When a stray cat follows you home or appears at your front door out of nowhere, you’re probably assuming the animal’s hungry or sick.
And you’re probably right. Most homeless cats approach people when they need food or help. The cat probably hasn’t eaten for days or needs medical assistance.
Can you tell if a cat is stray or feral?
If a stray cat comes to your house every night, does this mean the stray cat has chosen you?
Some people believe cats choose their owners, not the other way around. So, the cat probably visits your house because you’re a positive person who likes cats.
Typically, cats sense cat lovers and frequent their homes. Therefore, if you frequently provide food for your local stray kittens, they see you as their caretaker. As a result, one of those cats visits your home, looking for extra TLC.
In this article, I will discuss the meaning of having a stray cat visit your home and share ways you can help your local homeless felines.
Why Does a Stray Cat Come to My House?
The ASPCA says millions of stray and feral cats roam the streets of the US. (*)
Most outdoor cats, especially feral ones, avoid people. However, stray cats need human contact because they were house pets at some point in their life.
That’s one of the reasons stray cats approach and follow some people home. Some call this behavior “adopting.” So, if a stray cat follows you home or appears at your door, the animal has “adopted” you.
Other reasons cats approach humans and visit their homes include hunger, shelter, and pain. If a cat’s extremely hungry, thirsty, or hurt, they will ask people for help.
However, they won’t approach any people. These mystical creatures have a sixth sense and know who loves cats.
If you’re not a big fan of cats, but stray cats still follow you home, you radiate positive energy and would never hurt a homeless, innocent animal.
Below, I will share possible reasons why a stray cat visits your home and won’t leave, and ways you can help this animal, so let’s jump right in.
You Feed Outdoor Cats
When a stray kitten starts visiting your home, asking for food, looking for attention, and attempting to sneak into your house, you’re probably “adopted” by the feline.
Maybe the stray cat has seen you leave food for homeless animals near your home and knows you’re a good person.
Therefore, if you occasionally or frequently feed your stray cats, there’s a chance the cats will frequent your area and home.
Maybe the Cat Likes Your Property
Sometimes, indoor and outdoor cats visit the homes of people in their area.
Therefore, there’s a chance the animal frequenting your house isn’t stray but belongs to one of your neighbors and likes hanging around your property and exploring.
The Cat Sees You As a Friend
Cat experts suggest that sometimes stray cats “adopt” several people in their areas and visit their homes regularly.
Therefore, you should feel special because the feline considers you a friend, especially if you regularly leave food for stray kittens near your home.
Lastly, if stray cats visit your house frequently, they probably feel safe in your backyard, patio, or presence.
Ways You Can Help a Stray Cat in Your Neighborhood
You can’t just assume a cat doesn’t have a home. If you notice a friendly feline hanging around your house, check for a collar with contact information.
If the animal doesn’t have a collar, schedule a vet appointment so that you can have the cat checked by a vet. The vet can quickly determine if the cat’s stray or lost by checking for a microchip.
If the cat has a home, contact the owner and reunite the family. If there’s no microchip, don’t worry. You can help the feline in other ways, such as publishing their photo online and asking if anyone has lost a cat or knows someone who has lost one.
Maybe someone who takes care of outdoor cats will recognize the kitten. Also, you can contact no-kill local animal shelters and humane societies and ask if they accept strays.
If nothing works, you can adopt the cat if you have the resources or keep providing food until someone adopts the poor creature.
If you’re considering adopting a stray cat, check the following guide for earning a feline’s trust and turning a stray cat into a house pet.
How to Adopt a Stray Cat?
If you’re interested in adopting a stray cat, you can start the transition immediately.
However, before you bring a stray cat into your home, you should first learn to get the stray cat to trust you and visit the vet for a checkup, shots, and neutering or spaying.
Let’s discuss these steps in detail.
Earn the Cat’s Trust
Some stray cats aren’t afraid of people, but others don’t trust most people. You can tell if a cat’s friendly or uncomfortable by their behavior.
Scared cats usually bite or scratch if you try to handle them. If you have a fearful cat on your hands, don’t worry. They will eventually learn you’re not a threat and start cuddling with you. Just give the cat time to get comfortable in your presence.
Experts say that earning a stray cat’s trust is a waiting game. Therefore, remain patient with the cat. Never force a feline into your home. Otherwise, the cat will run away.
Just leave food for your new cat at the same spot daily and expect positive results.
Visit the Local Vet Clinic
Offering food and shelter isn’t enough for successful adoption. You should also take your new cat to the vet for a checkup, especially if you own other pets.
You should take the cat to the vet in a carrier because most vets will require you to use a cat carrier when bringing any animal to their clinic for safety and security.
However, don’t just force the animal into the carrier. Instead, practice getting the cat into the container by leaving food inside.
Let the animal eat in the carrier for a couple of days before you shut the door partially. If your cat doesn’t look uncomfortable or anxious by this step, you can close the door next time.
Follow the Vet’s Instructions
Your vet will suggest that your new kitten gets basic shots and be spayed or neutered if they aren’t already.
If you can’t pay for these procedures, you can search for vets who charge less because you’re bringing in a stray cat.
Most vets cooperate with government-recognized non-profit organizations. So, they can offer low-cost options for stray cats.
The vet can also test your feline for FIV, leukemia, and parasites and offer a low-cost microchip.
If your cat has parasites, you should buy a flea and tick treatment, such as a feline flea shampoo or topical flea treatment.
These treatments can also help prevent hookworms, roundworms, heartworms, and ear mites.
Alternatively, you can get oral flea and tick medications and sneak the product into your cat’s wet food.
Bring the Cat Inside
If you’re considering adopting a stray cat, you should buy the necessary supplies, like a food bowl, water bowl or water fountain, bed, and high-quality cat food.
Cat experts say that most stray adult cats were previously indoor felines who somehow lost their homes or got abandoned by their owners.
Therefore, the transition shouldn’t take too much time and effort.
If a homeless cat stays in your yard, they’re probably already socialized with people and won’t reject your home.
First, earn the cat’s trust through food, then bring the animal into your home, where they can chill on their new bed or explore the area.
Next, establish a daily routine to help your feline friend transition into their new life.
Can I Adopt a Feral Cat?
Experts advise against adopting feral cats because feral and stray cats aren’t the same.
Stray cats have friendly personalities and approach people as they were once pets. On the other hand, feral cats fear people and don’t approach strangers.
Moreover, feral cats live in cat colonies and prefer living outdoors, as they have survival skills that most stray cats don’t.
Therefore, the adoption process might result in disappointment or take too much of your time. However, you can still try to adopt a feral cat.
Here’s a list of helpful tips.
Feed the Cat Daily
It would help to gradually increase the cat’s trust by associating yourself with something they like, such as food and treats.
Never trap a feral cat and bring the animal into your home because doing this can make the cat feel anxious and unwilling to become your house pet.
Instead, leave a bowl of strong-smelling wet food for cats near your home and move the bowl closer to your door until the cat allows petting. Make sure you know where to pet a cat.
Bring the Feral Cat Home
Once the feral cat shows interest in entering your home (this could happen after weeks or months of establishing the trust), you should make your house resemble the feline’s outdoor home as much as possible.
For instance, you can enrich the cat’s life with different puzzle toys, tunnels, and places they can climb and play.
Purchase the Right Cat Litter
Feral cats have never used cat litter because they’re wild animals. So, you should buy a specific one that helps cats transition from outdoor to indoor living.
How to Care for a Stray Cat Who Wants to Live Outdoors?
If your stray cat just doesn’t come inside, don’t fret. You can still help the cat in different ways, such as the following:
Build a Shelter for Your Outdoor Cat
You can make a cat box by following one of the numerous online tutorials. Or you could invite the cat into your garage when it’s cold outside.
You can buy one if you don’t have the time to build a shelter. There’s a broad selection of heated and unheated beds for cats and cat houses you can use as shelters.
Moreover, if you reside in a cold climate, you should buy a heated water dish.
As for summer, your cat should have shaded and cool areas to hand out in spring and summer. The cat should also have a bowl of cold and fresh water.
You can use a special bowl to keep the water cold and fresh during the hot days. Also, you should provide a cooling pad so your outdoor kitty always has a place to cool down and relax in hot temperatures.
Inform Yourself About TNR Programs
Most stray and feral cats won’t just enter your home and become your pets, especially if they’ve been outdoors for a long time.
If you can’t care for a stray or feral cat because they’re too aggressive, don’t worry. You can still help the outdoor feline through local TNR programs.
Call local no-kill animal shelters or humane societies and ask about trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs they offer.
The people who work at these places can help you safely trap the cat, provide medical care, and release the animal back into the wild.
On the other hand, if you have a friendly feline, you can call local rescue organizations and inform yourself about their rehoming programs.
When looking for a home for a homeless cat, you should learn about the resources for stray cats available in your location, such as TNR programs and more.
Important note: Taking a cat to a shelter can be deadly, so don’t just visit the nearest animal shelter. Choose where you take the kitten carefully and contact no-kill shelters only.
When a Cat Chooses You: Spiritual Meaning
Cats typically follow people home or frequent their houses when looking for food, water, shelter, help, and attention.
However, what if seeing a stray cat at your door has a spiritual meaning? Some believe that being followed or visited by a stray cat symbolizes good luck.
Thousands of years ago, Egyptians saw cats as guardians against evil. On the flip side, in some places, seeing a black cat means bad luck and death.
There’s no scientific proof supporting these superstitions. They’re just myths. Therefore, take everything you read about the symbolism of animals with a grain of salt.
So, what does it mean when a stray cat comes to your house? Well, as I already stated, seeing a random cat at your doorstep means good luck. So, if possible, you should help the stray kitten with food, water, and shelter.
Cats As Symbols of Good and Evil
Humans have associated felines with good and evil throughout history. Nowadays, we don’t believe in superstitions as much.
However, we still remember the popular myths about cats, such as the one saying that cats have nine lives. That’s why many associate cats with rebirth and resurrection.
Other people associate cats with the darkness because they’re most active at dusk and dawn. If you’re superstitious, how you see cats depends on your encounters with these creatures.
For instance, if you see a black cat after experiencing something negative, you will start believing black cats predict and attract misfortune. On the other hand, if you see a black cat before winning the lottery, you will begin associating black cats with luck.
As you can see, different people see cats differently. I think seeing cats doesn’t have a special meaning. However, I strongly believe cats choose their owners because they’re smart animals with a sixth sense and know whose home they should visit.
Now, let’s learn more about the symbolism of cats in different colors.
The Symbolism of White Cats
If you bring a white cat into your home, you’re inviting tough times in your life, says the Chinese belief system. However, people also associate cats with prosperity in this part of the world.
The Symbolism of Black Cats
Some associate black cats with good fortune, while others believe seeing a black cat signifies misfortune.
Moreover, some think stroking a black cat three times attracts happiness, whereas seeing one at your front door indicates future prosperity.
Lastly, if you dream of a black cat, you will soon experience happy moments.
The Symbolism of Grey Cats
Grey cats symbolize awareness. So, if you have a grey stray cat coming to your property, you should dive deep into your beliefs and discover the right life path.
The Symbolism of Orange/Yellow Cats
Seeing a yellow or orange cat symbolizes good health and fortune. So, you should feel happy if a yellow or orange feline frequents your home and helps the stray animal find a home.
Summary
So, what does it mean when a stray cat comes to your house? Cats appear at people’s doors for many reasons, including curiosity, hunger, thirst, and help.
They’re curious creatures, so if you have the same cat walking around your home, the kitty’s likely exploring your property after seeing something interesting, such as toys or other cats.
If the cat frequenting your home looks lost, provide some food, then carefully approach the cat and look for a collar. If possible, visit the vet together, so they can scan the cat for a microchip and find the cat’s owner.
If you were a cat owner, you would want something to do the same for your house cat.
Lastly, some believe cats attract good luck. So, if you’re superstitious and you have a stray cat visiting your home, consider yourself lucky. Check my guide on how to attract stray cats to learn more tips.
*image by wirestock_creators/depositphotos