What To Do When Your Neighbor Feeds Stray Cats

Many people can relate to the experience of feeling sad and helpless when they see stray cats and dogs. Some people feel so badly, they feed the stray cats to ensure they don’t starve. While this is a kind gesture, it’s easy to feel concerned about your neighbor feeding stray cats.

If your neighbor feeds stray cats, you should pay attention and see if more and more cats continually show up. That can indicate that, by feeding the strays, your neighbor is inadvertently disrupting the food chain and local ecosystem. However, there’s no need to worry about your neighbor casually feeding a few stray cats every once in a while.

You should be more concerned if you notice that new kittens are showing up and they rely on your neighbor. Follow along as we explore what to do when your neighbor feeds stray cats.

Should I Worry If My Neighbor Feeds Stray Cats?

You should only worry when your neighbor feeds stray cats if it’s constant and you notice certain changes. Feeding stray cats is a kind, empathetic act, and you should commend your neighbor for that. However, you should worry if you notice newborn kittens showing up after your neighbor has been feeding strays for a while.

That’s because stray cats are more likely to reproduce when they have a steady food source. If that food source comes from your neighbor, then the cats will likely stick around and reproduce. This can cause problems for you if the stray cats enter your yard and scratch, urinate on, or destroy your belongings. However, you should be more worried about the other pests that the food your neighbor puts out will attract. The food can attract mice, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and other pests. There’s no reason to be angry at your neighbor, but you may want to start a conversation if this continues.

Pros And Cons Of Feeding Stray Cats

Feeding stray cats comes with a few pros and cons, which vary based on context and circumstance. Naturally, stray cats must eat, and it’s sad if they can only eat when your neighbor feeds them. However, feeding stray cats can also lead to a dangerous overpopulation of feral cats. Follow along as we explore the pros and cons of feeding stray cats.

Pros

Help Cats That Are In Need

Feeding stray cats typically comes from a place of love and empathy. It’s hard to watch an adorable animal go hungry, whether it’s the peak of summer or the dead of winter. Most people who feed stray cats do so because they see the cat is in need. Feeding stray cats can be fulfilling, as you don’t always get the chance to help other people and animals. Granted, some people don’t think about the snowball effect that sometimes comes along with feeding stray cats. However, you can’t necessarily blame someone for trying to do something nice for some hungry animals.

Provides An Opportunity To Help Them Further

Some people who feed stray cats do so with ulterior motives. For example, feeding stray cats makes it easier to capture them and ensure their safety. This is the easiest way to collect stray cats and get them spayed or neutered, which is important. Some spay and neuter programs also involve vaccinating the cats and treating them for injuries. Many stray cats are exposed to diseases and get injured in scraps with other stray cats. By feeding them, you can build enough trust to bring them in for treatment.

Spaying and neutering stray cats helps ensure they can’t reproduce, which helps with overpopulation issues. Stray cats can cause problems in the local ecosystem, as they kill birds and other mammals at alarming rates and impact the food chain.

Cons

Encourage Overpopulation

The biggest downside of your neighbor feeding stray cats is that it may encourage overpopulation. Well-fed cats are more likely to reproduce, and well-fed females can give birth more often. The more frequently you feed stray cats, the more likely you are to attract more stray cats. This can increase the chances of these strays reproducing, and the problem can quickly get out of hand. While feeding stray cats is nice, it can create an imbalance in the local ecosystem when the cat population increases too quickly. This shouldn’t be a problem if your neighbor occasionally feeds stray cats. You should only worry if it’s a constant problem or if you notice strange behavior.

Behavioral Changes

In the wild, cats typically act as avid predators who hunt their food. Just like with alligators and other predators, you can change a wild cat’s behavior by feeding it too often. Stray cats may eventually lose their predatory instincts and rely on your neighbor to feed them.

While that’s okay for domesticated cats whose owners feed them daily, it can cause problems for stray cats. For example, if your neighbor moves after a year of feedings, the stray cats may simply not know what to do. This can disrupt their instincts and leave them unfit to hunt for their food as they normally would in the wild. In that situation, it’s hard to find a middle ground between domesticating a stray cat and letting them find food on their own. It’s okay to feed stray cats, but your neighbor should think twice before letting stray cats become dependent on them.

What To Say To Your Neighbor About Feeding Stray Cats

If you’re worried about your neighbor feeding stray cats, you should politely bring the topic up. Don’t be accusatory, and instead approach the subject with curiosity and understanding. Otherwise, you can politely explain what you’re worried about, such as cat overpopulation. It may be as simple as them saying that they’re temporarily feeding a few local stray cats. If that seems correct and the problem isn’t out of hand, you may have nothing to worry about. However, you’re right to feel concerned if the number of stray cats in the area continually increases because your neighbor is feeding them.

You may also want to mention local trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs if there’s a problem with feral cats. The key is to ensure you don’t start a contentious conversation with your neighbor. They probably have good intentions, and there’s a chance that the situation isn’t as bad as it seems.

Summing It Up

If your neighbor feeds stray cats, you may simply want to observe and see how often it happens. However, it’s worth discussing the situation with your neighbor if you see that they constantly feed stray cats. That’s because the cats may reproduce, and they can become over-reliant on your neighbor. This can affect the local food chain, so it’s worth voicing your concerns.

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• How To Make Your House Safe For Cats
• Four Cat Grooming Tips That Affect Your House (And Furniture)