A cat has adopted me...what do I do?

[Pert_UK]

The neighbour's cat has decided that it likes me and my girlfriend better than its owners. It appears from nowhere every time I arrive home or leave the house and has taken to sitting outside miaowing in the evening and sometimes in the morning too.

It's very cute and I love playing with it outside, but I have a cat allergy and so can't let it into the house...unfortunately, it's decided that it lives with us, so every time I go to open the front door it flies like a rocket past me and into my lounge.

It took me 10 minutes to get into the house without letting it get round me last night.......any suggestions about what I should do? I don't want to drive it away totally, but it's getting to be a pain in the arse.

P.

[roguevalley]

1. get some medicine. it loves you and for a cat, that is all she wrote

however, it is an honor to be chosen by a cat. they are
very particular.

[sfwriter]

2. Or get a squirt gun...

he Cat will quickly realize what's your territory and his.

-sandy

[ElephantHunter]

3. two-words

squirt gun

cats hate water

[MissMarple]

4. You might try an ammonia and water solution sprayed around your porch.

I've used it with the trash can in the alley to keep the raccoons at bay. Also, ambushing him when he goes for the door with a quick spray of just water might slow him down. Good luck.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

8. Ammonia can poison cats

they get it on their fur and lick themselves and it can kill them.

I'm allergic to cats and have two. I grew out of my allergy and occasionally take Allegra during the Spring (pollen).

[corarose]

13. How about the Cat's eyes?

It would burn the cornea on the cat's eyes.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

14. I clean with natural, citrus-based products

no ammonia or bleach-bad for cats and dogs (and people).

[Garage Queen]

30. Noooo, not ammonia!

Ammonia smells like stale urine, and will encourage MORE cats to make a litter box of your property. (that's why you should never clean up cat "accidents" with ammonia products)

Bleach is better.

[baby_bear]

5. Many people develop tolerances when they assume they are allergic

Also, different animals/cats give off different types of dander, so maybe you shouldn't assume you are allergic to this one.

Give it a try...cats are so wonderful.

If you can't, please make sure the cat ends up in a good home. That would be a wonderful gift in and of itself.

s_m

[Robbien]

6. There is another way.

You can ignore him. Never talk to him. Never play with him. Do not look in his eyes. He will go away eventually.

[MissMarple]

7. That is way harsh.

I couldn't do that.

[Robbien]

11. Me neither,

It is why I have three cats now when I only wanted one.

[corarose]

9. I am allergic to Cat's and I have several of them

All you have to do is give the little guy a bath every other week and you won't be allergic to him because it's the cat dander/spit that people are allergic to.

Have you lived in your house a long time? Can it possibly be that the cat use to live there with another family?

[ablbodyed]

10. Kitties

They're the most wonderful companions, but, MOST UNFORTUNATELY, you have an allergy and are to be denied the pleasure of the cute cat's company by cruel fate. Sadly, if you don't want antihistemines on a daily basis, that the squirt gun is a non-toxic solution. My sympathies to your loss. A man with five cats: Ariel, Bucephalus, Caledonia, Antioch, and the ever-lovely Phoecenia

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Welcome to DU, ablbodyed!

A man after my own heart and, as a cat-lover, you will always find kindred spirits on DU! Your kitties are indeed very fortunate!:toast:

[Deja Q]

12. Just don't do what Woody Allen might...

:evilgrin: No danger of that, though...

Sorry for the bad humor, I wish I could be of actual help. :-(

[Pert_UK]

15. A couple of extra points...

The cat's owners live 2 houses away, so it does actually have a home where they look after it and feed it. I just think it really likes the attention (so I really should stop playing with it I suppose).

Secondly, I'm on holiday (vacation) in Australia and will be leaving to drive around the country in a few months, so there's no point in me getting used to the cat or the cat becoming used to being in our house.

P.

[corarose]

17. Did the family that owns the Cat live in the house that you are at?

The cat might be going to it's original home and that's why it is running in the door like it belongs there.

[Darth_Kitten]

16. It runs into your lounge?

Do you have satellite tv? ;)

Seriously, I think if you ignore it, it'll find some other diversion. :)

[bluestateguy]

18. This happened to my family

In the fall of 1988, as Michael Dukakis was going down to defeat, a disheveled, starving cat showed up at our doorstep. She looked like she was ready to die. She meowed and meowed and when my parents could not stop ignoring her we finally fed her some food because we felt sorry for her. We really were never much of a cat family, and we were reluctant to let her in the house, having 2 dogs and all, but gradually we did, as it became clear that she was not going to leave, and that we kind of liked her. The cat and the dogs just kind of stayed out of each other's way. We never knew much about her until this one day the following summer when a middle aged woman saw the cat as she was driving down our street. She got out of the car and said "that's my cat". We offered to give her back to the woman, but she declined. Apparently the cat was owned by the woman's father, who had died. When he died she took the cat, but the cat hated her and eventually ran away. We never knew how old the cat was, but she stayed with my parents for the next 9 years until she died.

[MoonGod]

27. Yeah... my dad had a cat that adopted him...

... (my cat, too, I suppose)... was with him for 12 years until she passed away a week or two ago. The sweetest, most loving cat I've ever known. My dad was never a cat person until Gerry came along...

Here's a pic:

[DarkPhenyx]

19. Purchase mushrooms and onions.

That's usually what I do when adopted by food.

[TXlib]

33. Mmmmmm, stir-fried cat

need a little olive oil and garlic, too.

:evilgrin:

[dudeness]

21. shoot it

cats kill native birds and wildlife..sorry if this offends cat lovers..but I value native animals higher than cats..

[Tom Kitten]

22. but what if you own no gun?

what is suggested...snapping the cat's neck while it purrs in your lap? cutting it's head off with a jack knife? stomping on it?

Youre remedy please, for killing an unwanted cat without the use of firearms.....hmmmm?

[dudeness]

23. any of the above...

:)

[REP]

25. I Value Cats More than I Do Humans

Unfortunately, killing humans is prohibited in many areas.

[meti57b]

36. hey, me too! I never met a cat I didn't like.

[VOX]

26. Humans also kill native birds & wildlife. Guess they should be shot, too.

Cats hunt birds, rats, lizards, etc., because it's *natural* for them to do so. Why condemn a cat -- a natural predator -- for something which it's hard-wired to do, and why does this strike you as something that wouldn't occur out in the sticks?

If the cat were feral and out in the wild (and therefore perhaps more "native"), would you still shoot it? There is a connection between *all* living things, domesticated or otherwise.

It was superstitious cat-killing in the Middle Ages that allowed the plague to spread across Europe like wildfire -- the "native" rodent population (plague-carriers) boomed without the usual number of felines to keep them in check.

While you're at it, you may as well shoot dogs, too, since they will go after gophers, rabbits and such.

[kwolf68]

32. Looking for EEG waves here...

SHOOT IT?

On the ecological point this individual is attempting to make, feral cats may actually be taking the niche away from other carnivorous predators that we have eradicated or severely retarded (fox, bobcats, eagles, etc.)

So while the clown who suggested shooting the cat may be right in SOME instances that feral animals are causing harm to the ecosystem, there are possibly situations where they in fact…do NO harm.

I don’t know the specific situation of your neighborhood, but one way to minimize predation of natural animals (if this is indeed a problem) is to keep the cat fed. Cats will continue to chase and attack other animals out of instinct, but the necessity to kill would be minimized if the cat isn’t hungry.

Outside of that, instead of killing an animal that is a “nuisance” you could find it a home, call some shelters, advertise, etc. Shelters are generally the busiest during spring and summer. With fall approaching some spots may be opening up.

At the end of the day, this cat’s predicament is NOT HIS OWN doing. Every domesticated cat that runs wild at some point either directly or indirectly was placed into that position because of incompetent human.

[Shanty Oilish]

24. Give it a bath

Couple of those ought to put you out of favor with the little blighter.

[xJlM]

28. Don't feed it

If you do, it's yours. If you don't, it'll get hungry and go home eventually.

[radfringe]

29. cats pick you, you don't pick cats

that's how we ended up with El Gato Grande, he was a stray found at work and adopted me... about 2 yrs old, weighed in at 11 lbs.. now slightly older by a few months and weighing in at 16 lbs.. when he stretches out he measures 36" long excluding the tail.. one big boy and a real moosh

[MoonGod]

31. Beautiful cat...

... looks like a real sweetheart, too.

[FireHeart]

34. Same thing happened to us

Back in Hawaii. A Siamese male decided he liked our house better than his own, and literally moved in with us. We had just arrived to quarters, and Taj (the Siamese) came visiting every day. His "owner" used to come over and ask if Taj was here, and usually we'd just look sheepish and point at the love seat. He'd be all curled up and sleeping happily. We tried everything to discourage him, but he just wouldn't stop visiting. He was very fast and could zoom in at any time we opened the doors.

Eventually, they gave up and gave us custody of Taj. He just refused to go back home. Nothing we could do. =)

[DoNotRefill]

35. Suck it up.

You've got a new Master now. There's nothing you can do short of killing the critter.

Enjoy! :)


BTW, you'll find that if you spend enough time around that cat, your body will acclimatize itself to the animal dander. Exposure is, after all, the basis of most allergy treatments now.