What should we do about cat visitor?

[BigApple11]

We have a visitor, who comes to see us everyday. He's been coming for the past 3-4 months!
He comes daily, he noses around, he seems to love our children and the attention we give him. He likes to curl up and sleep in our house for hours at a time, he comes and goes as he likes.
We don't feed him, he wears no collar, but we have worked out where he lives and his name from talking to neighbours. He actually lives one street away.
What, if anything, should we do? He is not thin and is obviously fed. My children love him and want to keep him, but he's obviously someone else's pet. Do we go and speak to the owners? If so what do we say?! Here he is :

If you know who the owners are then yes of course, go to speak to them. Find out what the situation is.

He’s just a friendly cat. A neighbour did this to our cat and then presumed he was missing - the cat is in good condition and well fed so stop letting him into your house. If your children want a cat get them one of their own. Another family could really be missing this cat.

Why are you letting a strange cat into your house?

He could just be popping in for some quiet time my cat used to sunbathe with my neighbour's rabbit to get away from us

I don't think you need to do anything other than encourage him to come in less.

Its lovely that you are fond of him but he is someone else's pet and he shouldn't be getting too comfy at your house or he will think its acceptable to do the same to other neighbours.

If your children are that besotted and you think you would be able to manage the costs and expectations of cat ownership then it might also be worth looking at rescuing a cat.

One of our cars did this, went to a house a few doors up when their kids came home from school and got a load of fuss. We didn't mind, it was nice to know where he was going and they knew not to feed him.
Definitely go and talk to the owners, they may be happy for you to carry on and may have a circumstance to explain why the cat is coming to you and be grateful he is getting your company.

It's definitely worth talking to the owners. I've come across lots of cases where for example a cat has been fed but permanently shut out of it's house because of allergies or shitting in corners or whatever. You have nothing to lose by asking what the situation is.

Clearly he prefers the company in your house at times . Maybe his owners are at work all day - maybe they have other animals / kids he’s not too keen on . Most owners would be curious at what their cats get up to .

I've just joined MN to post on here, I usually just read it.

That picture looks just like my cat to the point where I'm going to ask if you live in a town beginning with an A in the North West then please come and speak to me and stop letting him into your house.

Please go and speak to the owners. What you're doing isn't fair at all. It's not your cat, if you want a cat then go to a rescue centre and adopt one.

Our cat often wanders off for hours and every time he does I worry and wonder if he's in someone's house. He has a lovely home, the kids are getting to the age where they don't really play noisily so don't scare him outside anymore but if someone has been welcoming him into their house then he'll keep going out of habit. We love him very much and don't want to lose him.

Ignore all of the above if you don't think he has a good home. If that's the case then still speak to them but ask if you can keep him.

I did put paragraphs in, don't know where they've gone.

Also, my post wasn't intended to sound as blunt as it does!

We live in the south.

@CatMotherQueen we are outside London (zone4)?

you need to speak to the owners, he is not your cat unfortunately, they might be happy for him to sit in your house quietly.

Stop letting strange cats into your house! Honestly, why would you do this? If your children want a cat then get one.

We have a visiting cat from next door but one. During the summer we like to keep our back door open and she wanders in sometimes just stays for 5 minutes or other times settles down for a nap. We never feed her and the neighbours know she visits. We aren't the only ones she goes to either.

I can only see one of my cats so I'm hoping you don't live in Croydon 😂

Actually, he can't be mine as I'm sure none of my neighbours know their names 😂

We had a daily visitor from last summer until March this year. Found out who the owner was and they immediately said they wanted to rehome him. He has been with us officially since that day and now microchipped to us.
He was often alone, or locked out or in on his own in a bathroom. He obviously wasn't looked after and had an awful infection. I like to think he came looking for a new home and found us. We love him to bits. He is gorgeous and we are very grateful to have him.
Sounds like your visitor could be looking for a home...

Feel free to pm me if you think it's him. He's our world, but he's so friendly to everyone, it's heartbreaking to think he might be staying with someone else.

Dear Lord, some of these posts!

You don't need to do anything. He's visiting, you're happy to have him visit, you're not feeding him. The end.

If the owners might have a problem then they shouldn't allow him to roam, should they? Not your problem.

We are not in Croydon and apparently this cat's name is George.
We don't 'let strange cats into our house', he's been around for years and during this summer when the doors have been open he wanders in.
We also are not the only house he visits, he goes to at least two other homes in our street, and I have been told one of those down the road feeds him.
I just went to the house I've been told he lives in but the owners aren't there. I'll go back later.

I wouldn't bother. What are they going to do, shut it in the house? He's clearly perfectly happy which is all that matters.

We don’t leave doors wide open. And if a cat comes in then we put it out. We had a visitor for ages but it literally just popped by our garden for cuddles.