cat and much loved.

A while ago she was being harrassed by a local black and white female cat which bullied her. Our cat showed signs of stress and needed a calming medicine from the vet.

Then we noticed a peaceful time and spotted notices went up about this bully having gone missing. We were really disappointed when it reappeared about 6 weeks later wearing an identical magnetic cat flap entry thingy to our own cat!
We bought a more expensive infra red opening cat flap.

The black and white cat seems to have moved on or gone missing again but recently a male siamese cat has been upsetting ours.

To our dismay we realised that he was wearing an identical infra red key and could get into the area where our cat slept. She now sleeps in with us but we noticed she had a bare tummy. The vet said it was stress.

So we've had her microchipped and bought a cat flap which will only respond to her own chip.

We spotted notices going up around here a couple of weeks ago saying the siamese is now missing.

It wasn't us honest! We didn't take him far away and lose him but it looks as if someone else round here tried that with the black and white cat and now the siamese.

Sue

I am a cat lover and have a "ginger tom".
But ther is a local un neutered cat which insists on using my heathers as a toilet.
Apparently un neutered cats do not "dig"

The cat I have now is the second stray I have taken in with his nuts on.I have had them both de-nutted immediately and then advertized them as found.

The cat charities will help pay for the procedure.

I work on the assumption that an entire tom is a stray cat and if it is your stud tom you should take better care of it.

Hello Maggie........I hope that poor Betty has calmed down a bit .

I had a major problem with my neighbour last year regarding un-done Toms . They moved in two years ago with apparently eight cats . I counted at least 12 over the following months. None of them had been "done" so there where constant fights at night.
I've got four cats ( all neutered /spayed ) and they stared getting harassed on a daily basis especially by " George " the sexually frustrated younger Tom cat. I totally lost it one afternoon and ended up bellowing like a fish wife at the woman next door.........she did get George "done" and things have quietened down a bit ( but he is still a nuisance ).

Good luck with getting something done about the Ginger Tom.

Amanda x

Hi Mrs BE - not on benefits - my pay just over threshold! But a friend who is in the Cat's protecton league knows a friendly vet - and she has a special trap for catching cats........
Friend would rather find the owner first... but I could always 'borrow' her trap!!!
Actually, once she hears what has happened to Betty, she'll probably be on night patrol! LOL

He shouldn't be too difficult to find then - he's kept me awake enough nights caterwauling.

I have an idea, probably not legal but..

Capture said Tom take him to the vets say he's your new cat and get him neutered.. if you're on benefits PDSA will do it for either free or cheap... if he's a stray he'll live longer and if he's not the owner will always wonder what happened to their sweet little "Ginge" :-))

LOL David!!

I've had to unlock the cat flap - Betty's biggest brother George wanted to go outside - he WILL NOT use a litter tray. They both went out together (like George the big whoos will be any good on the protection stakes LOL)
Betty didn't stay out long and is now in my bedroom with her other brother - she's on a pile of my clothes - he's in his usual position - spread all over my bed!

I once took a queen cat to be speyed, only to be told it was a neutered tom

Marion, my mum lives in Portugal, which has a similar problem to spain - stray cats/dogs. The vet neutered mum's first dog - but gave the second one a vasectomy!! Doesn't exactly solve the problem of him running off to find a bitch in heat!
When my sister lived in Ireland many years ago, she had terrible trouble trying to find a vet who would spay her cat - they just didn't seem to do it - didn't have the right anaesthetic etc.

Christine - that's a lovely story. Nice of the vet to spay it for free.
I have to admit to 'taking in' a stray or two in the past myself - (neighbours 'accidently' forgetting them when they moved etc) but not aggresive ones!!