to want house a possibly homeless cat for the night?

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

MIL rang about an hour ago to ask if I could go and retrieve my cat, who was trying to get into her house every time she opened the door.

My cat at the time was sat on my windowsill. But since she only lives along the street me and dd1 went to investigate and chase away this nosey moggy.

There was indeed a cat there. Who promptly followed me and dd1 home and attempted and suceeded in enetering my home. He was met with some trepidation from my own cat, but in general my cat did not seem overly bothered.

I intended on keeping the very thin looking cat overnight and advertising it in the paper tomorrow, as it was very tame and clearly some one's well loved pet.

Dh threw it out stating that he knew me and he did not want another cat, plus it might give our cat fleas.

So AIBU to take in the poor moggy if he comes back?

YANBU I would do same (and knowing me cat would end up moving in...) however the cat will be fine outside - they always find somewhere to shelter. maybe you could just leave some food for it as a compromise?

Honestly I dont' think you should keep in overnight. We went frantic looking for one of our kittens last night. He turned up this morning. I don't know where he was last night but I wouldn't have been too impressed if I found he had been sheltering in someone else's house while we were going out of our minds with worry.

Or you could take it to the vets so they can check for an identichip.
I would do the same as you except my moody boy would get even moodier and bring mice the size of rabbits into the house in protest.

Oh, I meant for you to take it to the vets after a few days of hanging around. I would not keep it in either.

Well yes, if no one replied to the ad, it is a possibility that the cat may move in on a slightly more permenant basis. But since we already have one cat I don't see that it would make much difference.

Unless he turned out to be a she. In which case we would need to pay for her to be spayed.

Hmm, yes it could have a home near here, but was v thin and not a cat I have seen in the area before. Plus it's raining so surely the owner would have called it in by now?

Not everyone calls their cats in at night - ours roamed around as they liked and came in when they were ready.

I would feed it, but not keep it indoors where it couldn't get out.

Some cats are naturally very thin, like some people.

YANBU - my cat is a stray that 'adopted' us several years ago. Having spoken to all the neighbours and established she was infact a genuine stray, she moved in permanently.

I have fed it. We keep the window open in the kitchen to allow my cat in and out freely, so if it was here it would be able to get out.

I might just keep an eye out for it and bring it in if it still hanging around after a few days.

If it is stray it will come back to where it was fed.

Tell your cold-hearted DH that if your cat has just been frontlined then it won't get fleas for at least another 4 weeks. And then make HIM sleep outside.

I take it the cat isn't wearing a collar? If not, you can't be sure that it is a 'well-loved pet', however tame. Our second cat (sadly now dead) followed my DH home and was extremely friendly but was a stray who was chased by dogs etc. We took her to our vet's where they passed her on to the RSPCA - a week or so later we decided we'd take her and went back. If you do that, BTW, the RSPCA will neuter an un-neutered cat so you won't have to.

Keep it in! It's very cold tonight; I think most cats, even outdoor ones, would prefer to be in. Good on you for feeding it. Can you sneakily call it in through the open kitchen window?

EightiesChick, I won't have to do it sneakily. Dh knows when he is fighting a losing battle.

No the cat has no collar but is extremely friendly and no bothered by other cats or puppies

Frontline your DH, on second thoughts!

OK, I take that back if he knows he's going to have to give in...

YANBU, as long as you make every effort to find out if it is someone else's loved pet, and don't keep it in against its will.

our deeply loved feline child substitute went missing for 7 weeks a couple of years ago and it would make me very to know that someone had thrown him out when he had managed to find a way to get fed and sheltered for the night... unfortunately, ours was far too antisocial to befriend strangers even when he was desperate (mummy's boy!), and when we finally found him he had lost more than 1/2 his body weight and was a bag of bones

... nice and fat again now though

actually, I wouldn't house it if I were you. After being neutered one of my cats became very unfriendly, lots weight, and turned an awful scruffy dull colour. Shortly after she went missing for a good few weeks, she returned - minus the sparkly pink collar - a few weeks later, she had clearly found another food source. Now I have the awful situation of 'loosing' our cat for weeks on end. The DC's get terribly upset, and she always comes home full of knots (she is long haired). I am sure that somebody else took pity on her when she looked awful. Feed her if she looks very hungry, but don't take her in - it's not fair on her owners.

ps I don't read the local paper so wouldn't have replied to an advert, nor do I trouble the RSPCA every few weeks when the cat wanders either.

sorry - I've written that terribly badly! No time to clarify, but I hope it adds weight to the other side of the argument...

YANBU to want to look after it, but YABU if you do keep it in.

Our cats have a cat flap and are free to come and go at night - I know they spend a lot of time outdoors.

There was a period a couple of years ago where one of our cats went awol for almost 2 weeks. We were gutted and just about resigned to never seeing him again, when he came back all fat and happy as larry. Someone had obviously kept him and been feeding him as the same thing happened again shortly afterwards.

The biggest nightmare was that he was due at the vets and we had to keep postponing when we couldn't find him.

So, in short, nice motives but best to make sure it is a stray before you take it in.