Might not have been a good idea......

Nightowl I know you weren't suggesting I was like the horrible old cat-snatcher and I could tell you were still hurting over the incident. I just wanted to assure you that we wouldn't let the situation go on for too long before I spoke to the cat's owners. The worst (or should it be worse) thing we could do would be to feed him and let him inside. It would be quite different if he was obviously a stray, all skinny and sad looking. Cats are so independent aren't they? They do as they please when they please, thank you very much!

Kiwibird I wasn't meaning to suggest that you were like the horrible old bat who abducted my cat, and it's quite clear that you have done nothing more than befriend this cat. As you can tell, it's still a very sore subject for me! I think that if the woman in question had talked to me in the first place we could have happily co-owned Max and he might have had a happier (and longer) life

We moved a few miles away and if one of our cats was outside at dusk he would go back to our former house. He would sometimes be asleep on the new owner's bed when I would go to retrieve him.

Our new house had a balcony and I would often find when I returned home from work our cats sitting up there in the hot afternoon sun. I couldn't figure out how they got up so high. Eventually a neighbour said they would jump onto the fence then jump up to the wall of the house and from there bounce onto the balcony. They were trying to get away from a neighbour's cat. I had to make them a shelter to keep them cool and leave food and water on the balcony for them.

The trouble is that if a cat isn't completely satisfied with it's own home it will find another one. we had one that came to live with us about twenty years ago because she didn't like being pulled about by the small children in her own home. She was very happy with us, survived several moves and also lived with my daughter for a while.

One of our current cats came to us at Christmas 2009. Our neighbour wouldn't let her cats indoors (she also had a dog she wouldn't let out!). It was deep snow and down to minus 10 degrees so he spent a couple of days working out how to use the cat flap and then came in and hid under the Christmas tree. He was careful to ingratiate himself with our cats so there was no fighting and he just stayed. Our neighbour was very cross about us stealing her cat and despite several visits from the RSPCA couldn't seem to make the link with the way she'd been treating him.

That reminds me, Absent, are your cats in NZ yet?

My SIl emigrated to South Africa years ago, and insisted that the cat must come too. At great expense, the moggy was flown over and eventually reunited with his loving mistress. He then repaid her gratitude by moving in, two days later, with the family across the road and never returned to his original home.

We once had a cat called Wellington who we knew spent part of his days six houses down because we often saw him in their window. We never bothered too much and we'd never spoken to these neighbours. The night before we moved house we locked all the animals in but Welly must have escaped when the removal van arrived and when we went to get him he'd vanished. Sure enough there he was in the window of his second home, so cat basket in hand we knocked on their door and explained we needed to take Wellington to his be home. Tears, and upset! They had no idea that their Luther was other than a cat they'd taken in and fed and loved for many years.
We left empty handed and often wondered if Welly/Luther took up part-time residence with the people who bought our house.

Lovely replies. That was a sad story though
Nightowl. We won't feed him nor will we let him inside and I will tell his owners that if they're looking for him they may find him on our back deck. I think their household also has a large dog in it so maybe he finds a bit of peace and quiet at our place. Glammanana I can just picture that cat with a large steak in its mouth. Who would want to pinch socks out of people's places when you can pinch meat!

kiwibird I think the suggestion that you speak to his "people" is a good one.

I enjoyed it. Also sent a copy to a cat-owning aunt.

Orderered it - thanks!

I must find that one, Elegran

These cats sound very like "Six Dinner Sid" It is a story for children but any cat owner would recognise Sid. I bought a copy for the grandchildren after it was mentioned on Gransnet, but made sure I read it myself first.

when

My daughter's cat visits next door for bacon at breakast time, then wanders over to her MIL's to sleep in the conservatory. Next door neighbour gave her a photo one day - the cat asleep, under the covers, in their bed!

Our cat sleeps all day and doesn't start her daily patrol until evening, she prefers the dark.
We do make sure she's in before we go to bed.

Quite a few years ago now "Jasper" turned up in our shed one morning making himself at home on the blankets stored in a box,he was a beautiful half siamese and we never to this day found out where he came from,we went to all the house's surrounding our garden and put a notice in the local freebie paper but no one came to claim him,he became best friends with my eldset son and lived with us for over 12 yrs before he died,he was the biggest rogue going as he was always coming home with pieces of meat he had obviously stolen from peoples homes,quite a large steak arrived on our patio one day I always wonder what the person had for their dinner when they found it had gone missing.

Please do have a word with his people kiwibird. I had a cat who adopted another family - well he was enticed actually with all kinds of treats but I didn't know that at the time. He started spending longer and longer away from home and I had no idea where he was. He then developed health problems and his treatment was undermined by the woman who had encouraged him (he was on drugs and a prescription diet but obviously wasn't going to come home for that when he could get chicken elsewhere). It did not end well and he died in great pain because I couldn't get him to come home and she didn't help. A bit of cooperation might have saved his life.

We had a much loved ginger cat and after he died, we found he had been a welcome visitor and loan cat in several households. And several people did feed him. We weren't out all day! Kiwibird cats do choose where they go, I'm sure your neighbours must know this.