Kitten coming into our house

[SinkGirl]

A gorgeous little kitten (I’m guessing 6 or 7 months) appears in our garden every day and on occasion comes in through our cat flap. Unfortunately we can’t have a microchip flap as for some reason it doesn’t trigger for one of our cats even though the chip is definitely there - maybe the position is a bit off? I don’t know.

Anyway, I wouldn’t mind her visiting at all, she’s so sweet and if I’m outside she’ll run over and nuzzle my legs, but I don’t want her to incur the wrath of our two cats - they are older females, 9 years old now and a bit grouchy. I’ve never seen them attack a cat but will defend themselves quite aggressively if they feel threatened by another cat. The other day, my cat was sat out on the window sill and the kitten jumped on to the outside sill and my cat full on screamed - never heard a sound like it in my life!

I also don’t want to upset the kitten’s owners or for her to eat food that’s out here and then not go home when she should, as I know that can be worrying for owners.

Is there anything I can do to dissuade her from coming in? Don’t want her owners to think we’ve catnapped her or lured her in on purpose! I can’t be mean to her although my DH seems to think we have to let her know we aren’t friendly :(

Does it look well cared for?.

Oh yes, very healthy, beautiful coat, doesn’t seem hungry at all, just really likes people it seems and wants attention.

I’d just ignore it, I wouldn’t be mean to it.

Ndn’s cat is very sociable but we ignore him and he stays his own side of the boundary now.

Oh dear - she just stuck her head through the cat flap and got hissed at by my bigger cat. Thought that might be enough to scare her off but she’s back. Gently put her outside and now she’s skipping around the garden like a spring lamb.

I remember my two being that small and lacking any sense of danger and they both got attacked by a big neighbourhood cat so I worry for her. (Different house though)

She’s absolutely lovely and I’d be happy for her to visit any time but she’s not my cat 😂

It's not ideal she's out on her own so young - are you sure it's a female kitten? Can you see signs of a recent spay (i.e. shaved hair on the flank/scar)? If not, she'll be pregnant soon if she's out roaming...

You could put a paper collar on her with a note to owner to make sure she does have a home and hasn't escaped.

Other than that, she will work out the hierarchies with your cat and learn to either avoid your house/garden or learn to co-exist peacefully if she does continue to visit.

It might be Male I suppose but it looks female - she’s quite slight and has a frame more like my girls did when they were kittens than any male kittens I’ve known. Could be totally wrong. She’s probably a bit older than that now - we’ve probably been seeing her for about a month or six weeks, and she looks very similar to when mine started going out after they’d been spayed although I didn’t see any shaved patches when we first saw her. Maybe she’s older than I thought and is just small. I hope she is spayed.

Fortunately the cats round here aren’t especially aggressive so hopefully she won’t have any trouble. One of my cats had her stomach ripped open as a kitten by a big unspayed male so I worry about her!

I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t have a home as she’s not begging for food, looks well and is very friendly but I suppose you never know.