Am I the only person who does not assume a cat is lost if I see one in my garden?

[GoChasingWaterfalls]

Every week someone in my local Facebook group posts a picture of a healthy looking cat, with something along the lines of "has anyone lost a cat? This one was in my garden, I've tempted it in with some food and going to take it to the vets to get it scanned".

I'll admit, I'm not a cat owner, but I did have them growing up and they used to roam for hours (often bringing back delightful presents). So when I see a cat in my garden, I just assume it's on a jolly and leave it be (unless it tries to poo in my flower bed, then it gets chased away).

Have you ever done this to a cat? If so could you explain why? Am I missing something? It's every bloody week in our group!

Oh god people are just bonkers for this everywhere now. I think some people just don't have enough to think about!

Of course YANBU - everyone with a garden must get visiting cats! My first assumption is that they are looking for the most inappropriate and inconvenient place to take a dump, since that what seems to be the most common outcome.

People doing what you describe clearly have too much time and energy on their hands, and should be redirected to actual good work for their community, rather than busybodying.

It's simply drama llamas with too much time on their hands.

I had a gorgeous greyhound in my garden yesterday, I saw it had a collar and he soon lolloped off after having a little sniff round. I hadn't thought of it again until now!

My neighbours and I collectively became worried about a cat in our gardens once... it was confirmed as a stray (rspca scanned it) The concern came when it was sheltering under things in bad weather, not sunbathing or strolling around! It was fed by my neighbour and eventually removed.

Happens here allllll the time.

Absolute idiots.

I have to admit I did it with Tim, but in my defence he was so skinny I could get one hand around his waist. He sat on my front windowsill very winsomely so I took him out a few crunchies. Clever lad, he was starving but pretended he really wanted strokes and affection. I think he was inside the house tucking into proper food within 10 minutes………..and never left until he was called to the heavenly litter box .

Drives me bananas.
”That’s not lost, that’s just being a cat”

People offering food to cats that don’t belong to them are either idiots or cat thieves adopters.

We have a local cat celebrity it's not lost just a stop out 😂 every other day he is on FB ,is this your cat? Poor baby Is hungry .owner pipes up he's not hungry or lost just a good actor,!

I wish everybody thought like that, twice i have had elderly people make my cats feel very at home, we hardly saw them until i found out who had them . I never did get one back.
Cats go to anybody that will fuss and feed them.

Oh and there is usually somebody with a microchip scanner where are they buying those !

If I see a cat iny garden I let the dog* out to chase it off. It's not lost, it's looking for a place to shit.

• Please note said dog is actually scared of cats (and birds, and wheely bins, and her own farts) and will run at a cat in a very enthusiastic manner until she is about a metre away, at which point she slams on the brakes and veers wildly to one side. Cat is scared off by the speeding lump of fur but is in no danger.

I made a bullet point! No idea how I did that.

This infuriates me. If you want a cat go to a rescue centre, don't try and claim you're giving a loving home to a stray when all you're actually doing is tryingto steal a much loved pet.

It's always the same. It's been in my garden for hours... ignoring the fact it was probably asleep for 90% of that time. I was so worried it was a stray that I gave it some food and it wolfed it down, so it must have been STARVING. Err nope you fed a cat and it ate food, have these people not read six dinner sid 🤦🏻‍♀️

Cats have territories and ranges, so if I see a strange cat, hanging around, acting hungry - or has happened before approaching me for food, then I think it might be stray. If it is just a cat passing through the garden, then I assume our garden is part of it's range.

They do that around here. Put the poor cat in a bathroom or a box and post on facebook. Except the local facebook group is a private group with lunatic admin, who don't let any new people join!
Don't move in and bring a cat near us, people!

This happens where I live as well.

If a cat turned up on my garden looking neglected or starving, I would just bring it to the vet without a faff online. A healthy-looking cat that is rolling about or stalking bastard pigeons? Carry on mate, I'm sure he'll go home for supper!

I mean if its a kitten or an injured cat you can see how Facebook could be useful, but a cat just handing out in your garden it's a bit ott to say this poor baby is starving as they waft a tin of tuna under its nose.

Oh our group is also a one woman admin private group. She occasionally has strops about what people are posting and archives the group for a few weeks. Someone tried to set up a rival group with a more sensible approach but it never took off.

I can understand if the cat seems hungry, unkempt etc. But most of these pictures are of obviously well looked after cats and the poster usually states something along the lines "found in my garden today" etc. So it's not like it has been hanging around for days begging for food 😂

or has happened before approaching me for food, then I think it might be stray.

Why would you assume that?

Cats are greedy buggers, mine could finish his breakfast and then act like he hadn't eaten for months.

It happens on our local page as well. Cat sitting on a wall "looks lost". Does it?!?

People are strange.

Someone did that to my friends cat. She had gone out for the day. Cat had gone for its normal wander, which was to say hello in the park and local shops. Been doing this for 10 years. . I was scrolling through Facebook and someone had captured friends cat and had it in their bathroom. Asking if Facebook if anyone knew this cat.

all the cat had done was be friendly in the park. The guy decided it was a stray, despite being a fat cat with a collar. Messages my friend and the guy. My friend asked for the cat to be dropped outside her house in the garden. Guy refused as not safe. I had to go get the cat and drop it in the garden with a false promise i had a key.

stupid guy.

Mine too.

In fact my hubby feeds our cat her breakfast if he goes to work before me. And then on those days our cat then has the cheek to pretend to me (when I get up) that she hasn’t been fed. Er - I know you had a full breakfast about 30 minutes ago my darling cat.

Agree only exception is if cat has been hanging around for days and / or is skinny, injured or very dirty etc etc.

Christ we've got local cats that wander into our house and help themselves to our sofas if we leave the doors open and I just leave them to it. I'd never assume a cat was lost or ownerless unless it looked genuinely very ill or injured.

People have "rescued" one of our own cats multiple times because he does like to roam and wander far and wide. It gets very old being summoned to collect him for the umpteenth time because some busybody "saved" him, when if they'd just left him alone he'd have made his way home.

I should be annoyed by this but I can't be, because if someone like that hadn't posted about my dear departed idiot boy, I might never have found him.

The bugger decided to go off on an adventure at 16, and made it as far as a mile away. Decided he'd had enough at fending for himself, and picked a nice looking woman to yell at for food.

She said that her daughters were already begging to keep him, so she posted in the hope of shutting them up ASAP.