To keep this cat in our house tonight?

[ToothGah]

I came home at 4pm-ish and there was a cat sitting on our neighbour's drive. Neighbour doesn't have a cat. Cat has no collar.

Cat followed me down the drive and into the house. We have a cat-hating dog so I fussed her, but shoo-ed her out again.

Cat sat outside the back door and meowed/cried very loudly constantly for over an hour. When DP got home, she was still there.

She carried on crying and we started worrying as we live on a really busy road. So DP knocked about 20 doors looking for her owners, no luck.

We've let her into the back garden and she won't go away - she just cries at us and comes back into the kitchen. We've fed her and she was starving hungry. She's not scared of the dog, in fact the cat is growling at her.

So we've kept her in, as DP is stressing about her getting run over. She's now upstairs on the dog's cushion. Dog is not impressed but considering she hates cats, she has behaved pretty well.

We're going to take cat to get scanned for a microchip tomorrow. AWBU for not leaving her out on the road?

Congratulations on your new cat ToothGah

Did you out a poster up in the vets OP?

I've done a poster and will put those up tomorrow.

Cat was waiting for me when I got home from work.

Ambushed me on the drive and tried to rip the bag of dog food out of my hand.

The dog is terribly unhappy about it all though, so cat is staying outside for now. Cat is sitting by the back door crying :(

I've relented and the cat is now in the side passage. We're going to put a collar on him with a phone number and ask whoever he belongs to to ring us, so we can take him home if he comes round again.

This happened to us when I was about 7. We never found out where she came from- she stayed with us for the rest of her days.

You did the right thing, but I fear it will be very difficult to get rid of him. You have a new pet!

Bang goes my theory then :)

Oh bless, he certainly seems to have picked you!

Have you called your local CPL/animal shelter to see if he has been reported lost? Or tried local Facebook community pages etc?

I think he's picked his new family

Posted his pic on local paper's Facebook, no response.

Tried Blue Cross - they had no reports of a lost cat and told us to take him to the vets to get scanned for a microchip. To be fair they're over run with animals so probably wouldn't want another to take in if we are happy to keep an eye out and find his owner.

Vet is literally a few hundred yards down the road, they have had no reports of a lost cat.

It's weird, we've never seen him before. He was definitely waiting for me tonight - he was there as soon as the car pulled up, jumping up me.

Can dogs and cats learn to get along? The dog is frightened of the cat, the cat is not frightened of the dog.

The dog has gone for the cat (she wouldn't follow through with anything, she just barked at him) and the cat stands his ground completely. In fact, he's trying to get close to the dog, he came down the stairs while I was holding the dog's collar.

I just don't want my dog to be unhappy :(

As a big soppy cat owner thank you for taking this boy in for the night. If anything happened to my cat I hope he'd find someone like you to look after him.

Sounds like you may have a new pet.

Although ? my 2 cats would have anyone believe that they haven't been fed for weeks. They are complete con artists. Mine don't wear collars either, although they are chipped.

I read in a book that the key to introducing 2 new cats is to feed them, separately, in the same room. Then each time you feed them, you move the bowls slightly closer together, until eventually they are eating side by side. Perhaps this might work for a cat and a dog?

I've put him out to go to the toilet. He's just wailing like a banshee outside the back door! What is up with this cat? I've never known anything like it.

I don't think my dog would share her food with the cat! But I have been giving the dog treats when the cat is around, so she associates the cat with nice things :)

There are loads of people just dumping cats at the moment, and chances are there will be many more. This poor little mite could be one of them. If no chip turns up I would just keep her, but maybe put a few posters up in case she really is missing.

I think he might have wandered because he's a tom and he hasn't been fixed.

I can hear him crying from the front of the house now.

Your dog will adapt I'm sure. My mums dog used to go for cats but when she was actually living with cats in the house, she was fine. In fact when our very old cat moved in with mum and the dog, who was also quite elderly, they used to snuggle on the sofa together!

I think you've done the right thing OP. But you're right Toms do wander. Can i just beg one thing of you - that the collar you have bought is completley elastic and if not you swap it for one that is? I have 2 cats - neither of which wear collars but when we adopted them we were warned regarding collars as cats have been known to strangle themselves whilst climbing trees but getting non elasticated collars caught on branches. With fully elastic collars their heads will fall out of the collar as the leastic streches.

am very glad you have taken her in tonight. have lost 3 cats to the road in my yrs as a cat owner, and if she's distressed or lost you have done the kindest thing, keeping her safe.

x

oh the story has moved along a bit.

seems like you have a cat. so many of us have ended up with them this way.

sounds like it may have been dumped, or has travelled form somewhere. I knew a tom cat who used to get in cars!