- Joined
- Mar 3, 2024
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 5
I have lived with this person for almost three years but known them for years before that. They have two female cats. They only feed the cats twice a day in a small dish: once in the morning before work and once again after getting home from work. The cats then have to wait approximately 14 hours to eat again. He barely shows them any affection, does not play with them, and until recently they had to use a litterbox downstairs that was only changed when he remembered to. The basement was also littered with feces and urine stains from when the cats didn't want to use the box. He has since cleaned up the basement before I was able to take a picture showing the state of it. I purchased a litter box for them recently at his request. However, he only did so because one of the cats started pooping upstairs in the bathroom, the dining room, and the living room. He also doesn't change the litter and after waiting two weeks I did it myself and continue to do so every week. I have done my best to make up for his shortcomings but he has recently become very belligerent toward me for my interest in his cats' wellbeing. He told me I was "playing catdad because I was too much of a coward to get my own cat". At the same time he told one of our other housemates who was considering getting a cat that she wasn't allowed to because his cats don't get along with other cats. He considers his cats his possessions and "his animals" but not his pets.
I am moving out in a few months due to problems with him and another housemate but I'm at my wits end regarding the cats. I do not want to leave them in this situation of physical and emotional neglect. He has also, to my knowledge, never taken them to the vet. If he has done so it has not been while I've lived here. I am very worried about what their fate will be once I am not around to care for them. Trying to find out if there's any legal recourse has been difficult.
I have discussed his neglect of the cats with him many times in as kind language as I could muster but his belligerent turn has made that impossible. He just doesn't seem to care. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? I'd rather not involve animal control or a shelter as the cats have always been together and I don't want them to be split up (or worse).
I am moving out in a few months due to problems with him and another housemate but I'm at my wits end regarding the cats. I do not want to leave them in this situation of physical and emotional neglect. He has also, to my knowledge, never taken them to the vet. If he has done so it has not been while I've lived here. I am very worried about what their fate will be once I am not around to care for them. Trying to find out if there's any legal recourse has been difficult.
I have discussed his neglect of the cats with him many times in as kind language as I could muster but his belligerent turn has made that impossible. He just doesn't seem to care. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? I'd rather not involve animal control or a shelter as the cats have always been together and I don't want them to be split up (or worse).