A stray cat has been visiting my house every day for 4 days now. It just keeps purring at the doorstep. This led me to wonder, What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House?
Me being my curious self, I researched thoroughly on this topic and found some interesting answers. If you have been facing a similar situation, then this post will answer all your questions.
What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House?
It means that the stray cat comes asking you for food, water, or shelter. There is a very good chance that the kitty is coming to your house for protection from a close encounter with a predator. Be it a stray cat or a feral cat, it will be attracted to your house if something catches its attention.
Below are the top 6 reasons:
1. Food
The most common reason for a cat loitering around your house is to find food. The stray cat looks for some caring soul who can feed it before it resorts to the dumpsters outside a restaurant. Be kind enough to offer some cat food to the little kitty.
2. Curiosity
Cats love to roam around their surroundings and explore the place. It will approach your house in case it sees something interesting in your yard like a toy or the smell or something delicious. Certain noises may also make a cat curious and lead to your house.
If the stray cat does not roam around your house often, then curiosity can be the reason for its random visits.
3. Safety
It is possible that the cat is asking you to let it come in because it is lost or in need of a safe place. It is possible that the cat is running from a predator and that led it to your doorstep for safety.
4. Shelter
Another reason for a cat coming to your house is to seek shelter because the weather conditions outside are a bit rough and the cat needs to stay safe. In case the cat is wet or scared from the weather, let it inside and make it feel secure.
5. Convenience
If you have food or water outside of your house in little kitty bowls, it will attract felines. Cats love easily available food and if they got it near your house, then you can expect more feline pets roaming around your house.
6. Superstition
There are some superstition theories behind a cat appearing at your door as well. Some people consider it good luck and that the cat has brought fortune upon their family. If the cat is a black kitty, then it is considered to be unlucky. It is your choice if you want to believe this cat myth or not.
What Should You Do When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House?
As stated above, a stray cat comes to you for food, water, or shelter. Here are a few things you can do when a stray cat comes to your house.
1. Provide Food And Water To The Cat
Get a bowl of cat food and another bowl for water and place it in front of the cat. It may hesitate at first but don’t stop offering the food to it. As soon as it feels that you are a reliable person, it will eat the food.
If the cat is a feral cat, then it won’t come near you and you should maintain your distance as well unless you want scratches on your body. However, a stray cat will accept the food and even come again for more food.
2. Provide The Cat With A Safe Place
If the weather outside is harsh like it is cold or raining outside, then let the cat inside your home. Give a warm blanket to the cat if it is cold from the wind. If it is wet from the rain, provide a towel for it to sit on and dry itself. If the cat seems friendly, then you can help it dry out.
If you have other pets or small children in the house, then keep the cat away from them. Use a towel to dry the cat if it seems tame enough. Stay away from it in case the cat shows signs of aggression when you touch it. Let it settle down in your house.
3. Check For A Name Tag
Check the cat’s collar for a name tag for its owner’s details if the cat comes into your house happily. If the cat has a tag with the details of its owner, then get in touch with the owner immediately. The owner might be looking for the missing cat and be overjoyed with your phone call.
Keep the cat away from your other pets until you get in touch with the owner so that the cat does not transfer any fleas or worms or diseases to your pet in case it has any.
Your pets might not be as welcoming as you which will lead to a fight between them. So, it is wise to keep them apart from each other.
4. Take It To The Vet
If the cat does not have a tag, it is possible that the cat is microchipped. Take the cat to the vet who can help you scan for the microchip. If the cat has a microchip, you will be able to contact its owner and reunite the two.
In case there isn’t a microchip, just ask the vet to do a general health check-up on the cat so that you can take care of it until you find its owner. Ask the vet if the cat needs any medical attention. Also, take note of its nutritional requirements in case you haven’t had a feline pet before.
What Is The Difference Between A Stray Cat And A Feral Cat?
A stray cat is a cat that has had human interaction in its life and has been lost from its domestic house. A feral cat on the other hand has never had any human contact with anyone which is why it won’t come near you under any circumstances.
A stray cat can transform into a feral cat if it does not find any humans to interact with. However, you can avoid that by adopting it as a pet. It might take time for the cat to settle in with you, but with proper care and attention, you can have a loving pet in no time.
How To Tell If A Cat Is Stray?
A stray cat is a domesticated kitty who doesn’t live far away from your house. You can tell if the cat is stray if:
1. Identifying tag
An identifying tag gives details of its owner. However, in some cases, the cat will have a microchip in its skin which you can scan with the help of a veterinarian.
2. Well-Groomed
A stray cat will be well-groomed and easy to identify and differentiate from a feral cat.
3. Friendly
It won’t hesitate to take food or shelter from you and it will easily get settled in your house
What Should You Do When A Feral Cat Comes To Your House?
Feral cats won’t come near you or try to interact with you. It is best to leave it alone and let it fend for itself. You can try to offer it food or water once, but if it does not accept it, then leave the cat on its own.
However, if you are adamant about taking care of the cat, the proper care and attention can make a feral cat a good pet as well. Take a look at the best foods for the cat here. And if you want to groom your newly made feline friend, do check out the best brushes.
Have a look at this motivational video of a caretaker of feral cats.
How To Know If A Stray Cat Adopted You?
When a stray cat comes around your house regularly asking for your attention, then you have been adopted by that cat. It trusts you to take care of its food and shelter needs. If you keep providing it food every day, then the cat will keep coming back to your house.
However, that is not always the case. Some cats don’t look for food or water but just find your yard amusing. They might not always come to your doorstep because they have found many adoptees near your area. You might just be one of its ‘on the way’ friends.
First of all, check the cat for any identification before you start to believe that the cat has adopted you. Make efforts to find its owner before making it your own pet.
If you decide to take on the cat as your pet, then you’ll have to get essentials like cat food and comfortable blankets.
What Can You Do To Find A Cat’s Owner?
1. Make A Flyer
Create a flyer with all the details about the cat to circulate around your neighborhood. Click a clear picture of the cat and include it in the flyer. Mention the precise description of the cat and make a note of some kind of mark that makes it easy to differentiate it from other similar-looking cats. Also, add your contact details to the poster.
Take the flyers to your neighbors, the nearby vets, and local shelters to let them know that a missing cat is with you. Put up the posters near the famous places in your neighborhood. Make sure that you put up the flyers in a place that is crowded and is easily noticeable by people.
2. Use Your Social Media
Post the details of the cat on your social media handles. Look for local pages and pet-community groups online and post the details of the cat. Ask your friends to post the same on their page. If you are lucky, you will find the owner of that cat.
Should I Take The Stray Cat To A Shelter?
You should take the cat to a shelter if you do not want to keep the cat forever with you. Be kind enough to foster it until it finds a loving home. You can speak to the local shelter to help the cat find a permanent home.
If you are concerned that the shelter will euthanize it, then you can ask the shelter to put a hold on the cat. If no one else is willing to take the cat in, then you can adopt the cat and provide a loving home for it.
FAQs On What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House
1. What Attracts A Stray Cat To Your House?
The most common thing that attracts a stray cat to your house is readily available food and water. If you have laid out bowls of food and water for stray animals, then you will probably see stay cats at your doorstep.
If you keep providing food to the cat, then it will become a frequent guest and before you know it the cat will have adopted you as its caretaker.
2. Why Do Stray Cats Keep Coming To Your House?
If you have been kind enough to provide a cat with food or shelter in times of need, then you can expect it to show up with a few of its friends from the street time and again.
If you don’t own a pet, this is another way to find solace in stray animals by befriending them with food and water.
3. What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Does Not Leave Your House?
If the stray cat is not leaving your house, it is because the cat finds your house homely and comfortable. When you provide a loving environment for the cat, it will not leave your house because, at the end of the day, all it wants is love and affection.
A cat will easily become comfortable around you if you give it proper food and shelter to live in. Once the cat gets comfortable around you, it will not leave your house.
Conclusion
To answer the question, What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House, it means that the cat is looking to get something from you. The cat is most probably asking for food, water or, shelter.
Try to find out its owner first. If you can’t find the owner of the stray cat, then don’t hesitate to adopt the cat yourself.
