My wife and I have been `adopted`

[shylock73]

A lovely little cat has taken a `shine ` to my wife and myself and we believe she has `adopted` us, as she stays with us all day in our garden and wants attention all the time. We don`t feed her as that would be wrong as we are sure she belongs to someone who must be at work all day, and she just want`s our company. At approximately 20.00hrs every day she will suddenly disappear and go home, but next morning there she is on our patio waiting for us.

[bensmum]

Cats are good at this! She probably has a home to go to but obviously likes company. Some cats need this and get very lonely if they are left on their own so she has found some friends in you and your wife. Does she seem to be well fed? If she isn't hungry then someone is feeding her somewhere.

[figure]

Awww just continue to be kind to it. It will scare the mice away. If I find myself in such a situation I would feed it ... maybe it's hungry and looking for food. You're not hurting it, only being loving and kind to it.

[tiggerblue10]

Awww that is so sweet. Lots of cats seem to adopt new parents. Does the cat have a collar? Do you know who it belongs to?

I have a tom who keeps coming in through the cat flaps and eating my cat food. The trouble is he keeps spraying everywhere and it stinks. My 2 girlies won't defend their territory especially if its a male.

[wolf63]

It is probably moving in in stages - one day it will want a treat, next you know it will be demanding three meals a day.

They really are strange animals. They look so cuddly and innocent, but they are devious and scheming little monsters.

I can hear my two trashing my living room as I type.

:-)

[tubeway]

We have two ex feral cats who have moved in with us - they did this bit by bit - it started 2 and a half years ago by just sunning themselves in the garden. Now as I type Sooty is sleeping on the settee, and Sewage (dont ask) is on the back of my chair meowing for a fuss

[madboutcats]

oh yes my little ginger friend sam is doing the exact same thing as tubeways cats, hes now at the getting breakfast, mid-morning snack, a spot of lunch, tea-time and bedtime munchies stage. but then big ginge did the same thing, he hung around for a couple of years with a suitcase packed and hidden in the bushes and moved in the very next day after my lovely old patch died. let the young madam visit she reminds me of pig (a cat with a curly tail like a pigs) he came from an old peoples home and when they were extending and had the builders in he would hang out in the garden for some peace and quiet and became firm friends with patch. he visited us every day coming for breakfast and would disappear off home at night.

[shylock73]

An Update on said cat>>>>>>> She has just nearly caught a pigeon in the back garden and there are feathers everywhere, luckily it got away as she had it in her jaws and was taking it under a hedge to devour, but as she put it down it somehow got free and took flight. Whether it`ll live is anyone's guess. And I was getting to like her. I know it`s her nature........but!!!!!!

[SKA]

we always say our cats are users because they just ome to us whne they want to be petted and for food then they go and lie in the sun!!!
eww we have had so many dead things in our house!!

[corylus]

Cats have had their own Internet long before we have, they communicate via their whiskers, (you'll have heard of early radios, 'cats' whisker' sets) They pass on messages about where they can get food and eventually a home where they'll be pampered and indulged. We've had cats for over 30 years and haven't had to actively go out and OBTAIN one for about 15 years. THEY KNOW. Our elder cat is currently in a decline, getting very thin, she's about 20. I have spotted a NEW CAT hanging about in the garden, just waiting for the opportunity to move in.....

[pastafreak]

Oh! my...a pigeon!!? .....that is a very brave little cat that you have there! Do treat her well! ;-)

[shylock73]

My wife took her vacuum cleaner out to the patio to suck up the feathers and I used the lawn mower on the grass, and got a very look of disapproval from the cat.

[Roughquest]

Please do not feed her unless you are 100% certain she is a stray. Just because a cat has no collar or ID does not instantly mean its a stray. Some poor owner may be wondering where she is - please have the courtesy to shoo her away - my cat is always doing this and he has ID! Someone has been feeding him, so he stayed away for 2 weeks (causing unecessary grief to me and my partner) until someone who was their neighbour had the decency to phone me and tell me who had been keeping him in ! I went round and told them he was not their pet and to stop keeping him and feeding him, they said they thought he was a stray !! Unbelivable ! Some people do more harm than good when they think they are being 'kind' - another valid point is how do these 'cat knapping' people know that the cat is not on special medication, or special food because of an allergy ?? Think twice please before befriending any cat who does not belong to you!

[blimbyrne]

I usually offer a stray some good quality dried food, as long as their teeth look ok and they dont have bad breath (can indicate tooth decay), if theyre hungry theyll take it. so far i've adopted about a dozen cats over the years from the feral ones at the farm where i live, i can touch them all now, take them to the vet, i've had them all spayed/neutered, the new worm pills that smell like cat treats are ace. i can also take prey off them, i can usually get to a mouse before its injured, its not so easy with birds.
As the lady at the animal sanctuary said, once theyve got over their fright a cat wont turn down food, warmth, safety and medical care. its quite a privilage when a wild one decides it trusts you.