My cat is begging food in the next street!

[Thesebootsweremadeforwalking]

We moved house last year and the old girl didn't take it too well. She wouldn't come into the house unless it was literally freezing outside, so she has a cat flap into the garage where she has an igloo with blanket, and her food and water. She's still sociable with us outside, and she's happy to be groomed and to spend time with us in the garden.

I thought she was ok with this, but I've just discovered that she's begging for food every night at a house in the next street where they feed strays! (Got a call when they traced me through her microchip.)

I've no idea what to do next - do I just let her get on with it?

Its common cat behaviour, isn't it? Presumably you've told the stray feeders that she's got a home and food? So long as she's not getting too fat I'd be inclined to let her get on with it.

Little strumpet.

How is her health, weight - all those things?

One of my friends had a cat who came home one day sporting a new collar - clearly he'd inveigled himself into someone's house as a 'stray'. So my friend attached a note to the collar to let all and sundry know that the cat already had a home! If you don't want your cat being fed elsewhere, and if they'll tolerate a collar, this is probably the way to let people know.

Yes, they know as of this morning - they said they thought she was a stray! (She's visibly healthy, good thick coat/ bright eyes etc., is wearing a collar with a magnetic cat flap key attached, etc.)

She's spayed but is a wanderer - maybe I just have to let her get on with it. She'd not be happy kept in (I think that's what upset her when we moved TBH) but DS would be really upset if she decided to abandon us completely.

I suppose even cats with collars do stray - hence the idea of a note - one of those little cylinders you can put a slip of paper in might help as few random-cat-feeders would be as good as your neighbours and bother to get her scanned for microchip.

I'll get her a tag engraved with her address on it, I think. Thanks for the tip

Took puss to the vet last night, she was due her jabs, and mentioned to the vet that she's been feeding at another house as well as ours but wasn't putting on weight, which I thought was odd once I'd thought about it a bit. Vet wormed her just in case the granules I'd been using hadn't worked for some reason, then mentioned that thyroid problems in older cats sometimes lead to them being ravenous but not gaining weight. I never knew that. Anyway, I'm taking her back in a few weeks to check her weight again, just in case. Bit worried now.

It depends on how far she's roaming, what she's being fed in yours and the various other places (eg serious food bulk or taste treats) and so on. If she's visibly healthy and with a collar I would be inclined towards the latter so her overall energy output might not be too far off what she's getting in.

(The other house may have said they thought she was a stray but that may have been them doing some wishful thinking or being ultra-responsible.)

I wouldn't worry too much. I've known plenty cats who achieved a balance, food-wise, even though they ate outside the house.

Thanks - I suspect the latter too, she's a vocal cat and always eats meat/ wet food put in front of her (dry food, not so much!) so she'd be easy to encourage. She's a pretty long-haired cat with a friendly disposition so I think there may have been a bit of wishful thinking.

She roams quite a long way - she's followed us to the park half a mile away in the past - so maybe she's just burning it all off .

I persuaded her to come in for 15 minutes today (with the aid of a tasty slice of ham!) and now her collar has a tag on with our name and telephone number. Hopefully that will be enough now.

She really is ridiculously healthy for her age, good teeth, still catching rats etc. and she really doesn't look underfed or bedraggled.