Feline visitor
By jwfarrimond
@jwfarrimond (4473)
February 28, 2008 6:17pm CST
This cat has been hanging about for some time. It has a collar with a bell on it which is how I usually know that it's about. (That cat must really hate that bell). I allow my cats free access to the outside and this cat has been taking advantage of this to come right into the house on several occasions. Tonight when I got home from work, I realised that this cat was in the house as I could hear it's bell tinkling away upstairs. I went up right away to find that Felix, my male cat had got it cornered under the be din the front bedroom. The other three, all females, where just sitting there like interested spectators! anyway, I managed to get it out from under the bed and it shot off out of the house with Felix in hot pursuit.
I'm beginning to think that this cat is a stray, the collar and bell notwithstanding, as the only reason that I can think of for him to repeatedly come into a house with four resident cats, (and one of them a big young male), is that he is looking for food. I don't think that I've seen the last of him.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
29 Feb 08
Poor thing. Can you ask around to your neighbors? It may not necessarily be a stray but, more lost. Can you call around to a few animal shelters or vets in your local area to see if anyone has asked about a cat with a little bell on its collar? Perhaps it wandered into your neighborhood and can't find its way back home. If someone put a collar on it and a bell, someone should be missing it! Awww! That breaks my heart!
2 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
29 Feb 08
I've not been able to get a good look at it yet, it won't let me get close to it. It's possible that there may be some contact information on the collar, an address or phone number. But in the meantime, as it seems to be hungry, I've started to leave food for it. I can't see a cat going hungry.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63638)
• United States
29 Feb 08
I'm sorry to hear that this cat has been having to come to your place for food. I'm glad you have it to spare, but that he has to come....
I know I once had a visitor, he finally showed up once too often & I took him and got him fixed - he took off once I got him home and the next time I saw him, he had a collar on!
I hope his owners were like "D*mn, someone fixed our cat! Maybe we ought to prove we own him!"
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@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
29 Feb 08
It's a long haired black and white male. The extra food is not a problem as I've only started to leave food for him in the last few days and that was just the stuff that the other cats had not eaten. That's one of the reasons that I think he's hungry, he was finishing off stale food that my cats would not touch. Now though I've started to leave out fresh dry food for him. That will be better than the tinned food as it will not spoil or attract flies later on and although my cats might also eat some of it, they eat in a different part of the house so hopefully he'll be able to come and eat the food without disturbing or being disturbed by my resident cats. Feeding an extra cat won't bankrupt me either :-)
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@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
3 Mar 08
I love your photo of Oliver and Pong :-) They are clearly the best of friends.
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@ElicBxn (63638)
• United States
29 Feb 08
It may not be so much the food being "stale" but that there wasn't enough of it, those long haired cats tend to also be large-ish cats. Even Oliver, my bottle baby, has a big appitite for a not so large cat. He's more of a medium hair, but longer than most of mine.
He and Solo are longish haired while Rio is a true long haired gal.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
1 Mar 08
It sounds like you might be right and he might be a stray. He may be looking for a new home and considering you have 4 cats already, he may be hoping you won't mind one more :) I've seen ppl just dump off a pet when they either can't keep it or don't want it. You might try calling around and see if anyone is missing the cat and if you can't locate the owners then maybe you can make him part of your furry family :)
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
1 person likes this
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
29 Feb 08
Yes definitely he is looking for food and company. He seen your cats so i think he had something in mind that he can visit and stays with your cat sometimes. You know i have so many stray cats and the stray cats that visited us, we adopt them and they are still with us until now.We have so many cats, imagine 9 big and 8 kittens.
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
29 Feb 08
Nine cats and eight kittens? good going :-) All of the cats that have lived here over the last 50 - odd years have been either strays that have been taken in and, or have been adopted. Basically I have an open house policy for cats - they come or go as they please.
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
29 Feb 08
In our house, all cats that comes will but can't go. Because i don't want them to go, if they escaped from our house, i will still look for them, but if i had not found them for a week then they are gone. Sad.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
6 Jul 08
Didn't you know they have radar that says; Go to that house. That lady will feed you. And if they get fed at home it says your food is better.
I had a cat that would beg to go out at 5:00 a.m. every morning. Why? I found out that was when a neighbor was feeding the street cats some concoction of boiled chicken feet. It was more tempting than her full bowl of kibble.
On the other hand one of my half wild cats got lost by following me without my knowledge. Luckily he entered a colony with a good feeder. It took months before the feeder could read the tag and contact me.
@triggerfish (34)
• Thailand
3 Jul 08
Hi, I don't think this cat is a stray if he's wearing a collar. He may be going hungry either because he's not interested in what his owners are putting out for him, he's lost or has decided that it's time to move on. Also tom cats like stalking and challenging other toms, so that may be the reason why he's been visiting your place this often. If you keep putting food out for him he's going to think that your place is his own. You'll never get rid of him. So you have two choices: adopt this cat and get it fixed; or bring in the litter, lock your cats in for a few days/weeks and stop leaving food outside until this cat has found a new home. By the way, my cat looks just like the one in that picture. is that your cat?
@triggerfish (34)
• Thailand
6 Jul 08
Awww, Cleopatra was gorgeous. I have special affinity to black and white cats. Anyways, regarding the belled one, sounds like your cats know him, especially since there's no hissing etc, which also means that he has been visiting your place for a while. Does he have any visible wounds? Does his fur look unhealthy? If not, then he's a housecat but doesn't like strangers... I'd leave him alone if I were you. Might also be an idea to put up pix of the cat on flyers in your neighbourhood and see if anyone comes to claim him. If not you could just adopt the poor fella. Good luck. :)
