September 30, 2008

Curious George and the Freaky Cat I got a wake-up call at 4am last night from an unknown cat...

...(no collar, never seen it before) who was yelling on my front doorstep. It took me a while to wake up enough to work out whether the crying was a cat or a child, and when I got up and turned on the outside light, the cat moved off. Didn't see it all day, and I checked the gardens in case it was hiding out in the shrubbery. This evening as the sun went down the cat reappeared, still crying, wandering around the house. I went out to see if it was hurt, as it had seemed stiff, almost lame, last night. But it was walking fine and wouldn't come near me, kept running off...but not far. I really don't want another middle-of-the-night yowling session outside my kids' windows, and I don't know what to do. The cat doesn't seem to be injured but may be lost -- what's it doing at my place? What's a good plan for relocating a kitty? The local council won't collect cats and there's no way to work out where it comes from. It's chosen my house as its...whatever. To be truthful, I just want it to go away, preferably home. It's well-fed, not a stray. Suggestions that don't involve a hose?

posted by tracicle 16 years ago
  • It's trying to make friends with you, I guess. Lemon juice sprayed around your garden and doorstep might deter it.
  • No! I have a friend who is a kitty!
  • You are legally obliged to feed this cat.
  • Any idea if it's pregnant? Might be looking for a place to give birth.
  • Yeah, my first instinct would be to feed it. Sounds like it's putting in its dinner order. Of course, that's how I ended up with this, so YMMV. I wonder if this would work - put a bit of food down at night well away from the house. That way every wild animal in the neighborhood (do you have possums and coons down there?) won't be climbing your window screens. After a few times, it may trust you enough to let you get a closer look at it and make sure it's not hurt. Disclaimer: I was raised by a crazy cat lady, but I am not a vet.
  • Throw your shoes at the fence--100,000 comics can't be wrong!
  • What's a good plan for relocating a kitty? Sack + Brick + Water = End of Kitty Problem.
  • *glares*
  • Sack + Brick + Water = End of Kitty ProblemCappy problem. This happened to us when we were living in our basement apartment. Very loud kitty came to the kitchen window and wouldn't go away. This kitty was affectionate though, and it turned out its owner had recently moved, and "Princess" got out and couldn't find her way to the new place, so she asked us for help. I'd follow TUM's advice -- is there a shed or something you can let her sleep in? Take pictures of her and post flyers around the neighborhood. If she's crying at your door for food, she's most likely a lost pet. If she lets you get near enough, you can maybe check for a tattoo in the ear or a chip under the skin, and if you can get her into a carrier, take her to a shelter.
  • This cat has chosen you to be it's new owner. Try to feel honored.
  • Recording of a dog barking when it starts calling? No idea if that would actually work.
  • I think you've been adopted... If this was my house the answer would be simple, we would just add cat number #6 to the pride (and up the budget for cat food).
  • Monkeyfilter: I have a friend who is a kitty
  • A year and a half ago, a cat started hanging out in the small grass area behind my office. It was living in the eight inch alley between my building and another -- with its kittens. I went and got a trap from Animal Control and trapped all three cats (and a fourth, actually, too). I had the mother (feral) fixed and re-released. I gave one of the kittens to someone in my office and the other is Zimmerman who lives at my house now. In March, a new cat was hanging out there. This cat was not only not feral, he actually just marched into the office when we attempted to feed him. We installed a cat door in the back of the office, took him to get his shots, and he now comes and goes as he pleases. He hangs out in the office most of the time. He has actually jumped on a client's lap before during a consultation when I didn't realize he was in the conference room. His name is Andy Bernard and he is the friendliest cat I have ever known. A week or two a cat started doing the howling thing at our house. We are quite sure it has to do with our cats. You have cats, right? This cat is taunting our cats, we believe. They like to look out the window at him, and he will walk back and forth within their view. Now that the weather is nicer and our doors are open, this cat will actually lay on the other side of the screen door from our own cats. My wife has taken to feeding the thing. So what can you do? Trap him and take him somewhere. Start feeding him. But I think that it is your cats and not your house that the cat is after. What you can do to address that, I really don't know.
  • It wandered around yelling again last night, but only until about 8pm. I went out to try and coax it nearer with no luck. We definitely don't want another kitty; one is enough. I'll find out if the local shelter takes dropoffs -- we don't do tattooing or chipping here in NZ, and even a collar and tag are unusual. Cats are for outdoors, generally, and roam freely around the neighbourhood, returning home to eat, sleep and snuggle their owners. This one was acting lost, although I wondered about the possibility of kittens too -- don't know if it's male or female but didn't look pregnant. Bernockle's idea would make sense...except our kitty goes outside at night, so taunting our invisible inside cat, while amusing, would be kind of dumb. We have a treehouse, which is where our kitty sleeps at night (it has a raised ladder so she has to make a leap of faith to get up, but it's her choice of sleeping spots), and this cat seems mobile enough that it could sleep up there if it chose. We don't have other options for sleeping outside the house here. Besides, cats who put their dinner order in at 4am are no friend of mine! We shall see what happens tonight; we're leaving Friday for a week-long holiday and the housesitter may be in for a treat.
  • Make sure you warn the housesitter! We inadvertently adopted a neighbor's new kitten because we were remodeling our house and one of the work men decided it must be ours and repeatedly let it into the house. Then it decided it must be ours, and wouldn't leave.
  • we're leaving Friday for a week-long holiday *shines the Quidnunc beacon*
  • We have a cat that taunts our cats. Plunks just outside the window and stares right back at them. When my parents stopped by with their greyhound, the greyhound barked at it and it took off. Right around to the front of the house where it sat itself on the front window ledge in full view of everyone and (completely incidentally of course) now at perfect eye height for the greyhound. Wackiness ensued. Cats.
  • I try to make the cats think that they rule, while not interferring or getting involved myself either. They might even keep those goddamn birds off, but then I admire birds...
  • Sethera: ain't that the way it always works? CATS! Can't live with 'em, can't live with 'em.
  • I'm on the 'lost cat' bandwagon, this cat may not recognise the outside of its own house if it normally lives indoors, and is asking for help.. ('miaoooooow??' translates as 'are you my peoples??') I'd put out food/water/cheezburgrs for the cat and stick up posters. you'll eventually be able to catch it to bring it to the SPCA. BTW I have a v. cool vet friend who is an SPCA vet in Wellington. I can ask him for advice on local facilities if that would help...
  • Thanks, wasneme. I know where the shelter is and can call them if need be. RandomCat has not returned today, so I'm hoping he found his peoples. And I slept like a log, so I am not feeling as anticat as I was.
  • That is good. We have downgraded our kitty surveilance of you to code orange. Be Pure. Be vigilant. Behave.
  • *drags empty sack back home, dejectedly*
  • Shurely you're used to that by now ...
  • HAW HAW!
  • Code orange? That only applies to Lara's cat.
  • Meow.
  • Meow.
  • Meow.
  • Meow.
  • Meow.
  • TRACY!!! Mr. Whiskers is spamming us!!
  • *sees sack opportunity*
  • *readies cat trap for TUM* Don't worry trac, I'll catch the beast and then we can get some sleep around this thread.