Cat in our garden

[LittleStar12]

We don't own it but we have a cat that sits in one particular spot in our front garden. It comes almost everyday for about 2 hours and just lies there or sleeps near the bushes. It doesnt do any harm but we couldnt see a collar on it, so we figured it may be a stray. However it goes away and comes back so it must have an owner surely?

Should we just let him/her be or contact the RSPCA to take it back home? I assume it has a microchip but we dont actually know if its a stray or not.

[Barmaid]

A lot of cats don't have collars - my boy cat loses his collars within minutes of my putting them on him.

Sounds to me as if its a happy cat and just coming for a snooze in your garden - if that part of the garden gets the sun, it is probably just sunbathing.

If it looks reasonably well fed and is not begging for food, and looks fit and healthy, I think you can assume that the cat already has human slaves. Seeing as it is just popping round for a couple of hours, I imagine it goes home when it gets hungry.

[redman41]

Does he look well fed and are you able to approach him if you wanted to Stroke him/her ?? If the Cat looks undernourished then maybe you should contact RSPCA.
Have you asked your Neighbours if they own the Cat ?

[sqad617]

You can't choose to adopt a cat, it will decide if it wants to adopt you.

I agree with Barmaid.

[LittleStar12]

I think it just likes coming to our garden. Our next door neighbour has two cats and she said don't go near it because it might lash out, but my mum slowly went up to it yesterday and it was ok. She said the cat looked healthy. We've never seen it before in the neighbourhood though, it just randomly turned up one day, so i was worried in case it had come from far.
It normally comes at around 12, and lies near the bush in the shade. Sometimes it does go in the very hot sun. Another neighbour said we should put out some water in case it was a stray, but we didn't want to encourage it. And i believe it does have an owner, it just likes to come for a visit!

Thanks for the help.

[Nosha123]

Hi I agree with all above - if it looks happy, well, and healthy then it probably does have an owner. Some cats stay veru close to their home and others can wander quite a distance - without getting lost. They just like to explore and he seems to have found a favourite spot in your garden.
Trust your instinct - if he is unwell or needs care - you will know. And I dont think you need to worry about him lashing out at you - he'll only do that if chased or threatened.
Dont feed him if you think he has an owner - or else he might end up staying!

[madboutcats]

My mums garden has two regular furry visitors, they both head for the bottom of the garden (not at same time as each other) and sit under the arch way of russian ivy and bird watch, both splodge (he looks like someones gone crazy with black paint) and sparkly collar (our nicknames for them) spend time pottering about using the garden to get from A to B, they sometimes stop for a chat but have urgent cat business to get on with..sparkly collar often curls up for a sleep in the front garden.. so i wouldnt worry as others say it sounds like you have a garden it likes to visit..

[paraffin]

Nosha's spot on: whatever you do, resist the temptation to feed her/him. We once lost one like that to people who only lived at the bottom of our lane, and by the time we found out it was too late. We couldn't persuade him to come back to us.

I certainly wouldn't worry about the lack of collar, not at all unusual. Our moggies don't have collars for the very good reason that there's a chance they could get caught up in the undergrowth when they're being downright nosey - a very common trait in moggies!

[LittleStar12]

Thank you for the reassurance guys :) I'm just a bit worried because one of the neighbours cats saw him/her earlier and i just hope nothing terrible happens.

[karenmac60]

I work in a library and for the past 10 years we've had a cat that visits us just because she wants to. She has an owner and is well fed and well looked after but sometimes she just feels like coming in to join us. She lies on the counter and sleeps or sometimes goes to see the customers - she has even been seen lying round a man's neck and shoulders while he picked his books. Sometimes she's in every day and sometimes we don't see her for months. Apparently she visits a lot of the local shops too. My point is, cats decide where they want to go and sometimes they find a place they like and go back time after time. If this cat seems ok then I'd just let it enjoy the corner of your garden. If it decides to take the relationship further then you'll be the first to know :)

[Robinia]

I used to go to a vet where a cat from a local house went to spend hours asleep on a cushion on their reception desk!

... trying to get a cat into a carrier to take it to a vet is a different story :o)

[tamborine]

Is it a sunny spot it enjoys? Unfair to take cat if its fed etc as it belongs to someone. Put on collar with note to owner of cat. Saves 'bad feeling' if cat goes amiss & neighbor finds you at fault.

[Barmaid]

At one of the local courts there is a cat who visits and is quite happy just sitting on the benches getting fussed by the "customers"! He is known as Cooking Fat.

As for getting a cat into a carrier, this is how I do it.

At home

1 Get carrier from garage and put in kitchen, open.
2 Grab cat.
3 Try and put cat into carrier whilst cat is squirming, hissing, spitting and sending what feels like 26 legs in different directions
4 Wipe blood off arm and treat scratches
5 Retrieve carrier from other side of kitchen
6 Walk round house looking for cat
7 Get cat into kitchen and seal all exits
8 Get tea towel to wrap round cat
9 Repeat steps 2 to 3 ad nauseam
10 Eventually get cat into box - you are the victor!
11 Victory is short lived when cat does a protest poo on way to vets.

To get cat back into box at vets

1 Open door.

[Robinia]

ha ha...lol Barmaid..it's not something I've ever had to do but my son & sister have just about lived to tell the tale.
Getting a large dog through the vet's door is an art, especially when they've got '26 legs' spread-eagled across it. :o)

[Kleiber]

Barmaid - that's great.....and so true!!

[jack daniels]

we have 2 cats that come around.
one is a neighbours cat who lies in the bushes for hours on end & the 2nd has a collar but I don't know who she belongs to. She has a very distressing meow but thats her sound anyway. I don't give her food but because of the hot weather, I give her diluted milk/water so she doesn't dehydrate. she comes everyday & has unfortunately killed & eaten 2 birds (that I know of) - that part upsets me. she comes into the house if the door is open and likes a fuss from us. she sleeps on the sofa too

[Springdouble]

As Cat's are Free to roam by law, unlike dogs, they pretty much do their own thing. Cats are still semi wild and like a degree of independance that suits them. If you have any welfare isuues regarding the cat, emaciated, neglected , sick etc, then it would be a situation where the RSPCA would help. However , I suspect the Cat is just chilling out in your garden and recharging his batteries in a spot he has made his own.

[Beauj]

LittleStar12, simple answer, leave it be!! Years ago we had a cat that did the same thing, found out later it belonged to a lady up the street.

Now I have 3 cats of my own and was informed by a young couple who live 2 blocks away, that one of our cats visit them at the same time everyday. Only he goes into their house and sleeps on the back of their sofa, - if you please! They have also bought him a bed, so that he has a 'good place to sleep' during the day!!

Many cats opperate between 2 homes, but they will move on as quickly as they came. As long as the cat is not doing any damage to your garden, leave it be.