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!

Chill.
I found it's owner and it is not common to microchip cats here, so taking it to the vet would actually have reduced the chances of the cat being returned to its owner.

I don’t have FB but would spend my whole life on it if reporting the cats that frequent our garden. At least seven of them. My DH and I love cats we still miss our old boy. We have our own nicknames for all the cats. We have a little dog now and he wags his tail at the visitors. Nicknames are Snowflake, Bibster, Tachey, Madam (also known as Shaved Pussy) Mini Ginger, (Ours was Big Ginger), Shouty Cat and Special Cat. We need to get out more probably!

I have twice "abducted" a loose dog. In one case he'd bolted out of the front door and his owners were scouring the street looking for him - they were very glad to be safely reunited with him - we lived on a busy main road at the time and when I found him he was running in and out of the traffic.

In the other case he was an elderly stray and he got sent to a rescue. Dogs are different though, they're not "expected" to go out by themselves.

It's accepted by cat owners that cats roam. It's not accepted by people who don't want cat shit in their flowerbeds, or people whose rabbits want to sit without fear of torment in their own garden, or people who want their windows open in summer without some random cat appearing on their bed.

"Employed as staff by a cat" is exactly the cat owner problem. Train your animal. Don't be ruled by it. And yes, it is possible.

No, not like that. I meant deciding that they're a stray/malnourished, trying to keep them.

It is a standing joke on my local facebook page. There is a cat who's owners live next to the local tiny park. Their cat goes into the park and sits on the benches. The owners have put signs up saying the car is theirs and that it is not lost along with a photo of the cat. At least once a week there is a post about the cat being lost most often with the postervisble in background.

"No, not like that. I meant deciding that they're a stray/malnourished, trying to keep them."

Well dog thefts do happen, certainly, but generally not by the same sort of well-meaning souls who "rescue" "stray" cats.

Yup.

My cat is 17 now and can’t be arsed to wander anymore, past few years he’s only gone outside when it’s hot and he can sunbathe in the back garden in peace and comes back in when we do.

But prior to that, he was always on the local facebook groups as a “lost” cat.

He’s always been on the thin side too, despite eating everything and loving food (been seen by a vet many times in his life, he’s fine, just very lean), so it was always “this poor, abandoned cat who has just wolfed down two tins of tuna, bless him!”

Along with a photo of him looking like a smug twat on some on else’s patio doing his best starving urchin impression before he sauntered home for a shit in the litter tray, more food and his comfy bed.

He also has a very, very loud and high pitched miaow which only adds to the abandoned cat routine and half an ear missing from a scrap when he was younger.

I used to sporadically post myself saying “please don’t post that he’s abandoned. He’s a very convincing stray but he’s wearing a collar with all my details on it. If he is annoying you, please call me and I will collect him.”

The most infuriating thing was, most of the photos asking if he was a starving stray was when he was miaowing at passers by while sitting on our front wall while I was indoors a few feet away.

Ugh this. And always like "he looks hungry! He’s very thin!" When the cat looks perfectly healthy. "He scarfed the tuna I gave him!" Yeah because he’s a CAT.

Cats are greedy buggers, mine could finish his breakfast and then act like he hadn't eaten for months.
I don't have any now but every cat I've had would eat 3 dinners if it thought it could get away with it.

Our local Facebook groups have similar posts about 'lost' cats. There's also been some about 'lost' dogs as well and passive aggressive posts "to the person with the black Labrador cross who walks your dog on the field near the back road. Your dog's got off and is near the road. I'm just so worried they might get hit." and the owner replies asking why they were curtain twitching, then explains the dog was safely and responsibly being exercised off lead, was in eyesight at all time, wasn't near the road and wasn't lost at all.
😂

No, you’re not the only one OP. “Does anyone know this cat, it’s in my garden, looks lost”. I always want to reply what does a cat look like when it’s lost? I mean, is it reading a map?

@Justforlaffs hope that was just for laffs! Dogs arent generally free roaming like cats!! It's not the 70s! He probably WAS lost!

I see this on a few village Facebook pages

Everything that happens in a village seems to be a drama

In a town or city nobody cares about it

All the neighbours cats come into my garden, and mine visits them as well. That's just cats.

Mine was given to me - I help out with a group that reunites deceased cats with their owners. So use it to check for a chip when I am collecting a cat that has been found dead
I've also used it to scan a cat that kept turning up that I didn't recognise

As a cat owner this drives me up the wall. Unless they are clearly injured or in a poor state, leave them alone. A few years a ago I had a beautiful friendly cat, who ultimately never returned. When I went looking for him and questioning my neighbours, it turned out many had been feeding him or letting him into their homes. He never did come home and I do wonder what on earth happened to him.

I have lots of cats coming into my garden and I'd never get involved unless this cat was clearly injured or in bad condition. Please just leave cats alone. They wander, they take their chances and cadge for food. Its simply what they do. Mostly they have loving families who would love to have them home.

Haha no I leave them be. There’s a few wandering cats where I live. One I used to find frequently in my old shed as it had a slight opening that it could get into. Same car would wander into my house if I leave doors open. Scared the toddler half to death once. It also managed to jump into my car boot one day when I was bringing the shopping in - second trip to the car and it jumped out on me nearly giving me a heart attack!! I know where one of them lives - I had to try and get their owner to come and get it from my shed when it was sitting on top of my camping equipment and wouldn’t move when I was packing the car. Owners couldn’t even get it out!! They didn’t seem bothered. We have another one that loves to sleep on my back yard in the sun, or on my shed roof or car roof!! My neighbour feeds it. I don’t. I’m allergic and can’t think of anything worse.

if someone advertised their cat was missing and I had seen it I’d let them know. I’ve friends with cats who have said they can go out for hours/days and not be too worried.

YANBU. We get it a lot here as well. It’s usually dog owners who can’t get their head around cat mentality.

I’ve even had some moron abduct my elderly cat from outside my house and take her to the vet as a ‘stray’ and know two other catowners that has happened to.

Fair, I stand corrected but there Is a few where I am that go round scanning cats that are just out and about the repoters trap them in sheds or their kitchens surely that must be stressful to a cat?

It's accepted by the lawmakers, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

This did make me 😂, this morning someone has posted a photo of the local fb site about ‘ two cats who appear to be lost sitting by my bins, does anyone recognise them’ the look like two well fed cats just minding their own business sat on the pavement!

I had a cat who suddenly appeared in the garden & spent hours there, every day. He was no trouble, but eventually I sneaked a look at his collar tag & rang the number on it, in case he was lost. His owner said, "Oh, is that where he is now? He just picks a garden & stays there for a while" - !!

So was marital rape until not too long ago. Doesn't mean it was ever ok.

It's not ok to neglect your cat.

How entitled of them to think that's acceptable!

I can assure all my neighbours that my cats think their own garden and flower beds are a giant litter box! Ugh.
I see cats around all the time, and some come up readily. But they are just the neighbourhood cats, doing what cats do.