What would you do?

[Sowa]

I've mentioned before my nieces cats (she has 2 now) have fleas and Clover ended up with them too. It's been atleast a few months since she found out her cats have them and has made no attempt to treat it. She laughs about it like oh well, they get fleas whatever. Anyway I just found out they also now have worms and she doesn't clean their litter much, they don't get cat food much they just give them their left over scraps (human food). They smoke pot and blow it in their faces. When I looked after her cat once I needed to bathe it because it smelled so badly of weed.

To me this is abuse. I told her how upset I am about it so did my mom. She just laughed and said that's stupid. And "fleas don't jump from house to house on people" and "once they bite they die and fall off", also "my cats have cat fleas so there is no way your dog could get them from us" URG.

So I decided to call the Humane Society. She'll hate me if she ever finds out it was me. (which she probably will since it seems me and my mom are the only ones who care about animals around here) Oh well. The HS told me they'll visit and see what they can do, but there's a chance nothing will be done about it. and that I should buy her flea/worm treatments.

I have 3 animals of my own that need treatments, and good food. I honestly am barely making ends meet as it is. I had to get my dad to help me out a bit. I can't afford to buy stuff for them that they may or may not use. And if I did, I'd have to buy all the follow up treatments. They don't take it to the vet. No money apparently. But they have money for weed, beer, jewelery etc.

What should I do? I don't even wanna go to family things now cause I don't want more fleas in my house!

[Freedom]

Good job calling the Humane Society. That is a hard thing to do (I did it once). They often say they can't help and then see what they can do.

I wonder WHY she has cats, if she doesn't care about them. I'd say try to find another home for them and then make them go POOF, except she would just get more. So that doesn't solve the problem long term, just for these 2 kitties.

Let's see what others offer for ideas.

[pomtzu]

Yes - good for you for calling the Humane Society and reporting this abuse. Hopefully they can be of some help, but I honestly wouldn't count on it. I don't really know what else you can do. It's not your responsibility to provide the proper care and meds for these cats, even if you could afford to do so. I understand how you feel tho, and that you want to do something for these poor kitties, but there are times that it just isn't possible. You are dealing with uneducated, uninformed, uncaring and just plain stoooooopid people that are supposed to be providing a good home for a couple of kitties that have no one to depend on but them. It's a sad situation all around.

[chocolatepuppy]

You did the right thing. No animal should have to be infested with fleas!:(

[Sowa]

The lady from the HS said over time the cats could become anemic and likely die from the fleas and worms :(

[catmandu]

It doesn't take a lot to but advantage,these people are fools as fleas are not good for humans either you can get bites from them and sores .:mad:
Some people should not have pets, or children either:mad:

[Jessika]

The lady from the HS said over time the cats could become anemic and likely die from the fleas and worms :(

That's in pretty extreme cases, though if they aren't getting a proper diet, chances are likely they're nutritionally deficient and it isn't so far fetched, if the situation you described is how they're living. It isn't necessarily abuse, but this absolutely is neglect. Sadly, as long as they have food (even if you don't agree with the quality of it, food IS food.........), shelter, and access to clean water... there is likely nothing the humane society can/will do unless the cats are suffering and need immediate medical attention, and fleas alone aren't likely a means of needing immediate medical attention, unless (of course) there are secondary problems from it like you described. In that case they may seize them and treat them and your cousin very well may face animal cruelty charges... Sadly, many states are coming up to date with animal cruelty laws, etc, but many many many still view animals/pets as "property", and as long as the bare minimums are being met (food, water, shelter), they won't do anything.

In the cats case, I hope that isn't the case because I'd hate to think they're suffering, but in your cousin's case I hope something does happen and she gets a wake-up call.

[Sowa]

I heard from my sis the HS came and gave them a week to treat the animals. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

[Karen]

I heard from my sis the HS came and gave them a week to treat the animals. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

I hope it is! Time will tell!

[Sowa]

Yeah. I think she pretty much figured out it was me so I'm sure they all probably are mad at me. I feel this was the right thing to do...

[Karen]

It was, without a doubt, the right thing to do. And maybe, just maybe, your niece will learn something, even if her mother remains ignorant!

[catmandu]

I wonder if they know that people can suffer from flea bites too especially if they start scratching, they can get sores which could become infected.
Some people are as flea sensitive as Animals.:eek::eek:

[Sowa]

They didn't seem to notice/mind the flea bites. I really doubt they'll change, honestly. She really didn't seem to care or think they would be uncomfortable. She said something like it's her BF's cats so it's not her problem. I consider my animals to be my boyfriends animals when we're living together....He helps me care for them.

[Jessika]

They didn't seem to notice/mind the flea bites. I really doubt they'll change, honestly. She really didn't seem to care or think they would be uncomfortable. She said something like it's her BF's cats so it's not her problem. I consider my animals to be my boyfriends animals when we're living together....He helps me care for them.
May be a silly question, but -- does HE seem to care about the cat's at all?? If they're "his cats" then maybe talking to your cousin won't do any good (well, duh, I suppose). Have you tried talking to him???

If they don't want anything to do with the cats, why do they even have them?!

[Barbara]

One thing I can say for sure from my own painful experience about 30 years ago: cat fleas do jump from cats to humans;)

[pomtzu]

The itch from just one flea bite can be maddening to both pets and humans. Been there - done that! Then of course there is the issue of how sick it can make some cats or dogs.

If they don't treat for the fleas, then their house will soon be overrun with them. Not a place that I would want to visit, that's for sure. And I can't believe that someone actually thinks that there are specific species of fleas - one for cats and one for dogs, and that the 2 don't mix. OMG...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Fleas aren't fussy - cat/dog/human - as long as it has a warm body, then that's all that matters to them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

You did the right thing. Hopefully the cats can be rehomed since it seems like no one seems to care about their well being.:mad: To me what you described is abuse as far as I'm concerned and they shouldn't even own any animals.