Unknown cat entering the house

This is mostly just a question to fellow house sitters because I’m curious.
Has it ever happened to you that a cat other than the one you were sitting for has entered the house? If yes, how did you react?
I am currently cat sitting and there is a really friendly cat who comes to the garden. It was raining very hard earlier and it tried to come in. (the cat who lives here was sleeping upstairs) I think it’s a stray. I didn’t let the cat in because I didn’t think that the owners would appreciate it, but I felt very sad for the friendly little furball.

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Yes :laughing:

He kept coming back, trying even after owners came home. They pulled out the hose and made it rain…
They have since installed microchipped flap.

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Oh, how awkward! Funny too though :slight_smile:

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Not on a house sit, but a random ginger came in my house through the cat flap one night a few years ago to eat my cats’ food. The screaming from my two resident cats woke me up, and freaked out Ginger, who climbed walls and curtains trying to escape! I thought it was my neighbor’s cat, Monkey. I called her to say that if Monkey’s diet wasn’t working, it was because he was eating at my house! She told me she had moved a few weeks earlier and Monkey was with her.

I trapped Ginger and had him fixed, and he never came back. Of course he didn’t - why go back to the woman who snipped your balls off!!

I would contact the homeowner and advise them of the situation. The owner may be familiar with the cat, who may belong to a neighbor. We had owners who had resident indoor/outdoor cats with cat doors, but they also fed feral cats and did not want the ferals in the house. One feral would stalk us from the porch and try to get in through the door every time we entered or left. It was really stressful trying to make sure he did not slip through our legs. Thankfully, he did not find the cat door on the side entrance.

I agree with @Southernsitter. The homeowner may be aware and forgot to tell you. We were on the other side of such a situation with our last cat. Unbeknownst to us, he often went next door and spent time in their house with their older, and therefore not protective, cat. No wonder why he wasn’t able to drop any weight, no matter what we tried. He was being fed in both houses! :rofl:

We have had 2 sits with cats where a neighbourhood cat would drop by for some food, drink and sometimes a nap.
The homeowners let us know they would stop by and that it was ok and gave us their description.
On the one sit the resident cat (his brother not so much) really enjoyed the visitor but on the other sit the 3 cats didn’t like it and there would be hissing and kerfuffles.

Yes this happened where I sat for a cat and a dog.

The dog also provided the solution. Before I even saw the intruder cat, the normally very calm dog was going nuts, barking through the window and successfully scaring the cat away.

Mission accomplished! :rofl:

Aww, poor cat :broken_heart: I know how you feel—I’d have a really hard time turning it away, too. I might try to put a cardboard box or some other makeshift shelter out in the garden where it could stay dry :crying_cat_face:

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@Karen_E many years ago I had a lodger who had a cat. Sylvester would visit our next door neighbour for a bowl of tuna and then lie on her glass conservatory roof to taunt her dog. We also once spotted him miaowing on a doorstep just round the corner from us - no doubt another regular restaurant stop!

On a sit in Long Beach, CA, the resident cat and the neighbor cat (next door) would regularly go back and forth visiting each other, having meals together. Instructions were to leave the back door ajar when I was at home and awake so I did - and the cats would visit.
And it didn’t bother the resident dog at all.

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My mom would be “The Other Woman” in all of your stories. Cats just seem to levitate towards her place because it’s nice and quiet, and the lady is nice and might even feed them something. Mom insists she doesn’t want a cat of her own again, but there’s always 2-3 neighbourhood cats around to keep her company. Over the years she’s ended up with a few of these becoming permanent settlers, when some cats simply decided they don’t want to go back to their own homes and settled at mom’s.
This is an example where it’s raining outside and stray cats are not allowed inside…yet…it’s on the inside :grin:

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I’ve checked with the owners and it’s actually a cat who belongs to a neighbour, not a stray at all. Seems like it was good that I didn’t listen to my soft heart :upside_down_face:

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Thanks for the update! I was feeling sad for that cat from afar…this puts my heart at ease :upside_down_face:

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I’ve been the other man a few times! I had a house for a number of years where a cat down the street would turn up and come in and make herself comfortable beside me as I worked from home. I did tell the couple she belonged to. They were happy though as they were out all day at work but the cat had access to food and water so she’d spend many happy days curled up next to me! Unfortunately old age caught up with her eventually. Never got my own cat though as this cat didn’t seem to like other cats.
I lived abroad and one of my neighbours cats was left in the outhouse if my neighbour went away with someone leaving food and water. She again adopted me and would often spend days curled up next to me. Some nights as well she’d happily sleep at the end of my bed.
I moved to the same country and again got adopted to a ex feral cat the security guys had tamed on my complex. They gave him food and water and shelter but he decided a warm knee or my bed was preferable!

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I am still here and the non-resident cat has stopped trying to get in. I think he tried to befriend me and manipulate me when I first got here, haha. Now he has seen that he’s getting nowhere so he no longer bothers. It’s amazing how clever they are!

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Thanks for the update @andrealovesanimals. Yes, cats are often smarter than we give them credit for!