Hi cat lovers of the world. We have a dilemna and a very awkward situation with our neighbour. One of their cats, Friendly-Puss we call him, has moved in with us and has no interest in going to his home. She rents the house in our street for a year and doesn't want to have the cats mess up the house so the two cats live in the garage except for coming in for a few hours when she eventually gets home from work. Her son adores the cats. She goes away every other weekend and the boy goes to his father. Even on nights when it's freezing cold the poor mites have to sleep in the garage. They often have no human contact for days. One cat is shy but Friendly-Puss loves company and warmth.
We cat sat for them (I organised a cat sit exchange - 4 neighbours in the street became members after a leaflet drop - so we can always find someone to cat sit while we're on holiday., found out he was banished to the garage and started to let Friendly-Puss in when it was very cold. He would run in to everyone's house anyway even before they got in the door. I now understand why he was so desperate to get in for some warmin' and cuddlin'.
I would keep going outside to look for her car and then eject Friendly-Puss so he could go to his own home, but there was no way for him to let him know he was there. I even the knocked the door a few times for him. I thought she'd pop round to get him as I told her he was following Dudley, our cat, through the cat flap when it didn't snap shut on the magnet. One week Friendly-Puss stopped wandering back to his old house at feeding times completely. We thought it stange that she didn't look for him and concluded she seemed really busy at work, with her new relationship, going away every other weekend etc. but I felt sorry for her son who is obviously very much attached to the cat. I knocked on her door with a xmas card and she told me they'd lost Friendly-Puss. I said "No, you haven't. He's asleep on my sofa - I'll go get him". But he refused to go in their house, ran away from her and kept following me. My husband tried to take him over later but the same thing happened. He ran out of his house. If I took him out of out house he just ran to the first neighbour who arrived home and went in with them rather than his owners.
We changed the cat flap because another cat was eating all the food when it hadn't snapped shut. It worked better but Friendly-Puss banged at it all night and scratched it badly, not that we care. He then worked out how to get in using brute force. He's a very strong cat for his size - must go secretly to a cat gym ;-)
I tried taking him ouside but he'd just come back in again. He's incredibly tenacious. Then when it got freezing cold again how could we kick him out knowing he had no-one at home most probably or even if he did he couldn't get in. He tries to get in with other neighbours if we send him out rather than get home.
We haven't told her that he now forces his way in. We just came back from a week's holiday in Florida and the other neighbour who cat sat said he was in our house every day. His owner didn't reply to my last text message and I don't know what to do. It was so embarrassing last time we spoke because they thought they'd lost him (funny they never asked us if he was in our place when they knew he was a frequent visitor), he wouldn't go in to their house and I felt so guilty. She said to throw him out and I did but he either came back or went to another neighbour's house. When it's real cold I feel awful kicking him out and when we're asleep or away he's coming in anyway so we just let him do whatever and feed him too now.
I don't want another cat despite him being well behaved, almost dog like obedient except for staying out and cute as hell. We'd like to emigrate one day and are happy having just Dudley who gets on with Friendly-Puss but likes to be the only cat in our life and really is our baby through and through. My ideal would be to temporarily give him the home he needs and then when she buys a place next year with cat flap he moves with them. I think she wants me to keep him out but it's tough a because he keeps coming back like a boomerang and I feel sorry for him lonely and cold. He seems to have had enough of trying to get attention and warmth from his owners and I think he'll just take up residence elsewhere if we don't contninue. I don't feel like I can talk to her even. Help - what's your advice?
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It's hard when there is a child involved, but the boy can at least come visit him.
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