Yard Feud - Ferral Cats

Baileysno1

Baileysno1

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I am fuming this morning! To cut a very long drawn out dramatic tale short here is what happened:

I was grooming Ryu and the yard cat was hanging around, it was on the ground around his legs and he stood on it, it was very dark the cat screeched and ran off into the bushes I searched for it but it had gone.

The cat was born to a wild mother I would describe them as semi ferral, the yard owner keep the around as mousers which they're good at.

Other liveries have taken it upon themselves to feed the cats and they are now hanging around the people and the horses more, hence the accident. I told said liveries what happened and if they'd keep an eye out for the cat TBH I suspected it was probably dead, we all joked about Ryu the cat killer (bad taste I suppose) Livery who was joking then reported me and my horse to YO who said it was awful what 'we'd done' and that she was really upset??!! YO said it was a bloody cat and to get over it and told them to stop feeding the cats and these things wouldn't happen.

Cat is resurected and appears back on the yard a week later, it has a gash on the top of its paw and a wound underneath, all seem to have closed up and look clean. It can walk, run and jump but holds the paw at rest, I'd say it was broken but was well on the way to healing cat is fully mobile eating and seems bright. The cat feeders say it needs the vet, I am reluctant to take it for the following reasons:

It isn't my bloody cat!

Its old and has never been contained inside

Its mobile and seems to be on the mend

Me & OH are alergic to cats so would not be able to undertake any aftercare

I'm not prepared to foot a vets bill on my own for its treatment (which would be inevitable)

It would be against the YOs wishes and it is her cat.


I am not a cat hater and would not let an animal suffer, this cat is not suffering, the YO is furious that this situation has escalated and I suspect if it goes on cat will 'mysteriously' dissapear, the cat feeders are 2 girls I've know for years and are basically put out that I've moved to the yard as last year they were the only liveries and had more grazing, it seems every little thing with them is an excuse to slate me.

On passing one this morning she was incredibly rude about something totally unrelated but it just really really got to me. I was great friends with these girls and they're fine when I'm subbing their feed money on the weekly order, or borrowing shavings, or sticking their horses breakfasts in GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
 
If that cat is living at the yard then it is YO responsability to resolve the situation.

To be honest these girls are not true friends if they are treating you in this way.
 
Sorry going to be unpopular here but if my horse had trodden on any cat and it was injured I'd take it to the vet regardless, whether it was a feral or not. If it really couldn't travel I would speak to the vet about getting some drugs to put in its feed to help.
 
You have done nothing wrong, the cat appears to be on the mend so leave well alone. As for the 2 girls on the yard, let them pay for their own feed & shavings, don't let them 'borrow' things from you. As for morning feeds, let them pay the YO to do it for them. Possibly they may see things a litle more clearly when they realise what you actually do for them.....or let them get away with
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if the cat seems to be using the foot and it is healing fine and no sign of any infection then tbh you would cause more distress to the cat by taking it to the vet than allowing it to continue the way it has done so far.We are not talking your average pet here,we are talking a semi feral cat.I am not saying that it should be treated any different than your average domestic cat but if nature is taking its course ok,then why put the cat through more distress.The cat will no doubt take more care around the horses in future and won't get under the horses feet again.
 
I've rang them they won't prescribe antibiotics or anything similar without seeing the cat, we've contacted the blue cross aswell if we take it in as a ferral/stray it will be rehomed out of the area, don't think that would go down well with YO.
 
I understand, in which case you have done all it is possible to do and if the cat is healing there is not much more you can do to help.
I bet the cat doesn't come near your horse again in a hurry!
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I've rang them they won't prescribe antibiotics or anything similar without seeing the cat, we've contacted the blue cross aswell if we take it in as a ferral/stray it will be rehomed out of the area, don't think that would go down well with YO.

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Terribly confused - in the original post you said that the YO told everyone to stop feeding the cats - so it sounds as if they couldn't give a fig about them.

Either way, if they're on the yard and being fed then I think that people (whether they like it or not) have a responsibility to look out for them. Sure, take them to the blue cross to get nuetered and spayed, and to try and get the kittens re-homed. But keep the older ones as they will be great mousers for you.
 
Feeding cats is the best way of stopping them mousing! Perhaps you should point out whilst your horse standing on them is immediatly fatal, feeding them so they become lazy and stop working will lead the YO to kill them all in the long run as they're now useless!
Cat sounds fine, the vet will only bung it on antibiotics for good measure and it doesn't need them. It's probably carrying something far more fatal than a sore paw, being feral, anyway!
 
I agree with Toby. You've done nothing wrong, it was an accident that your horse trod on it and it seems fine. The YO isn't fussed so I'd just leave it.... And DEFINITELY not sub for those ungrateful little madams, feed their horses or any of the like. I'm sure this will blow over soon enough.
 
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Feeding cats is the best way of stopping them mousing

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Ah, how I wish that were true. I own four very well fed cats. All of them are great mousers, and I have lots of 'gifts' from them on a weekly basis.

The yard cats on my previous yard were also excellent mousers - and ratters - despite having as much food as they wanted.

So - sorry, you're wrong!
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It's not your cat - if the YO wants to take it to the vet she will. You shouldn't feed semi feral yard cats - they can look after themsleves and help by keeping the mice down in the process.

I might have taken the cat to the vet if I had found it injured by my horse sooner, in pain etc., and I would probably have had it pts as it would be rather difficult to treat a semi feral cat with the appropriate tlc and drugs etc. Can you imagine it with a collar on to stop it chewing its stitches for example? But not now its all healed and doing OK I'd leave it be, the same way I would leave a limping wild rabbit or fox be.
 
johnson59 I think you've hit it on the head there, the cats are alive because they've being kept as mousers its not that YO dosen't care its that if you feed the cats they won't kill the vermin.

I do feel guilty about the accident but then resent the pressure from the 'feeders' to go against YO wishes and take it in, especially since their behaviour has lead to the problem.
Also the cats leg is not hanging off if it was and it couldn't eat / feed then of course I would reconsider and take it myself.

If Ryu had stood on YO's pet cat no doubt she would've freaked and of course she'd have taken it in and we'd have come to an arrangement over costs etc, but then a domestic cat would cope with the treatment and YO would do the aftercare. But then it isn't fed in the stables so it wouldn't get stood on.
 
I agree that if it seems ok leave it alone. I'm amazed you got close enough to see the injury. I was at a yard where one of the cats would jump down from the gallery on the horses in the school. One day it picked the wrong horse (mine) and ended up being slammed into the side of the school. It eventually got up and I told YO. We kept an eye out for it and it was a bit slow for a few days, but soon recovered and never did it again. Luckily none of the other liveries saw and I kept my mouth shut!
 
i quite agree - if the yard owner is happy that you don't need to take any further action, then it doesn't matter what the 'feeders' are saying.... and in any case its their fault the accident happened to start with!

grrr.... (in agreement with you!)
 
We have a semi feral cat who lives out and is feed by one of the yard owners now she is the only wild cat at the yard and our mice and rat problems are not as bad as they used to be when we had two feral cats also(got run over) it seems to me that feeding them doesnt stop them killing these mice and rats i think alot of it is to do with fun! Our cat hardly ever eats them but if she does its everything which is disgusting. She seems fine with being fed and still catching mice! might be a bit of a myth I think about feeding stops cats catching!
 
So is it a livery yard or a cattery, if it's livery then everything else takes it's chances when dodging around horses feet, those encouraging the cats are to blame, perhaps they should take it to the vets if they are that bothered, I take it you pay the same livery fee as the others, in which case you have every right to be there, if others have a problem with that it's exactly that, "their" problem, the world would be so much better without people.
 
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Feeding cats is the best way of stopping them mousing


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Ah, how I wish that were true. I own four very well fed cats. All of them are great mousers, and I have lots of 'gifts' from them on a weekly basis.

The yard cats on my previous yard were also excellent mousers - and ratters - despite having as much food as they wanted.

So - sorry, you're wrong!

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Second that! I have three semi ferral cats and it's well documented that cats hunt more successfully for fun than for food.
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I also agree with the feeding of the yard cats. I have two at the yard, both of whom get fed every day and yet they are still phenomenal mousers. Our yard is next to a big grain store and used to be overrun with mice and rats and now you hardly see a thing, and if you do, it is usually already dead.
The other day one of the cats ate her breakfast and then in front of everyone proceeded to seek out therats in the grain store, in fact killing four giant rats (she's a tiny cat and they were all easily bigger than her!) in one day!

I've actually found that if you don't give the yard cats some food then they will actually run off elsewhere to find someone who will feed them because there is always someone around who will and cats aren't stupid. Because mine are fed everyday they are very loyal and stick very close to the property whilst still doing the job they are there for very well.
 
The cat is obviously fine and as said above the vet won't be able to do much now so best to leave it. Cats are amazing survivors so am sure it isn't causing the cat a problem.

It is the YO responsibility to take it to the vet if he/she is that worried about it.
 
If the cat is on the mend then leave it alone, cats find trips to the vet very stressful and I doubt to be honest if you managed to catch it, whether by the time you got to the vets it would be calm enough to be handled. If its paw is broken then it will rest it by using the other 3 legs and the paw will heal in time.
Dont take any notice of the girls who feed it, if they were so concerned they should CATCH it and take it!
By the way feeding them does not in any way hinder their hunting instinct.
 
Not your cat, not your fault it got trodden on (you didnt ask it to go near your horse!), Not your responsibility to take it to or pay for vets fees! If those girls want it seen to they can catch it - get clawed to death, try and box it up, have it wee and poo in their car then claw the vet, and pay for the privilage!

Next time - dont tell anyone!!
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I once had a stray dog get too mear my old horse, nipping at her legs, horse kicked it got it square on but dog ran off. Was I following it - was i heck damn thing tried to attack us so ti got its just deserts!!
 
Having had cats on the yard for years - I confess I do like them, I have 3 of my own at home and I do feed the yard cat treats as he is a good little companion on the nights I am up late I can understand why the girls are upset that it was injured but should not blame you for what was an accident.

However, this cat is feral and if it is not in great distress then it is best to leave it alone. Having caught ferals before to take them for spaying, it is very difficult and causes distress no matter how careful you are.

Obviously if is starts to show signs of infection then either catch it - I used to wear full motorcyle leathers - they have deadly sharp claws or do as I once did with one that had a road accident and got the game keeper to shoot it - in this case it was far more humane than catching it to take to the vet to be pts.

If the girls are that bothered they can take it to the vet and at the end of the day accidents happen - Oliver has half a tail where he was trod on as a kitten - he is now careful round the horses and waits for me to sit down on the chair to have a cuddle.
 
If it looks like its Ok then I shouldnt worry (I must confess Id have taken it to the vets) We have three cats and they mooch about doing jack sh!t all day but they are worth their weight in gold against rodents and as such I wouldnt wish any kind of pain on them or any animal infact.
 
If I had been able to get hold of the cat just after the injury I would have taken it to the vets. If my horse had injured it I would feel it was my responsibility to make sure it wasn't suffering. I've become very fond of yard cats before now and would be very upset with someone who wasn't prepared to help if the cat had been injured by their horse, car or whatever, although in this situation if you couldn't find the cat there was really nothing you could do.
Now the cat is looking ok I don't see there is anything to be gained now in taking it to the vet. I would probably just keep an eye on it and only take it to the vets if it was deteriorating.
Agree that feeding cats does not stop them hunting. Most of mine are a bit past it now but my youngest cat is a real killer despite being well fed and looking like butter wouldn't melt.
 
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