VisitCat!

[kaberett]

Yesterday I did not manage to leave the house in an out-the-front-door sort of a sense; I went out briefly in the mid-afternoon and faffed with the compost, whereupon our VisitCat headbutted me a bit and briefly attempted to use my corduroy trousers as a scratching post (but responded appropriately to being firmly rebuffed). So far, so good: it was a nice amount of VisitCat, and more than we get most days.

And then I opened the back door again briefly in the evening, when it was raining and I was tidying up the kitchen, and was baffled to hear something moving behind me. ... VisitCat had decided it was miserable out and they wanted to be IN MY WARM HOUSE; I am not entirely clear why it wasn't happy going to its own home, but I wasn't complaining, because - I spent about two hours with an increasingly dry and fluffy cat curled up in my lap purring enormously (seriously VisitCat was sufficiently happy with this state of affairs that when I picked them up so we could move from a chair to me being horizontal on a bed all it did was sniff the new surroundings briefly before curling back up on my lap and falling asleep). I have removed the tape blocking the catflap in the interests of potentially more VisitCat, though it seemed baffled by the concept last night, but -- aaaah warm fuzzy purring aminalfrnd. It was very, very restorative.

Which does, of course, mean that I am pondering the etiquette of VisitCat! It has a collar and a bell and is generally simultaneously sleek & butch in fairly impressive combination, incredibly fluffy for a short-haired cat, and clearly not unhappy with its lot in life. It also clearly really likes the relative quiet of our house and getting scritches. Is it okay for me to have unblocked the cat flap? We're not going to feed it or put out water bowls or whatever, but is it okay to have cat treats? Etc etc. HOW DOES INTERFACE WITH CAT BELONGS TO OTHERHUMAN.

(I will attempt to get photographs next time VisitCat swings by! This time I kinda unexpectedly ended up with a lap full of cat and didn't feel like disturbing it.)

Comments

[sashajwolf]

Fwiw, I wouldn't mind someone else opening a cat flap for our cats (well, one currently, but normally we're a two-cat household) - in fact, I'd rather that than have them accidentally get shut in. I also wouldn't mind someone else giving them water. I would prefer that other people not feed them, because one of our previous cats had allergies and needed a special diet.

[sfred]

Yes, this. I know for sure that my former cat had another house on our street to hang out in when I was boring or absent.
I think other humans might mind, though? Could you (kaberett) put a note on VisitCat's collar to say "am being hospitable but not feeding; is that OK?"?

[worlds_of_smoke]

Oh, I like the idea of a note. I think the hard part would be getting it to stay on, though, since you don't know if the cat goes straight home or what their path home is like.

[birke]

If my cat roamed outside more, I would have a similar position. Our cat's not on a special diet, but we do regulate what we give her because she will overeat if given free rein.

[davidgillon]

I suspect it all depends.

I know one friend eventually adopted the neighbourhood peripatetic cat as their own - it was feeding from several people's houses and I'm not sure anyone knew whose it actually was. ISTR there were distinct suspicions it had been abandoned and/or abused.

Another friend with visiting cat has, IIRC, been supplied with appropriate treats by its actual owner, I guess that's a compromise that allows them some control over what it is actually fed without them having to try and stop its wandering.

[highlyeccentric]

... i wants a visitingcat, i does. :(

[silveradept]

If it was a visiting cat with a collar, you could theoretically attach a note to the collar and see what happens. Our visit cats all end up being adopted, it seems, except these ones that must remain outside because of FIV. The last visiting cat just hopped inside fearlessly.

[untonuggan]

Wait, I'm confused. I feel like FIV+ cats would stay inside one person's home who had no other cats (ETA: or only other FIV+ cats) and that way they would not risk infecting other outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats with FIV? (Also since their immune system is weaker because of the FIV then being inside is probably better for them anyway, and it's not like humans can contract FIV to my knowledge.) But if they were visiting a household with FIV- cats then obviously they would have to stay outside. Right?

[silveradept]

Right. If all the cats are FIV+, there's no additional infection danger, and they probably should stay inside. If, however, an FIV+ cat visits a house with FIV- cats (as is the case at my house), the FIV- cats must stay in and the FIV+ cat must stay outside. Which is what happens.

[untonuggan]

OK, cool, just so I'm not missing something. I am still kind of groggy from huge amounts of food and pie and then staying up with our foster cat who suddenly demanded attention after 24 hours+ hiding in the closet and then waking up early because cat breakfast time. So brain not operating at 100% processing if you know what I mean.

[silveradept]

Yes, I understand that completely. I have to do the early riser thing for animals as well.

[sorrillia]

Yay, kitty!

Also, my recommendation for note is merchandise tag on collar, largely because I've been using so many of those on cables in lab recently.

Although aren't collars required to have a tag with the address where the cat is registered? Or at least almost always known to do so? So am confused by why that won't give you address.

[sfred]

Not in the UK!

[hairyears]

Our Visit Cat's bigger than yours!

Also, we feed him dry food and occasional treats, but no 'wet' food.

[untonuggan]

Have you seen Studio Ghibli's Whisper of the Heart? There is a VisitCat in that film that has 10 houses or so!

My (deceased) aunt and (living) uncle ended up inheriting the two cats that lived in the house they bought…the owners moved, but the cats kept visiting and eventually everyone agreed it was better if they just stayed. But at least they knew who they belonged to? Also they were the best cats.

I have no particular opinion on VisitCat since I think outdoor cats are slightly less prevalent in my area? I mean, there are some, but they are mostly feral or semi-feral, and the ones who do belong to someone have small territories because big roads and foxes and stuff. So I have no idea about etiquette and stuff. Um, so I don't really know if this comment is helpful? But yeah, a note might be helpful or if there is any kind of neighborhood bulletin board or online message board…? IDK if you have that, but maybe that could work, too.

VisitCat sounds lovely.