should he stay or should he go?
July 24, 2012 8:24 PM Subscribe
what to do with a sweet, amazing, seemingly-indoor cat who has showed up on our doorstep twice now.
A few weeks ago we heard a meowing on the doorstep, and came across quite the friendly cat. He was neutered, his coat and ears and everything were in great shape, he had no collar, and he was extremely friendly with people; in other words he showed every sign of being an indoor cat. We took him in, left our name and number with the local shelter in case anyone called, and made a vet appointment for him a few days later so we could find out if he was microchipped. It turned out that he was; a quick phone call and his owners (whose details we were not given) were on their way to pick him up. We were sad to see him go since he was super friendly to us and got along with our own cats after a pleasantly short amount of time, but it was of course the right thing to do (I can't imagine if one of my own cats escaped and somebody decided to keep him!).
He showed up on our doorstep again this evening, and we're not sure what to do now. Return him to his owners again? Tell them that since they're not able or willing to keep him indoors, we'd be absolutely thrilled to take him in? If so, how do we tell them that? Or do we just put him back outside? Should he even be outside? Are outdoor cats usually in a good a shape as this guy is? Do people generally microchip outdoor (or indoor/outdoor) cats?
I'm absolutely a cat person, but I only really have experience with ones I've had as pets so I'm in slightly unfamiliar territory here. Any information or thoughts the green can pass along would be great. Thanks!
and before I forget, here are the obligatory photos of the new guy and our existing cats.
A few weeks ago we heard a meowing on the doorstep, and came across quite the friendly cat. He was neutered, his coat and ears and everything were in great shape, he had no collar, and he was extremely friendly with people; in other words he showed every sign of being an indoor cat. We took him in, left our name and number with the local shelter in case anyone called, and made a vet appointment for him a few days later so we could find out if he was microchipped. It turned out that he was; a quick phone call and his owners (whose details we were not given) were on their way to pick him up. We were sad to see him go since he was super friendly to us and got along with our own cats after a pleasantly short amount of time, but it was of course the right thing to do (I can't imagine if one of my own cats escaped and somebody decided to keep him!).
He showed up on our doorstep again this evening, and we're not sure what to do now. Return him to his owners again? Tell them that since they're not able or willing to keep him indoors, we'd be absolutely thrilled to take him in? If so, how do we tell them that? Or do we just put him back outside? Should he even be outside? Are outdoor cats usually in a good a shape as this guy is? Do people generally microchip outdoor (or indoor/outdoor) cats?
I'm absolutely a cat person, but I only really have experience with ones I've had as pets so I'm in slightly unfamiliar territory here. Any information or thoughts the green can pass along would be great. Thanks!
and before I forget, here are the obligatory photos of the new guy and our existing cats.
Just treat him as you would any other visitor you like. Let him in, maybe give him something to eat, let him hang out for a while, and when he's ready to go (or you're ready for bed), out he goes! It's normal that outdoor cats make their rounds and visit all their friends. Don't overthink it or worry.
posted by fritley at 8:31 PM on July 24, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by fritley at 8:31 PM on July 24, 2012 [8 favorites]
Best answer: All the indoor/outdoor cats I've known (and owned) have been extremely well-kempt, spayed or neutered, and friendly. I take it your cats are indoor-only? Indoor/outdoor cats are typically indistinguishable from indoor-only (not going to get into that debate, but I'm not sure why you think cats that spend time outdoors wouldn't be).
People typically microchip their indoor/outdoor cats, yes. Don't keep him! This sounds like a perfectly fine situation; my parents have an "extra" cat that lives nearby-ish and isn't actually theirs, he's just friends with our cats and hangs out/is friendly with us.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:34 PM on July 24, 2012 [10 favorites]
People typically microchip their indoor/outdoor cats, yes. Don't keep him! This sounds like a perfectly fine situation; my parents have an "extra" cat that lives nearby-ish and isn't actually theirs, he's just friends with our cats and hangs out/is friendly with us.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:34 PM on July 24, 2012 [10 favorites]
^wouldn't be healthy, spayed, or microchipped. I can't speak to the collar issue, but our cats would slip out of them once a year or so and need new ones.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:36 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:36 PM on July 24, 2012
Do not let him in, do not give him something to eat. He is not your cat, and if you feed him, let him in etc you are encouraging him to come around again. Who knows about the neighbours? Maybe he's an escape artist, maybe he's just starting wandering? Who knows?
A nice, neighbourly thing to do would be to return him, also acceptable is just letting hang on the porch (is it sunny there?) until he's bored and wanders home. This is not your cat to adopt; he has other owners, and the fact they let him outside or he gets outside is definitely not an indication that they are uninterested in keeping him.
posted by smoke at 8:37 PM on July 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
A nice, neighbourly thing to do would be to return him, also acceptable is just letting hang on the porch (is it sunny there?) until he's bored and wanders home. This is not your cat to adopt; he has other owners, and the fact they let him outside or he gets outside is definitely not an indication that they are uninterested in keeping him.
posted by smoke at 8:37 PM on July 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
Indoor/outdoor cats like to make their rounds. It's weird that he doesn't have a collar, though. I wouldn't let him in anymore, but you can say hi, pet him, leave water out for him. His people should be in charge of what he eats though - you don't know what sort of treats are good or bad for him. If you want to get kind of over the top, you could get him a collar and attach a note to it, saying "please get him tags so he doesn't get taken to the shelter!" It's possible that he's very clever and has an easily-removable collar so he doesn't accidentally choke himself, and he keeps getting it off before he visits you. However, if my cat were to return with someone else's collar, even if there were no tags and I knew it was in good faith, it would make me feel super weird.
posted by Mizu at 8:38 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by Mizu at 8:38 PM on July 24, 2012
Best answer: Don't bring him in. And definitely don't try to take him. C'mon. He belongs to someone else.
I had a neighbor do this once with a "stray". She even took the cat to the vet to look into getting her vaccinated, only to find out she lived across the street, was well-loved, and up to date on her vaccinations. The owner was super pissed, and it made for bad neighborly relations.
For what it's worth, when my cat was indoor/outdoor I regularly poured more money and care into his well-being than some people do into their indoor cats. My cat had a set routine--was let in and out at the same time every day--that would only be disrupted when my own next-door neighbor decided he needed to visit her cats and let him in. She kept giving him extra dinners, which made him sick. Super annoying.
I mean, sure, the owners should put a collar on the guy, but really, this isn't your place. Leave it alone.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:39 PM on July 24, 2012 [8 favorites]
I had a neighbor do this once with a "stray". She even took the cat to the vet to look into getting her vaccinated, only to find out she lived across the street, was well-loved, and up to date on her vaccinations. The owner was super pissed, and it made for bad neighborly relations.
For what it's worth, when my cat was indoor/outdoor I regularly poured more money and care into his well-being than some people do into their indoor cats. My cat had a set routine--was let in and out at the same time every day--that would only be disrupted when my own next-door neighbor decided he needed to visit her cats and let him in. She kept giving him extra dinners, which made him sick. Super annoying.
I mean, sure, the owners should put a collar on the guy, but really, this isn't your place. Leave it alone.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:39 PM on July 24, 2012 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: but I'm not sure why you think cats that spend time outdoors wouldn't be [healthy, spayed, or microchipped]
interesting, the only ones I've known had ratty coats, nicks in their ears (not due to the vet clipping it after spaying), etc. aquired while getting up to mischief outdoors. Even being neutered isn't all that remarkable, thanks to catch-fix-release programs.
But the consensus seems to be that he's just doing his cat thing, and that we might be some new friends he visits every once in a while. We'll leave him be. Thanks all!
posted by xbonesgt at 8:46 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
interesting, the only ones I've known had ratty coats, nicks in their ears (not due to the vet clipping it after spaying), etc. aquired while getting up to mischief outdoors. Even being neutered isn't all that remarkable, thanks to catch-fix-release programs.
But the consensus seems to be that he's just doing his cat thing, and that we might be some new friends he visits every once in a while. We'll leave him be. Thanks all!
posted by xbonesgt at 8:46 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
If the cat is being social, wants to hang out and keep company, why not let it? I imagine it's life is enriched by this opportunity to seek out and receive attention. If he keeps coming around I think it's fair to say he's signalling a preference so let him be able to "choose" how he wants to spend his time. Maybe call the owners and let them know he's coming around and you're happy to let him visit. Animals may be possessions but if cat is happy, let him visit!
*Do consider that cats with outdoor access can come into contact with other cats who may not be vaccinated and could be exposed to viruses (extremely contagious and fatal) that could be passed on to your indoor cats.
posted by loquat at 9:02 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
*Do consider that cats with outdoor access can come into contact with other cats who may not be vaccinated and could be exposed to viruses (extremely contagious and fatal) that could be passed on to your indoor cats.
posted by loquat at 9:02 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
I would at least call the vet to make them aware of the situation, in case his owners actually did lose him a second time. They might call there looking for him, if that's where they picked him up before.
I disagree with the general consensus of this thread, since I believe having an outdoor cat is irresponsible (bird population problem, shortened life of the cat, etc.), but I won't get into that. My experiences are the same as yours regarding outdoor cats, though, so don't feel bad about assuming he was a stray.
posted by plaintiff6r at 9:04 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
I disagree with the general consensus of this thread, since I believe having an outdoor cat is irresponsible (bird population problem, shortened life of the cat, etc.), but I won't get into that. My experiences are the same as yours regarding outdoor cats, though, so don't feel bad about assuming he was a stray.
posted by plaintiff6r at 9:04 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yep, let him be a friendly neighbour. We moved into our current home a little over a year ago, and every day the next-door neighbours cat (Shiraz) would meow at the front door. We'd let her in, she'd talk to us, check out each room, eye off the pet rats in their cage, maybe snuggle a bit if we were lucky, and then meow to be let out again. She also had a habit of leaving us half a mouse corpse at the front door, but anyway...
She went missing about a month ago and we miss her daily visits terribly.
Shiraz gave us all of the benefits of having a kitty (cuddles, meow-chats, mouse-hunting) and none of the drawbacks (feeding, vet bills, arranging pet-sitting).
I've left the indoor/outdoor thing alone, because Shiraz used to lie on the lawn and meow lazily if a bird came near her. I just knew she was saying, "don't come near me because I'm a cat and you're a bird and if you make me get up, while I'm lazing here in the sun, I'll have to make you regret it". And the bird would look at her and fly off.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 9:12 PM on July 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
She went missing about a month ago and we miss her daily visits terribly.
Shiraz gave us all of the benefits of having a kitty (cuddles, meow-chats, mouse-hunting) and none of the drawbacks (feeding, vet bills, arranging pet-sitting).
I've left the indoor/outdoor thing alone, because Shiraz used to lie on the lawn and meow lazily if a bird came near her. I just knew she was saying, "don't come near me because I'm a cat and you're a bird and if you make me get up, while I'm lazing here in the sun, I'll have to make you regret it". And the bird would look at her and fly off.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 9:12 PM on July 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
Just as a datapoint - my girlfriend is a veterinarian.
We have two in/outdoor cats. The older lady mostly sleeps in the guest bedroom and will venture onto the porch every once in a while and rarely goes as far as the flowerbeds because that is the farthest she has to go to follow the sunbeams.
The younger boy-cat in his prime has a collar that can break away if it is caught on something and we have to replace it every month or two (we put bells on his collars). He is microchipped. He can be gone for the usual hour or the rare day, but almost always comes back for his meals. I could certainly see him befriending other houses and stopping by every once in a while, especially if he could beg some food off of you. We encourage his outside activities because he has stopped the mouse problem we had when we moved in and because he has killed at least one rabbit - the plague of my garden!
posted by iurodivii at 9:20 PM on July 24, 2012
We have two in/outdoor cats. The older lady mostly sleeps in the guest bedroom and will venture onto the porch every once in a while and rarely goes as far as the flowerbeds because that is the farthest she has to go to follow the sunbeams.
The younger boy-cat in his prime has a collar that can break away if it is caught on something and we have to replace it every month or two (we put bells on his collars). He is microchipped. He can be gone for the usual hour or the rare day, but almost always comes back for his meals. I could certainly see him befriending other houses and stopping by every once in a while, especially if he could beg some food off of you. We encourage his outside activities because he has stopped the mouse problem we had when we moved in and because he has killed at least one rabbit - the plague of my garden!
posted by iurodivii at 9:20 PM on July 24, 2012
(ugh) and my point being...that you would certainly think they were indoor cats if you saw them out of doors.
posted by iurodivii at 9:26 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by iurodivii at 9:26 PM on July 24, 2012
We have a couple of indoor/outdoor cats, well-loved and well-kempt, and I nth the advice from everyone to just enjoy when it visits but don't take it in or feed it.
As for the collar issue: our cats don't have collars, because we don't want to get them the kind that don't break away because that's dangerous - and they lose the kind that do break away at a rate of once per week or so (not worth it!). So even not having a collar doesn't mean the owners don't care about their cat; they might have a good reason for it.
posted by forza at 9:41 PM on July 24, 2012
As for the collar issue: our cats don't have collars, because we don't want to get them the kind that don't break away because that's dangerous - and they lose the kind that do break away at a rate of once per week or so (not worth it!). So even not having a collar doesn't mean the owners don't care about their cat; they might have a good reason for it.
posted by forza at 9:41 PM on July 24, 2012
Growing up all of our cats were free to go outside as they pleased. I honestly did not know this was not the norm until I moved away from home. All of our cats were well kept and well loved. Nthing the advice to not let the cat inside or feed them. On a couple of occasions people would try to take our cats in and it was a difficult situation for everyone involved (including fluffy - who lived to be 23).
posted by phil at 9:58 PM on July 24, 2012
posted by phil at 9:58 PM on July 24, 2012
Best answer: I suggest petting the cat. The owners are in charge of the rest.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:16 PM on July 24, 2012 [11 favorites]
posted by Ironmouth at 10:16 PM on July 24, 2012 [11 favorites]
His owners might think that microchipping takes the pace of a collar.
posted by brujita at 11:12 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 11:12 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
I really think you're approaching this the wrong way, given that you know that the cat has owners, and as you say is well kept.
The cat may well not be an indoor cat - because it has been wandering around outside at least twice - and your bias towards indoor cats looks to be coloring your judgment. My cat, and other cats I've owned, are outdoor cats and have always been in great nick. My cat has a collar, but it took perseverance - she lost her first 5 collars until she got used to them. My neighbor doesn't collar her cat because he apparently won't keep them on. I think all outdoor cats should wear collars but not everyone feels that way.
The cat is coming to you for attention and food. It will continue to do so as long as you show it attention or it gets it elsewhere. Why wouldn't it? My old cat was a lovely Siamese who was very friendly and well looked after and could feed at will. But he was left on his own when we went to work during the day. He started going off his food but wasn't losing weight and it turned out that a lady down the road had taken to feeding him ground beef in the belief he was "starving". But of course he preferred ground beef to his cat food. Who wouldn't?
Another piece of anecdata: we had an issue with a "starving" cat going up and down the street begging for food and doing the whole Oliver Twist thing on people's doorsteps. As half the street were outside discussing what to do with this poor "stray" and Mrs MM was phoning the shelter another neighbor revealed it was a loved pet of someone down the road and that she herself had previously taken it to the shelter believing it was a stray. Two weeks later we had an outdoor street party and the cat wandered up to say hi. And as we were all silently tutting, the owner, who it was there with us excused himself, picked his cat up and ferried it home.
In short: you know it has an owner. Unless you believe the cat is being mistreated or is suffering, or is in danger then you shouldn't be letting it in and certainly should not be feeding it - it merely encourages it to repeat the begging behavior.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:21 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
The cat may well not be an indoor cat - because it has been wandering around outside at least twice - and your bias towards indoor cats looks to be coloring your judgment. My cat, and other cats I've owned, are outdoor cats and have always been in great nick. My cat has a collar, but it took perseverance - she lost her first 5 collars until she got used to them. My neighbor doesn't collar her cat because he apparently won't keep them on. I think all outdoor cats should wear collars but not everyone feels that way.
The cat is coming to you for attention and food. It will continue to do so as long as you show it attention or it gets it elsewhere. Why wouldn't it? My old cat was a lovely Siamese who was very friendly and well looked after and could feed at will. But he was left on his own when we went to work during the day. He started going off his food but wasn't losing weight and it turned out that a lady down the road had taken to feeding him ground beef in the belief he was "starving". But of course he preferred ground beef to his cat food. Who wouldn't?
Another piece of anecdata: we had an issue with a "starving" cat going up and down the street begging for food and doing the whole Oliver Twist thing on people's doorsteps. As half the street were outside discussing what to do with this poor "stray" and Mrs MM was phoning the shelter another neighbor revealed it was a loved pet of someone down the road and that she herself had previously taken it to the shelter believing it was a stray. Two weeks later we had an outdoor street party and the cat wandered up to say hi. And as we were all silently tutting, the owner, who it was there with us excused himself, picked his cat up and ferried it home.
In short: you know it has an owner. Unless you believe the cat is being mistreated or is suffering, or is in danger then you shouldn't be letting it in and certainly should not be feeding it - it merely encourages it to repeat the begging behavior.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:21 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
He wants to visit. He has a right to make friends. You're not obligated to let him in but there's nothing wrong with doing so. Since you know he has family elsewhere you should tell them that he stops by, so they won't think he's lost again. If they don't want you to let him in they'll tell you.
posted by tel3path at 2:03 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 2:03 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
A bit of a tangent, but worth considering, you are putting your own cats in danger in terms of infectious deseases, fleas, etc. by allowing them to interact with an outside cat.
posted by HuronBob at 4:21 AM on July 25, 2012
posted by HuronBob at 4:21 AM on July 25, 2012
Are outdoor cats usually in a good a shape as this guy is?
Where I grew up (UK, small town, away from busy roads) everybody's cats were indoor/outdoor, and usually free to come and go as they pleased through a catflap cut in the back door. They were healthy, glossy-coated, and fine, and I would honestly not be able to tell the difference between an indoor cat and an indoor/outdoor cat just by looking at it.
When cats can roam as they please, though, they really don't really care much about human property boundaries. They care about their own territories, and those are bigger than you might think. Strolling around their territory like this is normal cat behaviour; even when they're spayed/neutered and well-fed, they like to check around, see if anything interesting is going on, hunt, keep an eye on all the other cats in the area, make social calls with friendly neighbours, and so on. (One of ours used to head round to our neighbours' kitchen every morning after breakfast to see if he could get a second portion there, and then occasionally stopped by in the evening to watch TV with them after the second-breakfast gravy train dried up.)
I'd contact the owners and ask them directly whether he's an indoor escapee or whether he's allowed outdoors. If he's meant to be indoor-only, they can come and get him, and if he's allowed out then there's not a problem and you say say hi to him whenever he stops by. Don't let him socialise with your indoor cats unless you're sure they're up-to-date on their vaccinations and prepared to keep an eye out for fleas, though.
posted by Catseye at 4:55 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Where I grew up (UK, small town, away from busy roads) everybody's cats were indoor/outdoor, and usually free to come and go as they pleased through a catflap cut in the back door. They were healthy, glossy-coated, and fine, and I would honestly not be able to tell the difference between an indoor cat and an indoor/outdoor cat just by looking at it.
When cats can roam as they please, though, they really don't really care much about human property boundaries. They care about their own territories, and those are bigger than you might think. Strolling around their territory like this is normal cat behaviour; even when they're spayed/neutered and well-fed, they like to check around, see if anything interesting is going on, hunt, keep an eye on all the other cats in the area, make social calls with friendly neighbours, and so on. (One of ours used to head round to our neighbours' kitchen every morning after breakfast to see if he could get a second portion there, and then occasionally stopped by in the evening to watch TV with them after the second-breakfast gravy train dried up.)
I'd contact the owners and ask them directly whether he's an indoor escapee or whether he's allowed outdoors. If he's meant to be indoor-only, they can come and get him, and if he's allowed out then there's not a problem and you say say hi to him whenever he stops by. Don't let him socialise with your indoor cats unless you're sure they're up-to-date on their vaccinations and prepared to keep an eye out for fleas, though.
posted by Catseye at 4:55 AM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Our indoor cats occasionally make a break for it and sneak outside. None of them wear collars and while they don't go far they do visit neighbors occasionally. No collars because they take them off without fail - we couldn't even keep a vet's cone on one of them.
posted by leslies at 5:40 AM on July 25, 2012
posted by leslies at 5:40 AM on July 25, 2012
Don't understand all the amazement at the lack of a collar -- our cats routinely got theirs tangled on cabinet knobs and twigs, and were in danger of strangling (the stretch-release let the collar come off instead), so we have stopped putting collars on any of our cats. They seem to serve no purpose for an indoor cat, and little more for an outdoor cat.
posted by acm at 6:43 AM on July 25, 2012
posted by acm at 6:43 AM on July 25, 2012
Our indoor kitties have collars, on the off chance that they'll make a break for it. They are also chipped. Belt and suspenders.
We started them as kittens with the collars and while they complain a bit, and occassionally a cat will be naked, they've made their peace with it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:59 AM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
We started them as kittens with the collars and while they complain a bit, and occassionally a cat will be naked, they've made their peace with it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:59 AM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
He's not your cat - I'm sure he's just stopping by for a visit since you were nice to him before. Give his owners a call, or ignore him so he'll mosey on back home. He may be an explorer (indoor / outdoor kitty) who likes to stop by and check on you.
My indoor / outdoor kitty looks a lot like that fella. He's got a microchip, current on shots, and sees the vet regularly. After going through 6 collars with tags over the course of a month, I stopped trying to keep him in a collar. The last one I got him was gone within 30 minutes - he went outside with it on, did his business, came back in without it. He probably never even left the immediate surroundings, but I never saw the collar with tags again. I think he sees collars as a challenge to beat.
(And the reason he's an indoor / outdoor cat is because he found me a few years back, and never left. I've tried to transition him to indoor, but that is never going to be a long-term thing. I've discussed his situation with the vet at length, and we are all ok with it. Trust me, if you saw how happy he is with outside access compared to how he is after a few days without, you'd be ok with it too. Obligatory photo of my cat on the dog's bed.)
posted by southpaw at 8:10 AM on July 25, 2012
My indoor / outdoor kitty looks a lot like that fella. He's got a microchip, current on shots, and sees the vet regularly. After going through 6 collars with tags over the course of a month, I stopped trying to keep him in a collar. The last one I got him was gone within 30 minutes - he went outside with it on, did his business, came back in without it. He probably never even left the immediate surroundings, but I never saw the collar with tags again. I think he sees collars as a challenge to beat.
(And the reason he's an indoor / outdoor cat is because he found me a few years back, and never left. I've tried to transition him to indoor, but that is never going to be a long-term thing. I've discussed his situation with the vet at length, and we are all ok with it. Trust me, if you saw how happy he is with outside access compared to how he is after a few days without, you'd be ok with it too. Obligatory photo of my cat on the dog's bed.)
posted by southpaw at 8:10 AM on July 25, 2012
I provide water for my neighborhood kitty visitors, but NEVER food. They can come by for a drink and a pet and maybe a leaf of the 'nip from time to time, but that's where it stops.
Also:
Tell them that since they're not able or willing to keep him indoors, we'd be absolutely thrilled to take him in?
I would treat you as hostile neighbors if you said this to me.
posted by Aquaman at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
Also:
Tell them that since they're not able or willing to keep him indoors, we'd be absolutely thrilled to take him in?
I would treat you as hostile neighbors if you said this to me.
posted by Aquaman at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
Kitty is probably just visiting. I had a cat like that, and until he got old and lost interest in going outside he was always seeking new friendly houses to visit. He'd drop by a house, linger on their porch, and if nobody let him in, he'd quickly move on. If offered food or water he'd take a bit politely, but he was really only interested in visiting people for a quick pet and greet.
I heard from at least three neighbors who'd let him in to visit at some point, and there was one older lady he liked enough that he visited her every day he could for a little lap time. The only thing I asked of them all was not to keep him inside overnight... which was never an issue, since he always "asked" to leave after a while and came home. Still, I appreciated hearing from them about their visitor.
I suggest engaging the neighbor on the issue, in a friendly way. Let them know kitty is visiting and that you don't mind -- if they ever need to find a home for him, you'll probably be the first person they ask.
posted by Pufferish at 9:39 AM on July 25, 2012
I heard from at least three neighbors who'd let him in to visit at some point, and there was one older lady he liked enough that he visited her every day he could for a little lap time. The only thing I asked of them all was not to keep him inside overnight... which was never an issue, since he always "asked" to leave after a while and came home. Still, I appreciated hearing from them about their visitor.
I suggest engaging the neighbor on the issue, in a friendly way. Let them know kitty is visiting and that you don't mind -- if they ever need to find a home for him, you'll probably be the first person they ask.
posted by Pufferish at 9:39 AM on July 25, 2012
We had a similar thing happen and we DID take the cat in. We spent a lot of money getting him fixed up and neutered. We'd had him a couple weeks when I heard someone outside our window saying, "They have our cat!"
Oops.
Turns out he belonged to some people right in the neighborhood. Though they may have loved him, the simple truth is they were crappy cat-parents. He had fleas, worms, and was not neutered. He had a collar on but no local phone number for contacting anyone. We figured he'd just been dumped. Sure looked that way. It turned out someone in his original family had allergies, so they were just letting him live outside. Sigh... People.
In the end, it turned out REALLY well for all concerned. The original owners recognized that the cat was much better off with us and readily agreed to let us keep him. To their credit, they also realized that the decent thing would have been to reimburse us (if they'd wanted him back) and they couldn't afford to do so. Mostly, though, I think they were kinda glad to be rid of him.
At any rate, Loki has been with us for 5 years now and is a wonderful cat. His previous owners ask about him from time to time and have become casual friends.
posted by rhartong at 11:20 AM on July 25, 2012
Oops.
Turns out he belonged to some people right in the neighborhood. Though they may have loved him, the simple truth is they were crappy cat-parents. He had fleas, worms, and was not neutered. He had a collar on but no local phone number for contacting anyone. We figured he'd just been dumped. Sure looked that way. It turned out someone in his original family had allergies, so they were just letting him live outside. Sigh... People.
In the end, it turned out REALLY well for all concerned. The original owners recognized that the cat was much better off with us and readily agreed to let us keep him. To their credit, they also realized that the decent thing would have been to reimburse us (if they'd wanted him back) and they couldn't afford to do so. Mostly, though, I think they were kinda glad to be rid of him.
At any rate, Loki has been with us for 5 years now and is a wonderful cat. His previous owners ask about him from time to time and have become casual friends.
posted by rhartong at 11:20 AM on July 25, 2012
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We used to get them all the time at our house growing up. Strange (but docile, well-maintained) cat would show up on our porch, we'd give it hugs and attention and sometimes treats, and it would come back every few days. Weeks later we'd figure out which neighbor it belonged to and feel silly for intruding on their cat-keeping.
So. Don't take him in anymore. You know he's not your cat. Feel free to interact with him when he's about, but otherwise let him be.
posted by phunniemee at 8:31 PM on July 24, 2012