Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Feeding other people's cats
Dear everyone
Cats have completely different digestive systems to humans, which is why there is food especially for cats - you'll see lots of it in your local supermarket, pet shop and on-line pet food stores.
If cats eat food meant for humans, it can upset their systems and can even cause long term damage to their livers and kidneys, which is very distressing to witness.
Therefore, when a friendly healthy cat appears in your garden, or in your street, PLEASE do not feed it. He or she is getting absolutely everything it needs at home.
One of my cats is somewhat "challenged" and he loves everyone and everything and will eat anything offered. He came home smelling of bacon last night and didn't want his Hill's Science Healthy Development (for kittens up to 1 year)!!
If you really can't resist giving a cat a treat, just pick up a packet of Dreamies next time you're in the supermarket and give a cat two or three. They'll still come visit but what you give them won't be doing them harm.
Thank you!
Bridget
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liilly Grenouille on
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Thanks Bridget !
This is especially true when you've got a sick got, who need a special diet (for diabete, thyroid, obesity, etc...) !
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Permalink Reply by tulips on
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Yes I wouldn't want anyone feeding my rescue cats either, plus most of them are on special food - although I'm sure no one else is feeding mine as my neighbours know them anyway. My cats love their garden, but don't tend to wander far beyond it - they have a cat flap and know that there is always food down for them inside whenever they want it. Unlike your nice friendly cat, mine are wary of strangers! Like you say, hopefully it's obvious when they are owned healthy well looked after cats.
There are safety release collars with whatever you want written on them - such as Please Do Not Feed, On Special Diet and your phone number which you can get from www.kittycollars.co.uk
Hopefully your cat hasn't found a way to get round the front on to the street and found a discarded bacon sandwich! I always worry if I see someone's cat out the front as it's a dangerous place for a cat to be.
As for wildlife, I like wildlife too. I keep my cats safe inside at night as it reduces the risk of cats getting lost or injured and it helps protect wildlife too. Plus it's best that cats are not outside at dusk/dawn, when wildlife are more vulnerable. We have bird feeders in our garden on high poles and we've had a thriving bird population for years - robins, sparrows, blackbirds, blue tits etc and as well as sunflower hearts etc we've discovered that sparrows love canadian canary seed!
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Permalink Reply by Bridget Hunt on
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Thanks Annee - great article! Amazing what the Americans do, isn't it? Electric fence makes me shudder. Thanks also Justine - will definitely get three of those safety release collars for my 9 month kitten-cats. As the article says, getting them home to me wearing one of them with my phone number on, will be a lot quicker than just their chips.
Harley's somewhat brain damaged (difficult birth) so he operates totally on instinct, is fearless and loves everyone. He's a bundle of joy but he does tend to wander. He got scared or was chased by something a couple of months ago and was missing for 17 hours - found him some distance from me, up a tree, but history doesn't relate if he spent the whole time up there! He's not tended to go out the front since, thank goodness. Some of my neighbours have barbeques - and I think that's where his tummy leads him. Even if they don't read this Forum, they'll notice a collar saying "please don't feed me" !!
Thanks again!
Bridget
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I'm sure there's useful advice in Annee's article, but no I don't fancy electric fencing, I guess that must be an American thing!
Their cat flap advice is a bit outdated for here. Cats love the freedom of going outside, and I think they do need a cat flap - if they don't have one they are more likely to wander, get lost or go looking for shelter as they get stuck outside for hours when their owners are out. My cats are never allowed out the front as I don't want them near a road, but they love using their cat flap into the back garden.Microchip cat flaps are good like Sureflap or otherwise cat flaps operated by a magnet (on a safety release collar). The Sureflap microchip pet door version even has a curfew mode which is handy. We've still got the Catmate 4 way locking cat flap which has worked well for years with their magnets. Our cat flap is locked at night so that our cats are safe inside.
Well done Bridget for microchipping your cats. Animal shelters are overloaded with animals needing homes and many are there because people haven't neutered their pets or not microchipped their pets (or not given the microchip company their up to date contact details).It's so important for everyone to get their pets neutered and microchipped before allowing them outside unsupervised. So many healthy animals are put down every day and this could be avoided if everyone got their pets neutered and microchipped and gave homes to rescue animals.
As for cats deemed to be feral, often they're not feral cats born on the street, they're simply stray cats which have been lost or abandoned for a long time, living on the street. Stray cats do need help in the neighbourhood - and a good home if no owner can be found. (There are lots needing homes here www.scratchingpost.co.uk)
Your cats sound like good fun Bridget, all the best!
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Hi Justine
My 3 are always locked in at night - actually I start getting worried if they're not in by 8.30 and that'll get earlier as the nights draw in! They have free run of the house so there's always somewhere for them to shelter from inclement weather, though they all seem to enjoy getting wet (usually the day after I've washed the floors) but revel in being dried off with an old towel. They can't have read The Manual which says cats generally don't like water...
Harley discovered the way to the front by himself. I live in the middle of a terrace but he'd obviously worked out that, by going garden to garden to the end of the terrace, he could get into the street and then appear on my window sill at the front. He took great delight in doing this until his great adventure. Murphy accidently found the way to the front and looked very confused when we saw each other. Happily, he only did it twice. Skye usually does things about a month after Murphy, so I'm waiting for her meandering!
I looked into the microchip cat flaps but, as my three seem to go in or out of the flap at Mach speed most of the time, it wouldn't give the reader sufficient time to check their chips and open the door and they'd all get impatient and bash it into submission. Maybe when they're a bit older!
They're definitely good fun but don't cats take up a lot of bed space?!!
Cheers,Bridget
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Yes I agree! Our cats are more in the 10 - 20 year old age bracket and our old cat flap has been bashed so much over the years, I'm surprised it's still working!
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Old cat flap: we replaced (i.e. put back) our old manual flap having tried a magnet/relay+magnet-on-collar one - the fairly loud click when the flap was released spooked the cat and it refused to use it.
Do the modern chip-reading ones sound the same i.e. a very audible click when the flap is released?
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Reckon that's one for Justine to respond to!!
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Permalink Reply by Leane on
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We have a chip reading cat flap and there is an audible electronic beep when the chip is read for the door to be released. Our cats took a while to get used to it, but were bribed with Dreamies until they got used to the noise.
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Permalink Reply by tigha on
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Thanks for that Bridget
people shouldnt feed cats coming into their gardens full stop.If your not sure if they are properly being looked after put a collar on the cat with a bit of paper wrapped round with your details,to call you- You will soon find the full story or if not, feed away
but yes cats are notoriously fussy eaters and would like a stable diet of probably just chicken, fish, prawns etc probably not too good overall for all dietary needs or for bank balance- I try to give my cats a heathy diet but they do love a bowl of whiskas or fish or chicken etc and will eat it like they are starved. I would hate people feeding my cats, you wouldnt go round offering sweats, chocolates to stranger,s children even though they would snatch it off you -its no different
as for buying dreamies and giving them- dont even think that should be done- its still rubbish- and i want to monitor how much rubbish my cats get without others adding to it when i dont know, and then I cant understand why i cant keep my cats weight down
as for humans left overs- DONT DO IT_ IT IS REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD FOR CATS- they love it at least my cats do, bacon, especially- but it leads to pancreatitus which then kills them so dont do it. I thought cats wouldnt eat anything that was bad for them. WRONG- plain chicken, fish fine- but no herbs, spices or fat
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The lucky cats are the ones which have good homes, well cared for, neutered and microchipped. Unfortunately there are also cats which aren't so lucky.
In the neighbourhood, there are many cats which are abandoned, neglected, stray, not neutered or lost. These are cats which need help and also neutering is vital.
If anyone out there is worried about a cat, please do try to help them. If you don't know what to do - just follow the advice on Tips on Found Cats which you will find on www.stokeycatsanddogs.co.uk
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