We have a cat of our own. It has no cat flap into the house but it has free cat flap access in winter to a heated lean to single glaze conservatory. The doors are left wide open all late spring through to mid autumn. Sometimes we have to leave food for our own cat out there, if we are away a large part of the day. Usually he eats in the house.

Since around Xmas a young cat has been visiting the houses around here. Several people have thought it a stray and a neighbour said they were planning to 'take it in' though this did not seem to happen. I took a photo of it and asked around several local houses/streets in case it had just moved to the area. No luck. It comes and goes but has been lurking here more and more often, keeping warm in the conservatory.

The other day my flatmate saw a notice about a missing cat. We contacted the person and the ‘stray’ cat is hers. She said it had been missing for around 4 days. We caught it and took it across to her within minutes of speaking to her (she lives about 300 yards away, across the housing estate). We released it in her living room. It ran straight to the cat flap and tried to get out, before prowling about the edges of the room looking unhappy. It is one of 5 cats living in the house, with 3 children. She told us one of her other cats finds it hard to enter its own house as the other cats now bully it, so I presume there are ‘cat wars’ going on over territory in and around the house. The owner said she would lock in the 'stray' overnight and give it treats etc. She seems very fond of the cat and affectionate towards it.

The next morning it was back here. Over the last week we have been taking it out of the greenhouse and putting it out the front of the house in the hope it will go home. I actually carried it to its home tonight, where 3 children enthusiastically greeted it at the door of the house. Within an hour it was back here (Its owner later said it must have run here the moment she unlocked the cat flap). My flatmate left our house not long after I had taken it back and the cat fired though the front door and into the house like a rocket, leaping on our cats bowl of food in the kitchen as if it was starved (I am sure she would have offered it food at home). We immediately put it back out and phoned the owner saying could she collect it from the front of the house. She politely refused saying there was no point in her collecting it and it was up to us to 'throw water over it to make it come home'.

She added that she had been getting it extra nice food and was being extra kind to it – but we should buy a water pistol or get bowls of water to throw over it every time it comes near our house or in our conservatory. Apart from finding it difficult to be quite that aggressive towards the cat, this would also mean terrorising our own (rescue) cat and possibly soaking him as well and soaking our conservatory. As the place is free access there is nothing to stop it spending all night there and also any time there when it thinks we are not home (fairly often, it seems a bright cat too). The ‘stray’ cat is about 18 months old and a neutered male. I suspect it might be getting food from a 3rd house, but I don’t know which. The owner would like me to ask around to find out so its food source there can be withdrawn. Her vet has told her if the cat is starved enough, has water thrown over it and has no shelter it will continue to live in its original house happily.

We have taken it back twice, we have phoned to ask her to collect it but she refused. We cannot restrict access to the much desired conservatory without spoiling our own cats life style and our cat is shy and nervous and afraid of aggression from humans, which it will witness if we ‘attack’ the ‘stray’ cat.

How far is it reasonable of us to go to comply with the owner? At what point in the future can we reasonably say her cats behaviour is her problem rather than ours?

Take it to the PDSA…..

No good – its chipped, so they will just return it to the owner as 'found'.

RSPCA?

Buy a water pistol.

>our cat is shy and nervous and afraid of aggression from humans, which it will witness if we ‘attack’ the ‘stray’ cat.

lol

Get one of those magnetic cat-flap un-lockers for your own cat?

It's difficult with cats isn't it? If you really don't want it around, the water pistol idea is a good one. If you are worried that your cat will negatively internalise your efforts to drive off the interloper by squirting it with water, maybe you could make the time to do it surreptitiously?

Does the cat bother your cat? Or is it helping your cat settle in perhaps? How about just bowing to fate and accepting that you now own one and three-quarters cats?

Maybe it is best buddies with your cat and that is why it comes round + cats don't like noisy kids and being disturbed. Sounds like your place is a nice quiet haven for it with no kids and cat fights. Also, I've never heard of a 'well treated' cat be that desperate to escape from its own home.

You may as well adopt it 😉

Maybe it is best buddies with your cat and that is why it comes round + cats don't like noisy kids and being disturbed. Sounds like your place is a nice quiet haven for it with no kids and cat fights. Also, I've never heard of a 'well treated' cat be that desperate to escape from its own home.

You may as well adopt it 😉

A cat collar will not work as the doors are wide open all spring/summer/autumn, for heat reasons. Also, to be honest, why should we have to buy a new cat flap and make our cat wear a collar, if she is not able to provide a home her cat seems content in? Something must have changed to make it want to spend time away from its own house. I feel its us being asked to make all the effort. She would not even walk over the road to collect it. Sorry, bit stressed over this and worried.

Midnighthour – Member
Sorry, bit stressed over this and worried.

Stressed and worried – are you on a wind-up?

what slw said

I did wonder if it being Easter school break had pushed it over the edge and it did a runner. Our cat does not seem to mind it hanging around in the garden/conservatory. He objects if we drive it through the house and out the front, nearer to its own house. I think being in the house is a step too far. They seem fairly happy to sleep in the conservatory together.

There is only 1 other cat he will allow in the conservatory. He goes ballistic at any others. Unfortunately the 1st 'best friend' has been driven off by the 'stray' cat. He only used to visit for a couple of hours snooze before wandering off back home, so everyone was happy including his owner.

shoot it

You may as well adopt it

I think you may find that it has adopted you 😉

Druidh, no not on a wind up. I don't like to fall out with people (especially neighbours) or have rows, which this could end up leading to. I feel concerned that the cat is seemingly so desperate to leave its home, I feel sad that its owner who seems caring, is hurt her cat cant wait to get out of its house. It looks like I cant solve any of this without being aggressive and unkind to the cat in question. It may be trivial to other people but I matters to me. Its stressing out my flatmate to come home to answerphone messages saying 'where's my cat', so its not just me having problems with this situation.

seriously. If a cat doesn't like where it lives, it will move out. Nothing its "owner*" can do to stop it.

If it then finds somewhere else (i.e your house) that it does like, then, again, not much you can do except accept it with open arms.

* dogs have owners, cats have staff

What does your boyfriend think you should do?

Sprinkle catnip seeds in the owners lawn

you're not alone! I think it's just more speed + balls and disengaging yer right thinking brain.

I feel concerned that the cat is seemingly so desperate to leave its home

You're providing it with a heated conservatory and food, so it's not really very surprising. I'm sure that I could entice half the cats in my road, if I started offering them rump steak for example, it doesn't mean to say that the cats are 'desperate to leave home' though.

"I cant solve any of this without being aggressive and unkind to the cat in question"

For heaven's sake, just get a water pistol and squirt it at the cat every time you see it near your house. It won't in any way at all hurt the cat, and it will very quickly learn to keep away from your house.

You wanted a solution – there it is.

jesus. It's a cat. We have two cats and I have varying degrees of affection for the two of them but they're cats and they pretty much look after themselves. If this one is causing you issues then a water pistol or boot on an infrequent basis will resolve the matter. Cats are fairly bright and will avoid crazy people, make yourself crazy.

Buy a dog, get rid of both cats. Simples…

Just make sure you get the right kind of dog.

teach them all to all walk upright ad drive a milkfloat?

I see what you mean 🙂

Poor thing 😉 Has the dog won any of the cat encounters yet samuri?

Yeah. She's figured out that if she can get the cat running then she's pretty much won. The dog doesn't bite her though, she just loves the chase. The golden rule though is not to corner the cat into somewhere she can't get away, because she'll turn and fight.

Take it in.

Put your cat in the house and leave a large hungry python sunning in the conservatory. Problem solved!

Just get your own cat to MTFU and see it off. Or get a dog.

5 cats and 3 kids? I'm surprised more of the cats aren't looking for alternative homes!
If you don't want it, I think the water pistol is the best answer, as long as you're a good shot, but I think it may be trying to tell its "owner" something…

If you really don't want it around, the water pistol idea is a good one.

We used to have cats visiting us (we had 3 cats and they still came, obviously we are cat lovers) so we used to use a water pistol on the one that turned up as our cats found it a bit annoying. It didn't work overly well, the cat would be back in minutes. Cats do what they like where they like it! I just accepted it as another visiting friend.

The solution is simple, move house. If you don't you will have to put up with you new found friend.

john_drummer
If a cat doesn't like where it lives, it will move out. Nothing its "owner*" can do to stop it.

Absolutely true.

We finaly adopted a cat who kept sitting outside our back door for months looking mournful, after his owner got another cat, and then a dog to go with their noisy children. Original cat got fed up and left home to find somewhere quieter. We did return the cat to his original owner many times, who locked him in, but he just took any chance to escape. We gave into his demands in the end.

I'm not a 'cat lover' however I'd take it in as I'm quite soft.

Cat in boot of your car. Drive for 20-30mls. Release cat. Job sorted and now someone elses problem.

Honestly, if you arent man enough to sort a problem like this out you arent gonna be much good in something that really matters. There are a whole host of things you could do from clipping it around the ear. Soaking it in the bath a few times. Spraying it with a hose pipe – Forget a water pistol, a hose pipe on a cornered cat means they will think twice (I have done it to my own to get a point across and it works). Or just plain box the cat up, hand it back to the owner and tell her to sort her own sh*t out. Its a cat ffs, its not your problem and it is coming into your house. Any cat in my own garden gets a damned good soaking and i would expect the same of others if my cat was in their garden unwanted.

slw + 1

😆

Blindfold your cat while you carry out said aggressive deed ? 😉

any canals nearby ?

Just add water