To have thought I was the only OW...

[lexi727]

We first met on my drive about 4 months ago. He came straight over to me as soon as he saw me. As he came over it was almost as if he was excited, which was weird because we had never met before. I thought he looked absolutely lovely. Beautiful black hair. Little bit of white going through it that I thought was really charming.

I fed him a little bit of tuna, and after that he wouldn't leave me alone! I have to admit, I loved the attention as my own cat had died a few months prior. I knew he had an owner, because he had a collar. But I just carried on feeding him because he was such a lovely little kitty! He even stopped over a few nights when my DH was away - nooooo way would DH let me have a random cat in the house!

I knew who his owner was as I saw him being let in a few times. Then one day, I noticed him being let into our next door neighbours!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I thought i was his second home!!! Turns out I was just one of many. He's being fed by multiple women on our street!!! In fact, his owner has had to stop feeding him because of how much he's being fed by other people!!! (I spoke to on her drive this morning).

Feeling very betrayed. I will have to stop feeding him now. Fat shit.

Ta1k what collar? Collars can be very dangerous for active cats - they can hang themselves with them. Mine would never wear one anyway, always found a way to get rid. People just need to not feed animals they don’t own and which are clearly not strays! If they genuinely look rough, take them to a vet to be looked over and have the chop checked/social media hunt for an owner. Cats can pretend to be hungry. They can’t make themselves look painfully thin or out of condition.
OP I’m still not buying your indoor cats explanation. I’ve never met a cat that wouldn’t go out. Two in the same house?

soupdragon
So did old cat

• we used letter paper sellotaped round his neck
• fresh message each day Greedy cat has already had breakfast at #54

he tore them off we replaced them the neighbours stopped feeding him

nowadays most cats are chipped ....

Compost Cat was not which is why we adopted her - she was not registered with a vet (we checked VERY thoroughly)

Alienspaceship have you read Fred by Posy Simmons?

I’ve never met a cat that wouldn’t go out.
I have, many times. Often rescue cats, very nervous, happier with a litter tray

I've got a microchip-activated cat flap now. A while ago another cat kept coming in and helping himself to food, so I put a note on his collar. He was also a Six Dinner Sid and was visiting a lot of other houses! In the end his owner got him a "please don't feed me" collar.

OP, it sounds as though you ought to find yourself another rescue kitty. You wouldn't have to be the OW then...

Cats probably had a string of OW for years, sorry.

When I was a kid my cat used to walk down the road with me to the bus stop each morning and then wander off happily, she always met me on the way home, had a cuddle and then went back out, reappeared every bed time and laid in my bed til i was asleep and went back out again. Same routine for years. Then one day we had to keep her in for a few days while she was on antibiotics.

Old lady who lived by the bus stop had put up posters because for about 8 years by this point my cat had been walking down the road with me, into her house for breakfast and spending the day with her, then popping back to get dinner off her before I went to bed. A man up the road had also put up posters as the cat had been spending the evenings after I was asleep at that house, getting breakfast when the man went to work at 5am then coming home to me. Both other houses had even been paying someone to come in and feed her whenever they went away! We split vet bills and flea treatments etc 3 ways after that. I could't take cat with me when i left home so mum kept her, she had 3 houses (that we knew of) up til the day she died, age 24!

LTCB

@cardibach they are rescues - horribly mistreated by kids where they lived beforehand every time they left the house! Now too nervous to go outside or even be around other people.

@Menolly that's actually a really lovely story!

I can't stand it when people keep their pets outside in the cold. An ex neighbour of mine let their guinea pig freeze to death one winter. She said she "didn't know" you could bring them into the house. Cats and dogs stand a higher chance of surviving but it's still mean.

He's a cat slut. The bastard.

Cats can pretend to be hungry. They can’t make themselves look painfully thin or out of condition.

Looks at my beautiful boy who is telling me he is STARVING and hasn’t ever been fed for ages and ages... yeah he just fancies a treat for something to do as it’s rainy.

Cats are not trustworthy.

I’d be pretty pissed off if someone else was feeding my cat.

Get your own!

@Lynne1Cat I think I will have to go NC

We did this with a stray once, he was definitely a stray. My husband wasn't impressed but I insisted. We discovered after a couple of months he was getting fed up and down the street, we eventually took him in, had him neutered and kept him. He was a grey tabby and we called him Sid. A few years later when our daughter was born I was looking for children's books. I found one about a grey tabby cat who went from house to house getting fed. The title was "Six Dinner Sid". I knew d you not. It could have been written about our cat. We lost Sid some years ago, and my daughter is now in her 20s but I still have that book.

My parents have an appointment cat. It comes early afternoons, stays 20 minutes and then goes to its next appointment with their neighbour.

It's been doing this for about 10 years. But it's not fat.

• I kid you not.

I have a whorecat, various people around feed the fat beggar. I have used collars to let them know he has a home and is on a diet. They ignore the collar or cat removes them before he gets to their house.
He is chipped though and mostly spends the nights inside. He can come and go as he pleases.
He is allergic to real seafood so I just keep hoping no one decides to feed him salmon or prawns or the like.

Is he called Sid?

Don’t feed other people’s cats. You don’t know whether they’re on special diets or have allergies. In any case it’s not fair to entice them away from their owners like that. And definitely do not keep someone else’s pet in your house overnight. If that happened to mine, my kids and I would be beside ourselves worrying about what had happened to it.

You sound very selfish OP. What you’re doing isn’t funny in the slightest. Get your own cat.

I'm new to Mumsnet what does OW stand for please?

OW = Open Whiskas

Our cat - coincidentally know as CatBastard - does this. Despite having plenty of food at home, he goes round to No 25, and lies outside their patio doors, looking forlorn until they feed him a handful of dried cat food.

He won’t eat dried cat food here - ohhhhhhhh no - not even expensive IAMs - and he turns his nose up at Whiskas sachets (he licks the jelly off and leaves the meat). He will condescend to eat the Gourmet Perle sachets.

Oh, but he will, on occasion, eat the dogs’ dry food - much to their horror. He sometimes jumps up on the utility work top whilst I am getting their tea, and if I don’t keep a close eye on him, he’ll be in there! We used to keep their food in an open cake box, on the microwave, on the side in the utility room, and one day I found him in there, knee deep in their food, munching around himself while they looked on aghast!

He truly deserves the nickname CatBastard!

Like Flooffloof we have a cat that reacts badly to seafood and dairy for that matter.
If he came home smelling of tuna we knew we'd soon be clearing up cat vomit and diarrhoea .
He was also getting very fat.
We tried collars, talking to the neighbours, keeping him in.
Collar disappear at an alarming rate.
He tries to get out windows if we won't let him out the door.

A month ago he collapsed, had to go to vet hospital, drips, meds etc, pancreas inflamed, he now has diabetes. We need to monitor his food intake and inject insulin. Again we have spoken to the neighbours and nowthey are taking it seriously.

Please dont feed peoples cats without knowing their medical history.

@chocsahoy other woman!