My family has been adopted by a cat

[AnyFucker]

It seems to be in perfect health, well fed, lovely soft fluffy clean fur, no fleas etc

It spends all day at our house, waiting on the garage roof when we go out

We don't feed it anything, so it obviously has a primary home

it is sat by me now, totally chilled and relaxed, follows us around wherever we go

I feel we are getting all the plus points opf having a moggy without any of the down sides (it shits somewhere else and we don't even have to pay for it's scran ...)

Sounds perfect

I am

I wish I could put pics on here

it's a beautiful, supercilious but affectionate big fluffy moggy-thing

How long has s/he been visiting? And any new neighbours, recently?

about a week

no new neighbours as far as I know

I think I'd be getting a little edgy after that amount of time - if it's been spending all its time at yours. At this time of year, a cat could live rough/eating on the hoof for quite a long time - and not really show it if it has lots of fluff so 'having a primary home' is not completely a given. I think I'd be asking around and, if it goes on for very much longer, taking it to the vet to check chipping.

Does it go away in the evening at about the same time? (Teatime, say.)

oh, I didn't think for one minute I should be concerned

it does disappear at tea time and comes back later on then we put it back out around now

(not a cat knowledgeable person)

Sounds as if it might be going home for tea then. (Is it a he or a she?)

Still - I think I'd make some noises locally. It may be that s/he likes you a darned sight better than the current owner but it's surprising that it spends all its spare time at yours - seemingly without exception.

it's a she I think

I can't see a willy anyway

It's all downhill from here
I started off with a birman popping in every so often. Now I also have a black cat that waits outside for me or jumps in through the window
There's nothing like saying hi to birman cat strolling past the sofa, only to do a double take and realise it's a bloody great ginger cat you've never seen before

it's since the good weather has been here

leaving the patio door open and it just strolls in, or comes to join me on my sunlounger as I snooze

today I have been working and I think it laid in wait

earlier in the week (when I don't work) it turned up about 10am and stayed all day until we put it out at 11pm to go to bed ourselves

I give it a bit of what i might put on a sandwich (ham or turkey, eg) but no cat food as I don't have any

Stayed until 11 pm until you put her out? I would definitely be asking around. She sounds just a bit like a stray who has found herself somewhere to sleep at night when you wouldn't put her up.

goodas - does that make 3 now then?

oh, perhaps I will ask around then. I just assumed because it looked healthy it was just coming to an alternative sofa

it does hang around for hours though

Well that could be because she likes you so much more/is shut out of her own house. On the other hand, she could be lost.

I'd ask around - and let her sleep overnight with you if the weather turns bad in the interim.

To be totally sure you could do the paper collar thing. You can get them from vets (and almost certainly off t'interweb). You can then write a message on asking the owners to contact you. If you hear nothing you can assume you have a cat ...

In fact, if you wanted to make sure at some point, you could get her checked for a microchip at (probably) no more cost than travel. Any neighbours who have cats will probably have a carrier they can lend you and vets will usually scan for a microchip for free. (If she has one - not every owner has their cat chipped so a paper collar could be picked up from the vet at the same time if needed.)

We have a similar thing going on. A gorgeous little black cat has taken to jumping in our kitchen window when it's open in this hot weather particularly when we are cooking bacon . It's very friendly and only scratches when we attempt to put it out. Then it sits outside and howls at us for a while. It's very thin but looks like an older kitten and they do go through that thin stage, so I'm not sure whether it is a stray. Its coat is very glossy, but it's a bit jumpy and scratchy so I think it might have fleas. I confess we have fed it a couple of times as it looked so thin. One of the other neighbours says it has been calling there too, so it might be stray. Under normal circs I'd take it to the vet to check for a microchip and ask around, but I'm having a v difficult pregnancy with loads of medical appointments and just don't have the time or energy at the moment.

Of course cozie. I must be tired. Checking for a chip is the first, obvious thing to do. To take her to be scanned though AF you will need a good quality cat carrier. Perhaps a friend or neighbour could lend you one.

I have friends who are cat-mad so I am sure they will have a carrier

in my day, cats used to have collars

this one has no collar....

here is a link to the paper collar

AF you do realise that if the cat decides you are it's person, there is nothing you can do to stop it

Cat collars can be a strangulation risk so not all have them. Although Titcats have reflective quick release ones as we live near a main road.

I am scared, very scared

Lots of cats don't wear collars these days especially if they have chips. (For my own part, I've never had a cat who saw collars as anything other than a resignation issue.)

cozie - yep. Birman, stable cat and new black/white one
Plus I'm fostering dogs....

Here is a pic I got of stable cat (I love this)
instagram.com/p/qAYD3nNd7U/

And black/white "I have awesome whiskers" cat
instagram.com/p/qAYHj9td7c/

Oh and diva "it's 2am and the human won't brush me"
instagram.com/p/ohV8Hdtdy-/

Wait until you mentally name her. Then you're doomed!