Leaving cats outside? :/

[Bunraku]

You know, I'm really not sure how I feel about this.

You see, I live on the second floor of a house that has been converted to allow for apartments, one on top of the other. Though there is a large yard with lots of trees, there is a busy main road out front beyond the lawn, and another street coming off it running along the side of the house. The other side of the house is bordered by the drive way of the neighbor who lives behind us.

There is a guy who just moved in down stairs, who sometimes has his two daughters to take care of living with him, but he also has these two cats. The thing I don't understand is that he leaves one of the two outside constantly-that or he leaves her in the cellar of the house. I'm guessing he lets her come upstairs when he's home, but I don't know that for sure because most of the time, I hear her meowing outside.

Last night he left her out in the rain while he was HOME and didn't get up to let her in, and I just didn't know what to think. Its dark, its stormy, we live near two busy streets and a driveway...and you leave your BLACK cat that can hardly be seen out at night while people are zooming along through the bad weather as if its a sunny day?! ><

To top it off, last time I saw her close up, she had fur missing on her belly :/ I don't know if she was recently operated on or what, but I just wouldn't leave a cat outside that has a problem like that, even if its just from licking her fur too much.

I don't know, am I just too concerned about a cat that isn't mine? I don't mean to whine and complain here, but I'd like the opinion of other animal lovers.

Thanks for listening guys D: Muffins all around <3

[Wildfilly94]

I HATE this. I really do. I respect other people's decisions, but personally I Hate it when people let their cats run free outside. Unless they are trained like my boyfriends moms cats, dont leave them out. And atleast provide shelter!
Poor kitty got stuck out in the rain, plus it was COLD out there. :/ I'd take the dang thing to the guys door and yell at him, but thats just me.. XD

[Daimas]

I have no choice but to leave one of my cats outside all the time as she has a panic attack inside the house and fights to get out. But my other cats are indoor outdoor as they please, with ways to get in and out at their own conviencene. I hate leaving animals out in the rain, and if one of my animals is sick they are inside weather they like it or not. Maybe talk to him and see why the poor thing is missing fur and why shes out all the time?

[Luv007]

A good way to go about showing your concern without coming off too harshly is to start giving the kitty attention yourself.  We had a neighbor dog who got left out in the cold and would just shiver and shiver and shiver and we started bringing it in with our dogs.  She would climb under the fence and curl up with my other dog aggressive german shepherd.  Why he made an exception for this one strange dog, I don't know, but he did.  So we gave her as much love as we could.

Her problem was that her owner was working and providing for her older then me sons and their girlfriends and the sons/girlfriends were partial to their pets and had no tolerance for the girl.  About a year after living next to them, the woman got into a four wheeling accident and now has the mental copacity of a child.  So it spiralled into the poor girl getting pregnant off of the son's dogs.  It was just ridiculous really. 

[Bunraku]

@Wild: I wouldn't hate it as much as I do if she was actually happy outside, but with her constantly meowing to come in, it makes me sad DX

@Daimas: I understand that completely, my father had a cat as a child when he was young that just didn't want to be inside no matter what he did. I'll try to talk to him about it, or get my mother to get his attention. The whole problem with him is that he completely snubs everyone else that lives around here as though we aren't worth talking to and only his best friend (who also happens to be our landlord, urgh =_=;) Is.

@Luv007: I've tried to give her attention, but she seems to be very scared of anyone who isn't in her family DX She runs away from me as soon as she sees me even though she'll sneak towards me as long as I'm not actually looking at her. At least she's started to learn that our front porch is a good place to hide from the rain under the deck chairs we have out there.