Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi everyone- hoping someone could provide some advice. Our 4 year cat who we adopted in November has recently decided that he does not want to live with us anymore. I am not giving him up and will always be responsible for his care wherever he is but I also want to be able to have the experience of having a cat at home.

Would it be wrong to adopt another cat? Or is there something else I can do to provide a home for our cat that he wants?

Thanks for any advice and suggestions.

Elaine x

You say 'he doesn't want to live with you anymore', can you elaborate on that, how long is he gone for, do you have any idea where he is going, is there anything at home that might make him want to be else where. If you only adopted him in November I assume he hasn't been allowed outside long, maybe he is just enjoying the chance to explore. The weather is also improving which might mean he is happier out and exploring. I am also assuming he is neutered, if not that would be a major reason for him to disappear off. If you know he is spending his time with neighbours then I would suggest having a chat with them and see if you can work out what he prefers about being there, it could be they give him lots of treats, or, as happened with one one cat on my road, the family who owned him had several children in a two bed semi and the cat decided to move in with an older couple without children, I guess he didn't like all the noise all the time.

I have a 5 year old neutered lad who, when the warmer weather starts to come will disappear for hours on end, he can easily be gone for 24 hours without me worrying, there are times I feel i'm little more than bed and board for him, but that is just his nature and him being a cat.

Adopting another won't help keep him home, it might help you feel you have a pet cat, but you could be unlucky and end up with another that likes to wander.

He literally has been coming home via the cat flap in the early hours of the morning, going into our daughter's room to sleep (she has bunk beds - she's on the top one and he's on the bottom bunk - yes he has a bed downstairs and a bunk bed upstairs) then is straight out again when we're going out to work. He has food before he goes out. So we've literally just been. seeing him for approx 5-10 minutes each day. We don't have a full noisy house. It's just myself, my husband and our daughter who's 12. He imprinted on our daughter significantly when we adopted him so she's feeling upset about it all too.

I'm also concerned about food and vet bills if something happens to him when he's at another house. I know cats are very much independent creatures and have their own individual likes and dislikes but if I thought there was anything I could be doing to try to get him to stay I want to try it.

If I have understood what you wrote correctly he is actually in your house for about 4-6 hours to sleep and eat.
I'm inclined to think that if he's coming in to do that he sees your house as his 'home'

Cats need a lot more sleep than 4-6 hours so he must be snoozing somewhere else.
How much is he eating when he is in your house ?
If he's eating less than you expect (or he's getting fat) perhaps he's found another household that is feeding him because they think he's a stray and he's also snoozing there.

To let that other house know he has a home, maybe buy these and attach an address tag to it as well.
https://www.viovet.co.uk/PLEASE-DO-NOT- ... ar/c20718/

Papa Cat is right - cats are conartists. We almost 'adopted' (which would have been 'stole') a cat who went to every house in the street pretending to be a stray!

I have had some more thoughts about this.
Is the cat flap open to him during the daytime when you are out ? If so he might be coming in and out of your house when you are out at work.

If you really want to know where he is going buy a GPS tracker, however they are not very cheap
see this website
https://www.tuxedo-cat.co.uk/best-cat-trackers/
(there may be others)

Some 'so called' GPS trackers sell for just a few pounds but those I looked at only set off an alarm on your mobile phone when it gets beyond a certain distance, which is not what you need.

Did you say he WAS neutered? There is no getting away from the fact that a cat that is not neutered will stray - & make a big nuisance of himself fathering unwanted kittens left right & centre. It will also get into fights with other males.

How often do you feed him? Divide up the daily allowance into 3 meals a day. Then the cat comes to understand that home is where the food can be found. A feeder with a timer will work if you are out during the day. Also, how old is he? Younger cats are far more active than older ones.

Try to make feeding time an interactive period involving play. Does he come if you call him? Have you tried putting posters out & about saying he is straying & asking people not to take him in?

I don't think bringing another cat into the household would help at all. Introducing a new cat to a household is a delicate matter & if your cat isn't yet your friend, it isn't likely to be a harmonious experience. It can be hard work making friends with a cat. If you are new to cat owning, try reading a few books. There are lots available online & in libraries, that might give you some useful tips.

I recently bought a cat tracking collar and it was a disaster, so I want to warn others about the experience I had.
I went with a UK company called Pawtrack. They claim the "best" and smallest GPS tracker. My cat is quite small, so I wanted to avoid a big chunky collar.
It took a month for the collar to arrive. Then it would not connect with the app. After many emails back and forth, it finally connected but was wildly inaccurate and usually failed to track completely. After more emails I was told that it's working fine!
I have spent over £100 on the collar and subscription and now, after returning the collar for a refund...silence. They won't reply to the three email addresses I have for them and the phone number listed is out of service.
Please, please don't take a chance on these guys. Terrible product and customer service. I am over £100 out of pocket and it's now clear they have no intention of returning my money.

We now have a Tractive one and it works fine.