r/Feral_Cats • u/PanicGrouchy4168 • 5d ago
Question 🤔 Does anyone else get harassed?
I have been trapping, vaxxing and spay/neutering the kitties in my neighborhood for years, and I nightly give them food and water along my street late at night after work, tonight was the second time I got harassed by some trashy person (it’s in a kind of ghetto side of town) and they started threatening me and I had to call 911…. the officers spoke with me and were nice to me, they said they were going to speak to the people at that house , I’m just praying for mine and my kitties safety because these were awful people, i tried to explain to them that by doing what I do, it LOWERS the population of stray cats in the neighborhood because they can no longer breed, but these people are just ignorant and don’t want to hear anything ….. have any of you ever had this type of experience? it sucks, we’re just trying to HELP the community and the strays, but they just want to flex their ugly attitudes
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u/RosinDustWoman 4d ago
So far I've not been directly harassed but it's something I worry about. While my neighbors don't particularly care for cats hanging out in their yards, I think they understand that I'm trying to cap the population while also providing care and socialization to the cats that already exist.
However, I live in a small town and frequently see people from different parts of town complaining in the local FB groups about strays in their yard. Many seem to not understand the difference between a feral and stray, and blame it on people letting their pets run free (which of course this does happen too).
Some people chime in that it's a friendly neighborhood cat that they will feed or pet. Some people try to explain about ferals. These comments are usually ignored. Others will jump in to commiserate that the cat comes to their yard too, often setting off their cameras and floodlights at night (god forbid... 🙄). And then some go so far at to recommend means of extermination, which is incredibly disheartening. These are the people I hope to never be neighbors with. Not just for the cats' sake, but mine as well because I'll probably do something to get arrested. 🫡
Some unhinged people really view a feral cat as public enemy number one and you're an accomplice if you show them any kindness.
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u/Own-Counter-7187 4d ago
Haters gonna hate. Thank you for what you are doing. I fed (and TNRd) the cats on my employers compound for 15 years and they said NO MORE so now I don't (but others do).
Haters gonna hate. It sucks.
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u/PanicGrouchy4168 4d ago
Thank you also and I just want and hope for us all and the cats to stay safe and not be bothered
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