I cannot understand people who don't mind their own business
By momiecat
@momiecat (997)
United States
August 3, 2008 10:24am CST
Last night I was feeding some feral cats in a colony on a residential street. There are neighbors who don't like cats. I put the food in a plastic bag and put it beside a tree on the parkway, which I believe is city property, not personal property. This older couple who hate cats and live in an apartment about two doors down, first the man comes out and goes toward the tree. He walked past the tree when he saw me. Then his evil wife comes out and goes to the tree where the food is. I approached them and at first tried to be civil. Then things started getting ugly. I told the two to mind their own business and go back home. It turned out the woman said she was going to call the cops (which she did). They speak a different language other than English, so it was a bit hard to communicate although I think they understood what I meant.
So, I stayed there, in my car, to make sure the cats got to eat their food and that no one would throw the food away. Well, the people that live in the house by the tree came home. Their stupid teenage son made a noise to scare the cats and then promptly went over to the tree, picked up the bag of food and took it across the street to a dumpster. So now we are dealing with two families in the neighborhood who don't like the cats. This is so sad. People are so cruel. There are some people around the area who do like the cats but one is an older lady who really physically cannot take the responsibility of feeding them.
A cop did come down the street but did not even stop and talk to me, for which I was glad. He just checked the street out. I wonder what kind of lie the old lady told the cops to get them to come out. Don't cops have better things to do with their time?Anyway, I am still very pissed at these uncaring people. A friend and I offered to TNR the colony (get them fixed but we would have to return them to the same place as it is very hard to place kitties right now). The 2 older people were insisting that we take the cats away for good. How dumb and uncaring people can be. If you don't like cats, why can't you just leave them alone and mind your own business?
I wish there were better laws out there to protect these poor homeless cats and to protect people like me who just want to help them live out their short lives in peace and not be bothered by selfish, self-centered people who do not care about anything but their own pitiful selves.
7 people like this
15 responses
@Tam_Tam (23)
• South Africa
3 Aug 08
I feel exactly the same about people who can't mind their business! I use to be a real softy and people pleaser and allowed everyone to step on me, until I started working and become more independent - That's when I went through a huge personality change and started to become fiesty. If people can't mind their own business, I now do my best to make the situation so uncomfortable for them by being a real smartass. One trick I have taught myself is, when someone sticks their noses in my business and try to "confront" me for something that's not necessary, I just look them straight and harshly in the eyes and be as sarcastic as possible - you won't believe how many of the trouble makers become uncomfortable and scramble off then!As for the kitteys, don't u have animal cops in your neighbourhood? I'm sure they will definitely take care of the cats and make sure they get good homes with people who actually love cats - its only fair towards them.
Good luck, I really hope everything works out!
4 people like this
@property (453)
• United States
3 Aug 08
Don't be too tough on the cop, you don't know what was said. He might have heard that someone was putting out trash that was attracting strays or something. But the noisy teenager would have gotten a piece of my mind... i would have rushed him when he started at the food and not let up until he went back inside. The old people would have been trickier to handle. i was taught to respect the elderly so i would have felt really bad when i beat them silly. See if they can start trouble with a broken hip. i am a cat lover as well. if i lived in your neighbor hood i'd have your back!!!
3 people like this
@mcat19 (1357)
• United States
3 Aug 08
Thank you so much for caring for these cats. I really wish there were more people like you. I hope you can get them spayed or neutered even if you have to put them back there. That way the colony won't increase in size. Some people should find a new world to live in, where there are no animals and no one has to be compassionate.
Thank you again. You are doing a wonderful thing.2 people like this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
3 Aug 08
Let me ask you this question. Do these feral cats have fleas and do the people in the neighborhood who are objecting to you feeding them have pets? The reason I ask is because we have several families of homeless cats and their kitties who roam our neighborhoods and I have befriended one or two of the little ones who have been brave enough to come close to me. They are covered with fleas and so I had to stop feeding my (mostly outside) cats on my deck because I did not want adult fleas, eggs, larva or pupa dropping off of them and onto my deck or property to reinvest my animals in between treatments. I'm not trying to be cruel to them, and would never be cruel to any animal but I do need to consider the health of my animals. Maybe these people worry about the same thing? Would it be possible to feed these cats in an area that is away from other people's property?
@Angra_Mainyu (377)
• United States
3 Aug 08
It might sound cruel but you shouldn't feed feral cats. There are many reasons why.
Feral cats will have 1 to 3 kittens. If you feed them they will have more. Therefore there will be larger litters expanding the population.
They will keep down the population of rodents if you don't feed them. If they are alive they are eating something. Cats are able to find their own food. My cat will catch moths out of the air and eat them.
Then there are fleas. They can spread them to your home because they are invited to the area. I know a feral cat will go where it pleases but if they are attracted to a certain area then I know fleas will soon congregate on you when you walk through the area.
I make sure they get fed during the fall and winter even though I know I probably shouldn't feed them. The winter fall and winter months are the hardest and help them build some fat reserves for the winter.
2 people like this
@wenczmastah (640)
• Philippines
4 Aug 08
yea.. sorry to say this but uhmm.. let them find their own food.. i think why those ppl don't like cats coz cats steals food, wack out shirts etc etc that make them mad and hate those cats
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
13 Dec 08
These cats are not breeding. She had them sterilized so they can NOT make babies. A well fed cat will be healthier and catch more mice than a sick hungry cat. They won't eat the mice, but they will catch them.
@rogue13xmen13 (14402)
• United States
4 Aug 08
I understand how you feel. My neighborhood is divided. Some of my neighbors and I are doing our best to help the cats in our neighborhood and to help the population because it is out of control, but we are doing it in the most humane way possible, and then, there are the neighbors who do not care about cats and they want to abuse them or do away with them altogether. Good for you for taking care of the cats.
1 person likes this
@Ceciliah (56)
• Canada
5 Aug 08
The sad thing is that these people feel they are in their rights and won't quit because they are cruel and ignorant. It's your money paying for the food so why are they so upset? The only thing I can think of for a temporary solution is to try and feed them either close to your property or right on it. We used to do that cause the Strata board for the Town Houses we live in said no feeding of the stray cats as this attracted rats. We had a huge fence around the back yard with a hole in it covered by a bush. they would quietly come and eat then leave without any problem and guess what? No rats, the cat population looked after that very well and I could never figure out why Strata could not put the 2 together. Well there is no law for feeding feral cats, but there is a law for cruelty so keep your eyes open for that, as ignorant people sometimes revert to that. Try to find anywhere else where these poor animals can feed without noisy neighbours being able to see. Obviously they have nothing better to do but pick on you and these poor cats. Well I sure hope you win this battle, I am going to look up all I can on feral cats and laws and if I find any thing that might be of use to you I will send you that information. What a world we live in, it's pretty sad when people let a little cat bother them to the point of calling the police. Good Luck, please keep us posted.
ceciliah
@dab7586 (11)
• United States
7 Sep 08
Nowadays we give more rights to animals then we do to humans. We worry more about how we treat animals than how we treat each other. That is pathetic. Now if someone wants to feed some stray cats well to each his own but it is right to be aware of the people around and what they mind and don't mind. They come first before some cats. We cant save every damn animal in this world and we need to get that through our head. If people could put all this focus and effort they put on animals on to how they raise there families how they treat each other and so on, we would eliminate a lot of problems in this world including animal cruelty. So why dont we all quit trying to fix a problem by starting in the middle of the problem and start at the beginning like we are supposed to.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
4 Aug 08
Have you ever thought of leading them to your house with food and then giving it to them outside your own property so that no one can say anything? I think that would be the best thing and also that way you will know if they are eating and are being taken care of. I hope that the cops do not come by later though as it really is not their say on if you feed the cats or not. I'm not sure about your pounds and such, but I do hope that they do not call the pound and get the cats put there. Anyway, Have a wonderful and lovely day to you!
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
13 Dec 08
O would have given that kid a piece of my mind. How dare he take the cats food away. How would he like it if someone came to his dinner table and grabbed his food and tossed it in the trash. GRRRRRR
I worked in a TNR project for a while and couldn't believe the number of people who wanted the cats relocated somewhere else. I told them there was nowhere else and they suggested inside my apartment. Hello?? I can't relocate a whole city's feral population to my place.
The nice people wanted to be sure they got there ferals back in their yard after desexing.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
5 Aug 08
Is it possible to move the kitties feeding station down a few doors from its present location. It would take time doing it a few meters at a time, but if they can be moved just a bit, maybe the mean people wouldn't have such fits about the cats.
My neighbors hate all animals and call the cops all the time on my animals. They also threw acid on one of my cats who snuck out of the house. I couldn't prove it was them, but I know it couldn't be anyone else. I hate people who hate animal.
@swennerholm (664)
• Sweden
4 Aug 08
That a kind of you..I like cats too..here in sweden cat is expensive to buy,so when i am walking the street i cant see any cat and i read somewhere in posting that someone looking for there cat,it amaze me because in my home town Philippines you can see cat wherever you go.Some people just stupid they just think of there self.cat have life too so they must respect that,i think they become like that because they are too old and never think about other life,why they just mind there own business,i dont like that kind of people.why they just can be nice for the cat.
@Lafemcrafts (475)
• United States
5 Aug 08
By my job is a bunch of cats that live in the sewer. I always buy some cat food and feed them .. a few other business's also feed them .. if they have fleas, have kittens .. they are still living and breathing. I would do the same thing. As far as the people go, not everyone is an animal lover and cares as you do . Can you try to put the food by the dumpster so the negibors won't give you a hard time ? Just an idea.
