My cat keeps going to another home!

tracey65

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Hi,
For the past month my cat, Millie, has been visiting a neighbour's house about 200 yards from mine. I only realised this last night when I had a phone call and went there to find Millie quite happily asleep on their sofa! She was not happy to be escorted back home and is looking quite miserable. Apparently she visits there on a daily basis for the past month. I've requested that they stop feeding her and see if that helps. However, it looks like she's gone there again today and I'm distraught! Why has she gone like this and is there anything I can do to stop her?
Any answers would be very much appreciated.
Tracey
 

jennyr

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I don't know how you can stop her other than keeping her inside for a while and see if you can break the habit.
 
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tracey65

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Hi,
Thanks for reply but I've got 2 other cats so I don't think I'll have 3 happy cats when I get back from work!
 

talon

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Is there something that has recently changed in your house? New furnature, new pet, furnature drastically moved, etc?
 
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tracey65

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Hi,
Have already thought of that, and can't think of anything that might have changed to make her do this. The elderly couple she has adopted recently lost their cat in April and are obviously making a huge fuss of her which doesn't help my situation!
 

bigkittendaddy

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It looks to me like she thinks that these folks need her. If she is coming home regularly perhaps ypu might consider letting her continue to go over there. Since these older folks have lost their cat your cat is probably helping them to cope. Remember cats truly pick their people and we need to respect their decision. At any rate this is my off the cuff opinion for what it is worth.
 

daidreamer

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Originally Posted by BigKittenDaddy

It looks to me like she thinks that these folks need her. If she is coming home regularly perhaps ypu might consider letting her continue to go over there. Since these older folks have lost their cat your cat is probably helping them to cope. Remember cats truly pick their people and we need to respect their decision. At any rate this is my off the cuff opinion for what it is worth.
I know it would be hard to have one of my babies over at someone elses home but these people must treat your baby with lots of love because she is enjoying her visits. She is coming home as well so that is a plus for you. If you are not happy with this behavior you can do what others have mentioned to keep her inside for a bit to break the habbit but most likely she will return. She will not forget these people that easily.
 

hissy

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Sometimes they just choose another home for a reason. I think under the circumstances, seeing she is well cared for and they need her, you should just let her go over there. The distance she travels puts her at risk for traffic and carting her home against her will will just make her resent you over time.Either that or keep her indoors all the time which you said you cannot or won't do. Obviously, she has made her choice and apparently so have they.
 

stormy

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I really don't know why they do that, we used to have a cat named Rosie, we got her as a feral kitten. Anyway she used to do the same thing! She actually be gone for a day or more and come home not hungry and smelling like perfume!


And one of my sisters used to have a cat that did the same thing as well, only hers had 2 other "homes"!
 

elizwithcat

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When you let your cat outside, you have no control over what she/he is doing while out.
 

maverick_kitten

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thats how my gran got three of 'her' cats. they came from happy homes to visit her every day whilst their owners were at work.

it suited both the owners and my gran as the cats were looked after during the day and my gran didnt have to worry about vet bills and got all the pleasure of cat ownership without any pain.
 

jcat

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We have a "part-time cat", ZsaZsa, who simply decided that she wanted to live here. She belonged to former neighbors, and after they moved, she kept turning up here. Her former landlord took her in, but she still came to our house every day. After his death, I tried to get Jamie to accept her, but it didn't work out. She now "lives" with a neighbor two doors down, but eats her meals here, and spends most of the day hanging around outside or sleeping in our laundry room. Sometimes I think you just have to allow them to do what they want in order to ensure their happiness. As long as it's not a problem of her being overfed or overvetted, why not let her have the extra attention? If your neighbors get another cat, she might change her mind again, too.
 

laceydf

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I agree with everyone else. I would let her go there/stay there with them. She has chosen to for a reason...and I'm sure she is helping them cope.
 

nano

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If you feel these people are unwanted interlopers who fuss over neighborhood pets but lack any real ownership skills, or are selfish for attention but are detrimental to an animal's welfare, then keep your cat indoors and away from where they can meddle with her.

But if one of my pets legitimately preferred a different home, and I could see that home was equal or superior to me in terms of stability and best interest of the animal, I'd strongly consider transfering full ownership and simply letting them go.
 

aussie_dog

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The exact same thing happened to a previous cat I had. We got him when he was a year old from the shelter (he'd been abandoned to the streets, I think, by his previous owner). We had him for a while, can't be sure how long (maybe a year) before we got another kitten. Now, this was in the days before we understood the dangers of letting cats roam free outside. As soon as Grizzly came to the house, Sasha started spending more time outdoors, until he met up with a lady a few houses away. He started spending more time over there, coming back home only for food. After a while, it was sort of an unspoken agreement that the lady now had a new cat, and Sasha would only come over once every couple of weeks for a visit (but if he saw Grizzly, who would get excited and start running to Sasha, Sasha would turn right around and bolt out the door). Eventually Sasha left that woman and moved to another house a few houses down, and he kept doing that over the years until he lived a couple of blocks away. I haven't seen him in a couple years, since I saw him sunning himself on the sidewalk in front of one of my friend's house (across the street, that is, he didn't like her, lol). Either his current family moved away and took him with him, or he succumbed to the outdoor life (he'd be 14 or 15 this year) or he moved to some other house and they made him an indoor cat, or he hasn't moved at all and I just keep missing him.
 

petnurse2265

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Cali was my neighbors cat, unspayed un-vaccinated and roaming the streets. Now she is spayed vaccinated and a strictly indoor cat, she doesn't even seem to miss her old life. The same neighbors have another cat that is neutered (and vaccinated now thanks to me) but he spends about half his time here and half of it there.
 

sharky

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I would let the baby visit as long as it is not detrimental like a busy street needing to be crossed ///

I had a similiar issue with my neighbors dog... I give both neighbors dogs cookies ( they dont have allergies) because I love animals and they guard my house... well one of them found a way to get in my back yard... I told my neighbor where his dog might be and he promptly closed up the area ... that wasnt what I wanted or the dog he is moppy now ... all I wanted was for his daddy to know where he was..
 

maherwoman

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My only thought on the subject is the same as another reply on here...I'm sure she can see that they need/love her company. Cats can sense when someone needs something from them, and try to act accordingly. As long as you know the couple isn't going to try to keep her, and she keeps coming home, I wouldn't worry about it. She knows where she lives...heck, you could even bribe her for a couple months with some really awesome food!! That'll show her without a doubt where her home is! :eek:)
 

ginger's mum

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Originally Posted by Tracey65

Hi,
Have already thought of that, and can't think of anything that might have changed to make her do this. The elderly couple she has adopted recently lost their cat in April and are obviously making a huge fuss of her which doesn't help my situation!
My cat did the same thing when my son started walking, the neighbours cat died and he moved in the very next day, traitor.
Now he's getting fed liver and fresh fish, spoilt rotten and all sorts of medical care I could neer have afforded.
I guess he got his nose put out of joint 'cause he wasn't the centre of attention.
If you want the best for your cat, ask them to either stop letting him in and feeding him or go the whole hog and take responsiblity.
I decided I'd rather have a cat who WANTED to be with me, the whole "If you love them let them go thing", he never came back
 

sadisticookie

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I've been on both ends of this situation before. In the past when I had outdoor cats I would sometimes see them come home from across the woods at other peoples homes. It hurt because I felt like my cats were seeking attention from "outsiders" and I felt rejected. It's heartbreaking to see our cats preferring someone else's affection over ours.

On the flipside of the coin, I have had great relationships with cats and dogs that officially belonged to other neighbors. I bonded with them, they sought me out and yes sometimes the neighbors would show frustration (especially when they'd call their pets and the little suckers would not leave my house for anything).

Good luck to you both on however you choose to handle the issue
 
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