The Student Room Group

Leaving the cat for uni :(

This sounds like a stupid problem, but hopefully people with pets will know what I mean :p:
Well basically we've had a cat coming into our garden for a couple of years. Shes always in the garden, its like shes claimed it as her territory. We know she has an owner but the family who own her are really rough (they've had the police called on them loads of times as theyre really violent and they smash things, are always drunk, make loads of noise etc) and they dont seem to take care of her very well. Shes had fleas for a while and they feed her the odd bit of chicken in the evening (which i dont think is very good for her and she doesnt really seem to eat enough). Shes basically left to her own devices as they have about 5 other cats.

Over the years we've built up a little relationship, I actually feel like shes my cat. She always cheers me up and makes me feel better when I'm stressed out. Every time i'm in the garden she comes up to me and rolls over and lets me stroke her etc. I'm going to uni next week and on top of that, my family are moving house while I'll be living in the halls so its likely that we'll move and I'll never see her again. Its actually making me a bit upset, I feel like I'm going to be losing my own pet and I dont want her to feel abandoned.

I want my own cat but my family dont want a pet. I just really dont want to leave her. I just wish there was some way I could adopt her or something, i dont want to leave her behind. Please take this seriously as I really am going to miss her :frown:

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Reply 1
There's nothing you can do. You can't take their cat, it's not yours to take. If you think you'll miss being around animals so much then get a job at a cattery/pet shop while you're at uni.
If you suspect the cat isn't being treated right, surely you can call the RSPCA
Reply 3
You could steal the cat and run away to start a new life together in cambodia.
Reply 4
I'm obviously not going to run away with her, i'll just miss her a lot :frown:
Reply 5
I'm going to miss my dog lots too.
Reply 6
aww, i felt like that about a cat that used to come round my house, she was lovely :smile:

i dont think her owners were drunk or violent, but they definately didnt take very good care of her. I think they had several other cats who were expensive breeds and they didnt seem very bothered about little cyd...

After a few years they moved away and left her here, a lady a couple of doors down from me started looking after her, but she still liked to sleep on my bed for years

I cried such a lot when she died last year :frown: she was 18 though, so i suppose i couldnt have expected her to stay around longer


anyway, people are right... you can't take the cat with you, but i understand how attatched you can feel to an animal so it'll be difficult
I'm not going to miss my cats tbh. I like 'em well enough, but it's no big deal for me.
Reply 8
like someone said, call the RSPCA. if shes not getting fed properly and her owners are well known for being violent, thats probably the best thing to do.
Reply 9
I'm going to miss my cat. He sleeps on my back at night, it'll be really weird not having him there.

I agree that there's not really anything you can do for that cat. The RSPCA are unlikely to be able to actually do anything about it, and it's very difficult to get hold of them to even try.
Aw that poor cat! :frown:

Call the RSPCA first, and then see what happens after that - perhaps they may let you keep the cat :smile:

Good luck!

DBx

P.S. Same thing here, our neighbours totally neglected/poorly mistreated their cat, but they moved house and abandoned him which is why he's now ours. Looks like you need to ask permission first :p:
if i were you i'd steal the cat and take it to a shelter.
Reply 12
Call the RSPCA, but other than that there's nothing you can do- just look forward to having your own cat when you get your own home. I miss miss my cat more than my family!! She has always been mostly a wild lunatic- mainly living out and coming in for food, never sitting on my lap or anything- but she was always there for a cuddle when I was upset....Recently though it's as if she's know's I'm leaving, I can't sit down without a black and white fluffball coming to sit on me!! She's become very cuddly, won't leave the garden and is always around where I am...God, I will miss her SO much :frown: :frown:
Reply 13
I don't think you should steal the cat, and calling the RSPCA before even talking to your neighours will only cause problems.

Do you have a sibling friend on the road who'll feed the cat for you? Or at least keep an eye on it to check it's healthy?

Remember cats can catch their own food and it should be able to fend for itself generally, as long as someone keeps an eye on it.
Interesting you're more concerned about missing a random cat that's not even yours than you are about missing your family, friends, etc.

Anyway, as Squirly said ifyou miss cats get a job in a cattery or summat. It isn't your cat, don't try and take it. Maybe phoning the RSPCA with concerns, though, might be a good idea. They can't do anything if they don't know, and they'd probably do something like monitor the situation until they know if something's actually wrong.
Reply 15
Francypants
I don't think you should steal the cat, and calling the RSPCA before even talking to your neighours will only cause problems.


except that they're not gona be her neighbours anymore
Maybe you could offer to buy it from your neighbours?
They dont sound like they care for it much, so maybe theyd be willing to part with it?
I can empathise with missing pets. I have 2 cats that ill miss while at uni
agree with ben thackray, whats your unis stance on animals, if they are liberal bout them why dont you talk to the neighbours
Reply 18
Anonymous
I'm obviously not going to run away with her, i'll just miss her a lot :frown:


Don't see why not :rolleyes: I think you should :biggrin:

Seriously now, well, as I've heard, cats make up their own minds about things, as it were. At least in Germany, they're like that - cats choose their own homes, they come into certain homes that they like and the family claim them as "their" cats. One day they'll simply disappear and it simply means either the cat's found a new household, or it's gone off to die in a dignified manner, unseen and unheard, quietly.

Now I know this is England, but why can't you apply the same rules as in Germany countrysides? :biggrin: They're still cats so their nature would be the same. Certainly that cat isn't gonna miss its original household.
Reply 19
Years ago a cat started coming into our garden, he was mangy, ugly and mean. But my mum kept trying to talk to him and give him food and stuff, eventually he decided our house was better than the first floor flat he lived in. His owners moved away any my mum contacted them and said 'Oh, you're the lady who took our cat' and my mum said 'No, your cat took us', haha. He died a few years ago :frown: But he was nice. We still have one fat cat (who I will miss very very much when I leave).

BUT, see if there is an cat shelter near you, there is one near me and I find helping out there is a lovely way to get the catty contact you need regularly. Although they'll expect you to clean, they won't mind if you spend time cuddling whilst you do it :biggrin: