strange cat coming into house

[heather sullivan]

If he is a pedigree cat you could always mention to the owner that he could well be stolen and used for breeding so better for poor cat to have his tackle removed as he may lose him.

A few years ago me and my friend catnapped a poor puss who had 4 litters before the age of 2! we smuggled her away in a bag, I got a voucher from CPL and took her to my vets to be spayed. I then kept her at home for 2 days then we smuggled her back again. The funny thing was, as my friend Steve walked back to his partners house from my car with the cat in the bag, her owner walked past and said hello to him. Luckily she didn't see the bag was moving and hear the muffled meow! Anyway they hadn't even noticed she was missing or had a shaven patch on her side! Prob wondered why she didn't have any more babies. Eventually she moved in with the lady above my friend so all ended well .

[carolynl]

You lot are so funny 

I did think of taking him for the op but knowing my luck I would be found out and charged with criminal damage 

I have told the owner that if his cat comes round again I will phone him again and will keep on doing so until he does what is right by the cat.  What if he goes into another house where a young female hasn't had her op yet and gets her pregnant? He just whined about it changing the cats character 'Well, yes, that is the point you silly man'  I really feel sorry for the cat as he did seem lovely once he calmed down and I'm sure he would be happier without his crown jewels 

Mymblesdaughter, I pointed out the harness thing to the owner and told him a sad tale of another cat that got stuck in a hedge and died because she was caught by her collar. He said the harness has a quick release catch but I can't imagine it coming off easily as it is around his front legs, neck and body, and he has a habit of climbing trees and getting stuck apparently.

Gill, I don't think he is an applehead, he's one of those pointy ones, but I didn't notice until I saw him up close. He is so big and the photos are quite grainy so it was hard to tell from them. I will try and get some proper photos if I see him in the day time.

I will keep you all posted. I am going to install my microchip cat flap on the outer wall at the weekend and give Jasmine more intense training in using it. Hope she will be ok. Izzi isn't quite so scared but she isn't herself. She hasn't got Jijo to protect her anymore. He would have seen off Satan cat no trouble. 

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Sounds like the owner wouldn't even notice if cat returned with his balls missing

The thought crossed my mind too heather.  Sounds like the owner is a bigger  than his cat will ever be. 

I agree, it is hard to know how to restrict a cat's activities, but in this particular instance, one of the first moves I'd have thought appropriate in the circumstances would be to have the cat neutered.  And safer for the cat too. From the sounds of it, the guy who has this cat is pretty ignorant as to the risks for un-neutered cats, quite apart from the fact that it's causing a darned nuisance with your own cats.   The trouble is, you cant reason with folk like that.  If they don't even have the decency to apologise, you cant expect much from them. 

Well done with your efforts Carolyn.  I guess all you can do for now is monitor the situation.  (Or catnap the current "Spawn of Satan" and have him neutered and re-homed on a farm   

Seriously though, I do feel for all concerned, especially your cats, who are going in fear of this intruder.

[heather sullivan]

Sounds like the owner wouldn't even notice if cat returned with his balls missing

[Liz]

He would have been returned to owner minus his bits if he had tried that here

[Mymblesdaughter]

Should a cat be wondering around with a harness on? Isn't that dangerous?

 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

That owner does not sound cat friendly at all and would love to see pics of the cat.

Is he a tradiutiona siamese, call them appleheads in Europe?

I hope he at least gets him neutered and agree no wonder your girls are scared.

Well done for catching him

[carolynl]

Hi Everyone.

Well we had some success.  We managed to capture him in our conservatory, last night, by keeping the cat flap on 'in only'. When he came in at his usual time I got up from my chair and he heard me and tried to get out again. He did panic a bit and ripped the inner part of the catflap off the wall! but I managed to calm him down (wearing my thickest gardening gloves) and he let me stroke his head. Anyway, as soon as I saw him up close it was obvious that he wasn't a Burmese but a Siamese. A beautiful cat actually, but a very muscular and powerful entire male, no wonder my girls were terrified. He eventually sat down and I was able to read the tag on his harness. Luckily it had a local phone number and his owners name. I wrote down the details and then let him out.

I phoned the owner and told him what had been happening but he didn't seem at all interested. He didn't even say sorry   He said that he has an electronic catflap that locks at dusk so that his cat can't get out once he is in after dark and that he always comes back before bedtime and doesn't leave the house again until the next afternoon. Well, that is certainly not true, and I told him so, as I have photographs of him in my house at all hours of the night and first thing in the morning (from a field camera, normally used to photograph wildlife, which we set up in the conservatory). I also pointed out to him that it was irresponsible of him to let his cat roam when he hadn't been neutered and that it could possibly calm him and help to reduce his aggression, and he did say that he would see about getting that done. I won't hold my breath though.

He told me I should get an electronic catflap so that his cat couldn't get into my house. I pointed out to him that I already have one but my youngest girl is so timid she is even frightened of the click of the catflap unlocking so it is taking time to train her to use it on an inner door first, and besides, that won't stop him coming into the garden so she will still be wary of going outside.

He also said that he hadn't received any other complaints but, frankly, I don't believe him. I said that I would call him again if anything else occurs.

At least I now know that the cat isn't lost and lives just around the corner and I can contact the owner at any time.  The saga continues 

[Rosella moggy]

Don't think vet will be able to supply owner's details to you.  If he has a harness and you are able to handle him, you could try attaching a note to his harness?  Best of luck. 

It's really not nice for a cat to be terrorised in their own home.  Tread easily with the slave of Burmese.  It's almost impossible to prevent  a cat doing what they want if they have outdoor access.  Not sure what I would be able to do to stop ours entering other people's houses 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Hope youcatch him and could be he likes people but not other cats.

I reckon he is lost and hungry and my cat Lupin always has his walking jacket on when he escapes, doesnt help but agree he belongs to someone and hope he has a chip.

[pandorawarlord]

sounds as if does belong to someone, hope you can catch him

[carolynl]

Thanks Guys for the advice.

I have set up my largest cat carrier with some tasty biscuits in it. Hope he will come and get them.

I will let you know 

[heather sullivan]

I would def try and catch him and take him to vet to be checked for chip. If he has a harness on he could well be an indoor cat who has escaped!

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Hi Carolyn

So sorry you're having this problem.  I'd definitely say if you can catch him and take him to be scanned, a resolution may be worked out - Burmese are quite forceful characters and its not uncommon for this sort of thing to happen without owners having any idea.  The other thing is given the cat in question is wearing a harness, he or she may well have escaped.  Be careful when trying to trap and contain the cat - cat bites and scratches can be infected very quickly, and your safety needs consideration.  Ideally I'd suggest a food lure in a cat carrier.  Leave the food out two or three times to see if it's comfortable taking it out of the carrier before making a move.  I think it'd be helpful if there were two of you available to do this. 

Good luck, and let us know how you get on. 

[carolynl]

Hi, over the last few weeks a cat has been coming into our house and terrorising my cats. He is a burmese and is wearing a harness.  I need some advice about what I can legally do to catch him and take him to be scanned for a microchip.  I am worried because my youngest cat, Jasmine, is becoming stressed and is scared to go out in the garden. She sometimes does a number 2 in the house because she is too scared to go out. I am also worried for the burmese because I believe it is dangerous for him to be wandering about in his harness.

Do you think it would be ok for me to catch him and take him to my vets to scan him? If I could find his owner we may be able to agree a way of keeping him away from my house. Also he could be lost.