Heavy Metal Rach

I am between jobs and don't have a permanent living arrangement. Also, I am a truck driver. A friend of mine has agreed to let me stay at her house for however long I need. Even let me park my truck in her back yard. And I am extremely grateful for her helping me like this, so however I can, I try to help her out. When I can afford to, I give her money to help with the bills and groceries, also do chores around the house.

My problem is that she and her family have a lot of animals. Some of them are farm creatures (chickens, ducks, goats, hogs, pot bellied pigs, and a miniature horse). The rest are cats and dogs. The main problem I have is that her family takes such poor general care of these cats and dogs. I feel compelled to report them to the Humane Society or ASPCA or local Animal Welfare Agency. But at the same time, I can't risk/afford to get thrown out of the house until after I have found a new job and managed to get my truck running again and off of her property.

The main issues are that she has a dog that is kept in the barn, sharing a pen with the two hogs. He never leaves that pen. They don't even go out to pet or play with him except for feeding time. He has ben in the barn for at least 8 years now.That is no way to treat a dog.

The other dog that they kept in the barn finally died earlier this month. She was a mini poodle with both hind legs crippled. She was alone in a pen in the barn for 9 years.

There are 5 indoor cats, who never go outside, as well as 7 or 8 outdoor cats that never come in. None of them are spayed or neutered. None of them have had any shots. Every summer, they end up with a gaggle of kittens, over half of which end up dead because of lack of proper care and massive in-breeding. Last summer there were 4 litters of kittens born. Out of that, there are only 4 kittens that managed to survive. And two of those have survived only because they were brought into the house to keep as indoor cats, because they were so cute.

To all of that, add two nasty little male dogs that are kept inside the house. One is a dachshund, the other a poodle. Neither are neutered, which results in them peeing on anything and everything that will stay still long enough for them to lift their leg. It doesn't matter how many times you let them out to go potty, they come inside and pee on the table legs, the ends of the couch, the cat's scratching post, etc. I was told that they weren't neutered because the original plan was to breed them. They are now 8 years old, and they have no intention of breeding them.

Also, with the cats, my friend and her family seem to almost refuse to clean the two litter boxes they have. And when the boxes get full and the cats resort to peeing in other places, they suddenly get mad. There was a sixth cat inside, and she is pregnant. She was recently put outside because she was caught peeing on the newspapers and plastic bags that they left on the dining room table. And yet, it is perfectly fine for the dogs to pee, or even poop, inside the house.

The outdoor cats are lucky if anyone remembers to feed them on a regular basis, and for the most part are forced to find shelter in the barn or huddle together on the patio.

As I said before, I can't risk being tossed out until I have someplace else to go, which I would love to find. So how do I tactfully tell them their treatment of their animals is substandard and in some cases illegal, without burning a bridge? I try to do what I can to make up for the care that they refuse to provide, but I can only do so much without being found out and told to stop. I don't have the money or transportation to provide the real care that these animals need. i have been thinking that I will wait until I and my truck are out of here, then call in an anonymous tip to the authorities. But I am sure it wouldn't take long for them to realize it was me who reported them.

So what is the best course of action in this situation?

Both cats and dogs have developed a habit of urinating on the floor, table legs, corners of the couch, etc. Short of spaying and neutering, is there a way to fix this? We keep the litter box as clean as we can, and let the dogs out as often as they will go out. But no sooner than you let the dogs in, one of them will invariably pee on something in the house. A few of the cats have been urinating on the kitchen table, scratching post, etc. Need advice. Tired of following animals around with a mop.