Is it okay to feed someone else's outdoor cat?
Feeding a neighbor's cat without knowing their dietary needs can cause unexpected health issues or make it hard for the owner to change the cat's routine. It leaves well-meaning neighbors torn between ignoring a persistent, hungry animal at the window and risking the cat's safety.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Keeping outdoor pets indoors to prevent strangers from feeding them
- 2Putting a tag on the cat asking not to be fed
- 3Stopping feeding the cat
- 4Physically walking the cat back to the owners' home
- 5Closing the window to prevent the cat from entering
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“She is currently scratching my window and of my fuck I feel so bad. She’s 6 years old and I know she’s theirs but ffs give her some treats or something not some bland bs brand at least for a couple days until she changes her routine ugh.”source ↗
“I honestly don’t know like should I just ignore her if she scratches at my window? I probably should but she looks at me so disappointed and sad ugh and she hasn’t eaten properly for days now”source ↗
“I wondered if catnip would be a bad idea, after all, I realised I was wrong to feed him treats.”source ↗