How to Handle Random Cats Visiting Your Home

How to handle random cats visiting your home

I often get asked about unexpected feline visitors!

Cats are natural explorers, and in a farm kind of environment a male cat would have a territory spanning around 100 acres, with females having 5 acre territories within that. In an urban area, cats usually have much smaller territories, especially if they are desexed, but they will still move about, on tops of fences and rooftops. While they don’t often wander far from your section, they will often include some of the neighbours’ sections in their “territory” as well. So it’s not unusual for cats to wander from our smaller residential sections!

In some cases, there’s nothing wrong with a cat coming to visit your home or property - you might find you enjoy the visits, and relish the chance to connect with an animal in this way.

However in other instances it can become an issue - for example if you have an allergy to cats, or if you have a cat of your own that is becoming stressed by the uninvited guest.

In this article, we’ll cover what to do if a strange cat is making themselves at home on your property. I’ll start with some generic advice, then we’ll delve into what to do if you want to encourage or discourage the visits.

‍1. Assess the situation

‍Observe the cat’s behaviour. Is it friendly, scared, or aggressive? Does the cat approach you for pats or to demand food? What condition is the cat in? Do you see a collar or any other signs this cat has a home? This can help give you clues about whether it’s a lost pet, a stray, a feral cat or a confident cat out exploring the neighbourhood.

2. Determine if the cat needs help

‍If the cat appears injured, unwell or pregnant, contact the SPCA for advice on what to do next.

3. Check for identification

‍If the cat is approachable, see if it has a collar with identification tags. If the cat has been visiting regularly and you’re concerned for it, you can take it to a vet to check for a microchip and track down the owner’s details. 

4. Avoid forced interaction

‍Don’t force the cat into interaction with you, as this could be distressing for them. Allow them to approach you when they feel safe. 

5. Check with neighbours

‍Ask around your neighbours to see if anyone is missing their cat, or knows that their cat is prone to wandering and visiting other homes. This cat may be familiar to others in your neighbourhood! 

6. Speak to the cat’s owner

‍If you are able to locate the cat’s owner, have a chat to them about their cat visiting your home and make a plan with them about what you want to happen going forward - whether you’re happy to keep enjoying the visits, or want to discourage the cat from entering your property (we’ll cover that below).

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‍If the cat has an owner and you want visits to continue…

You may have become quite attached to your little visitor, and want to keep up the visits. If you’ve managed to locate the owner, establish:

• It’s fair to say most people will prefer you don’t feed their cat or encourage it into your place. But if they are happy for you to offer their cat food and water, establish what type of food and any limits on it. Some owners will be happy for you to do this, others will prefer you don’t feed their cat at all. Their cat may have allergies, be prone to obesity or they simply may not want to encourage their cat to seek meals at different houses (understandably, as some cats will practically move out if they’re getting fed elsewhere!). Dietary changes can also cause an upset tummy for some cats.
• If they have any boundaries they want you to follow e.g. putting their cat back outside at nighttime. 
• Be considered, regular feeding and interaction could cause the cat to move territories, or it can have other effects, for example if you have a cat it can put pressure on your cat, and cats can also spray in other cats’ territories, and fight.

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If you have not been able to locate an owner, but you want visits to continue…

If you haven’t yet been able to locate the cat’s owner, but the cat seems well socialised with people, I would suggest you take the cat to a vet to check for a microchip and to have a basic vet check. Microchip details will enable you to track down the cat’s owner and establish if their cat is lost or missing, or simply exploring. In some cases, the cat’s owner will want to re-establish the cat in their own home, in other cases they may be happy for you to adopt the cat from them.

You could also contact your local animal control and local animal rescue shelters to see if a cat of this description has been reported missing, and check online registers such as lostpetfinders.co.nz.

If no owner is to be found, from there you can:

• Provide basic care to the cat, offering food and water.
• Set up a comfy, safe, quiet bed area for the cat to retreat to in your home or just outside.
• Do a vet visit for a health check, vaccinations and to discuss neutering or spaying if necessary.
• After a period of time, consider getting your cat microchipped in your name given no owner has come forward.

If the cat does not seem well socialised and is fearful of you, you can start by leaving food and water for the cat outside then call the SPCA for advice on what to do next. 

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If you want to discourage visits…

In some cases, you may have a reason for not wanting the cat on your property or in your house. This could be related to allergies, cat poo in your garden or simply not liking cats. Or you might have a cat that is becoming highly stressed due to the presence of a strange cat on your territory - this is one of the major reasons I’m asked about this issue.

If the cat is actually coming into your house, this is the first thing to address. If the cat is coming in via a cat door, consider getting an electronic microchip cat door that will only admit your own cat. if the cat is coming through open doors or windows, you’ll either need to keep those closed or catch the cat coming in so you can use one of the methods below to discourage them from coming back.

Whether the cat is coming onto your property or actually into your home, you can find a way to discourage this. Some options include:

• Try to establish contact with the cat’s owners. Check the collar for identification, and ask around your neighbours. If you find the owner, chat to them about how you can work together to keep their cat away from your property. They might consider keeping their cat inside or cat fencing their property, if they realise the roaming has become a problem.
• If you can’t find the collar, use a paper collar to release the cat with a note to the owner, to prompt them to establish contact and work out a plan together to prevent their cat from coming onto your property. You can download a template for a paper collar here.
• If that fails and it’s a real problem, you can consider modifying your fencing so cats can’t get into your property, for example by adding inexpensive cat rollers to the top of your fences so cats can’t climb over. 
• Or you can get a good pump action water pistol, and if you catch the cat coming into your property, give them a squirt. Don’t say anything or make yourself known to the cat, you want the cat to think that the property itself poses the “danger” so that it doesn’t come onto your property even when you’re not around.
• Or it works well to set up a sprinkler in the garden, then when you see the cat in your garden you can quietly go and turn it on (or use a fancy motion activated version for an automatic response any time of the day or night!).
• One other option is to fill up a tin with stones and throw it near the cat - you are not trying to hit the cat of course so be careful you don’t, you’re just trying to make a loud noise nearby to frighten it off your property. Just be careful you’re not frightening it onto a road. It’s important to be humane.
• If the cat is coming in through a particular door or window, you could lay that area with tin foil which they don’t like.
  

If you’ve managed to locate the cat’s owner, I  always suggest you talk to them first and let them know what you’re doing and why, so they don’t think you’re trying to hurt their cat or anything sinister like that! They may be willing to take alternative steps to contain their cat, as mentioned above (e.g by keeping them inside or cat fencing).

If you have not managed to locate the cat’s owner, or you can’t get near enough to check for tags and microchips etc, you can call animal control if the cat is being problematic and harassing your cat etc. 

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Use kindness and patience

Let's ensure our furry friends are safe and cared for, whether they have a permanent home or are just passing by.

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