I live in Utah and it is well known in the neighborhood that we have a neighbor who is putting tuna into a cage and trapping peoples PET cats. This has happened to multiple neighbors, many of which have complained and called the police. The police did absolutely nothing and said they are allowed to bait and trap cats due to them being on their property. This couple, who are trapping the pets, are refusing to give them back to their owners after they caught them, and they are refusing even after the cops were called. The cops did nothing and said there was nothing they could since it was their property. Mind you, they could see my neighbors cat who was meowing and visibly in a cage without water and food, and they still did nothing. They said it was legal as long as they handed them over to the shelter within 48 hours. However, this happened to one of my cats in the past. And they were not taken to a shelter. Our cat had a tracker on her, the tracker said she was at the dump….This same thing has happened to many different neighbors, none of which found their cat at a shelter or ever got them back. Pretty sure they’re killing them. There is no way this is legal, but the cops don’t want to deal with it. Any advice?
Edit: adding a photo from my neighborhood facebook group that a neighbor posted, just to give some extra info. neighbors facebook post
ALSO… I’m very aware that cats should be kept inside. Our cat escaped when I was trying to bring in groceries and I was unable to grab her. Telling me to just leave my cat inside isn’t helpful. I know that. The problem is that there will still be a neighbor of mine who is maliciously going out of his way to set up multiple traps throughout his yard with tuna for the sole purpose of disposing of them. If you’ve ever had a cat you’d know how hard it is to keep them from doing what they want. Plus what happens when a little kid in the neighborhood accidentally lets out their pet kitty? Or a new neighbor moves in and is unaware? Not to mention that there are sometimes stray cats too. Those cats are going to face unnecessary cruelty and abuse from this man. There’s no way this is legal but it seems like people keep telling us we’re just gonna have to deal with it
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This is messed up. Keep recording everything and gather proof, connect with neighbors whose cats went missing too. The cops might not help, so reach out to animal control, the humane society, or the district attorney, this counts as animal cruelty and could be criminal. You could also go to local media, sometimes public pressure makes them act
I would go up the ranks in politics, I would do some research on ownership laws and see if what the police are saying is on the books. I don’t see how they have a right to capture a cat and then the police say the thieves have the right to hold them for 48 hours or not give them back. I would find an advocacy group like a Humane society that deals with abuse reports, etc. It might be for your county. Just keep getting info and track it where it leads and keep a log of it. Especially if you talk to the neighbor, save audio, video, email, everything. What a complete scum!
if the police wont do anything go to the media. contact the local papers, contact the tv stations and go on nextdoor. essentially shame the police into doing their job. animal cruelty isnt a crime? give me a break, they dont want to do their job.
Keep your cats inside. Period. Zero sympathy for people who leave their cats to fend for themselves. This is what will happen to them- hit by a car, eaten by wild animals, or hurt by human beings. Tale as old as time. Be a better pet owner- you won’t have to deal with the heartbreak, and the cat won’t have to suffer the consequences of having a negligent care taker.
This is really fucked up, but it seems like the easy answer is not to let you cat outside
Keep them in the house.
First of all, keep the cats inside.
Next, find a source of a lot of skunks and find a way to get them to this property. Raccoons will do as well.
Cats should not be outside to roam, they are killing machines.
Flood the market with cats. Go to a shelter and adopt all the cats. Release them in the neighborhood.
Report it to animal control and the humane society. While I agree that your pets should be kept indoors, killing pet cats is very much illegal and considered animal cruelty. Frankly, if I had an animal that was chipped and had been baited like that, my first step would be reporting it stolen.
Be careful. People who are cruel to animals are often violent toward humans as well.
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Get a dog?
Keep your cat inside – simple
This exact thing happened to my family cat. Neighbor baited traps with cat food. Neighbor claimed cats were clawing at their posts. My cat was declawed. They took cat to pound, didn’t say anything to neighbors. We eventually found ‘Stripes’ at the pound, but he had gotten very ill. Something he caught from the other cats. We’ll the doctors said it triggered diabetes and Stripes would need regular insulin shots. My parents put him to sleep.
There is a ton of stuff in the category of “can’t do anything about”. What you need to do is make your shit more annoying than they are willing to put up with – there is your leverage.
Bahiagrass seeds into their lawn will cause them to have to mow every week. Go full petty.
Also – keeping cats inside generally increases lifespan drastically. But not ever letting a cat outside is another type of torture, and I don’t wish that on my cat. It really depends where you live though – unless you have a good amount of land in a low traffic neighborhood, not a great idea.
Trump is gonna love that story… They’re eating your pets!!!
Keep your cat indoors always. Too many psychos out there that delight in the torture and killing of animals. The fact that they’re baiting them when they obviously don’t like them tells me all we need to know about them. Call the news. And please tell everyone to keep their kitties indoors.
I stole the neighbors trap. Twice. She stopped.
I think I would notify PETA so they can stake out the neighbor and shame them.
Keep your cats inside. EZ
Where I live Coyotes are everywhere. Every so often someone mentions seeing a coyote with a cat in its mouth. What’s the typical response? Kill/relocate all coyotes. It’s never “keep your cats indoors”
I have zero sympathy for cat owners that allow their cats to roam the streets. Coming up with excuses why cats leave the house will fall on deaf ears. Irresponsible cat owners are the problem.
Time to do your own stuff that makes them unbelievably miserable without breaking the law.
Personally, I’d be a lot meaner to someone purposefully targeting my pets, but I can’t make those recommendations on Reddit.
I wish I could downvote in one fell swoop every single post only saying to keep your cats inside rather than offering a solution to the problem of how to deal with your malicious neighbors.
Contacting societies that deal with animal rights seems like the first step. Make sure you have documented proof in case it goes to court. Since you have had chipped pets taken and killed by them, you could possibly sue for destruction of property (again, providing documented evidence where possible), maybe with the help of other neighbors whose cats have been taken.
If all else fails, anonymously give your story and proof to news or social media and essentially dox and expose them to the court of public opinion.
Advice: Don’t let your cat outside.
Here’s your solution : https://articles.hepper.com/diy-outdoor-cat-enclosure-plans/
Advice? Don’t be an irresponsible pet owner and keep them inside.
If your cat was at the dump – I’m afraid it was put down at the shelter. That’s what many of them do, just dispose of them at the dump. It makes me sick.
Cats should be kept inside. I’m not excusing their behavior, but it’s a simple correlation.
If they are outside they are not pets, they are strays.
If you let your cat out of your protection you, and no one else, is responsible for whatever happens to them.