40 ‘My House, Not My Cat’ Pics That You Will Love If You’ve Ever Wanted To Find A Strange Cat Show Up In Your Home

 I live in Phoenix, AZ.
In February 2019, we saw an orange blob on the house camera feeding from the feral cat feeding bowl. *start photos top left*
I posted on the Nextdoor app “hey, is this your cat?”... no reply for about two weeks so I kept posting daily pics. Short story, I finally found his owner and she said “yep, that’s my cat.” But Sam... he just would not stop hanging around our house - day in and day out... he would get in my car, he would lay on our doormat to be sure to not miss our arrivals, and many days of watch him on the ring doorbell sitting - staring.
I finally let him in. We called him Cinnamon. And he loved his new home. LOVED. I called the owner and she said “he chose you.”
We brushed him, he really blossomed and played and slept with the other pets.
I would post funny instagram stories of “random not my cat” things and multiple Facebook posts of “look at this crazy neighbors cat.”
In November, he grew ill, so I called his owner and said “Sam is sick... I just wanted you to know.”
My husband and I took him to the vet and they gave him a few days to live... so we went through his bucket list 1. Eat tuna, 2. sit in sunny window on forbidden kitchen counter, and finally 3. lay outside under the big tree where we brought him Squeeze Up treats and bowls of ice water.
Cinnamon/Sam lasted a week - kidney failure.
Sometimes - my house, not my cat... just isn’t what it seems. I still miss that freeloading fool. *end photos bottom right* November 2019 Love couldn’t save him

Crumpet sits on my decking each and every morning and stares through the door awaiting his daily tribute.
He'll pretty much consume anything.
Biscuits, leftovers, a small child, the soul of a loved one... whatever.
All hail our super fluffy ginger overlord.

I was in such shock that I first thought one of my own was getting out! She's currently trapped in the bathroom being an adorable kitten, and tomorrow we go to the vet. My dog is already hoping we keep her
UPDATE!!! SHE HAD A CHIP!!! Her family lost her almost 2 Years Ago!!!! Mom was in TEARS. I'm so very selfishly sad, but I just made a whole family incredibly happy

For more than 20 years we’d been a dogs-only family. One day about 4 1/2 years ago, Amelia decided it was time to change that. She randomly showed up at our house, super skinny but otherwise very healthy...and then never left  We really think she was dumped, because she was SO super friendly and *completely* unafraid of people...she SPRINTED inside the house the moment we opened the door, and jumped in our laps! Now she’s living as a cat should be, rotund and lazy and happy

So about 1:00 this morning, I went outside and this cat, that is not my cat, meows, so I call it, and it comes right to me. Now first, we have dogs, lots of dogs, and 2 are neighbors’ dogs that live outside, and yet somehow, this tiny cat just strolls right up and none of the dogs even move. Second, we live in the country and we know all our neighbors and their cats, and this is not their cat. Third, when I pick her up, it’s apparent that she has had kittens recently.
So now I’m standing outside at 1:00 AM, holding this very friendly cat that has apparently been dumped at my house, and is somehow magical and able to sneak past sleeping dogs. But now I have to carry her past the 2 outside dogs and the 6 inside dogs to get her somewhere safe....
She is absolutely fine with the whole thing. Stays snuggled in my arms. Purrs. I’m not convinced that this is real, that I’m not dreaming. So I feed the magic cat and start looking for kittens. Y’all, I searched for nearly 7 straight hours. I even enlisted my Terrier mix in the hunt. (She could find baby mice in a snowstorm with earmuffs on.) I even walked the property playing kittens meowing sounds on my phone.
So this is the bad news, we live in the country and the likelihood of the babies being ok with all the predators here is slim, and she may have been dumped without them. So I am not giving up looking, but now I’ve got a potential surrogate mom cat. And y’all, I’ve bottlefed kittens and if there’s a chance for a surrogate, trust me, worth it.
I reached out to my rescue friends and managed to get her lined up to be a surrogate mom to 3 orphaned kittens before noon. Unfortunately, the vet check showed that she has a lot of parasites and she’s going to have to wait 3 days before she can meet her new babies. But the vet said she should still be able to feed the babies then. So now this cat that is not my cat is not at my house anymore, she’s getting well so she can meet the kittens that are not her kittens. Told you she was magic. And I need a nap.

The first pic is what I sent to my family asking what to do about a random cat in the apartment. I lured him back outside with a packet of salmon, and all he wanted was cuddles and to go back inside.
So yeah, that’s the story of how I got adopted. He still takes very good care of me to this day

I open the door to check out the noise and this orange baby comes walking in like ‘cool, I live here now’. I already have two cats and a large dog but this new one is walking about with no issues or fighting. I figure I’ll take him to the vet and see if he has a chip in the morning and go to bed. Flash forward to the vets office and he has a chip! Hooray!! I reach out to the owners and within 30 minutes they call me and agree to meet. I arrive with the orange baby who is currently not happy with his car ride and is now hiding in my lap while we wait for his mom. She shows up. We get out of the cars, I’m holding the kitty, we’re doing small talk, she’s reaches out to pet him. And then she pulls her hand back and says, “You know, he’s been missing for about 3 weeks. I don’t think I want him back.” And gets in her car and drives away. It was heartbreaking. So my house not my cat has become my house my cat through a very sad tale of events

This gorgeous boy ‘lives’ 3 houses down. He’s not allowed inside his house and is always outside roaming, day or night. So now ‘Carl’ enjoys the good life at ours. He will pop back to his house late afternoon, bring back a fresh chicken wing and put it in his bowl and eat it here. Absolute legend

Mittens is a stray thats fixed in our neighborhood who always runs to me when I come home, I have two insulated shelters for her outside since its cold. She gets fed 6-7 times a day between me and the old lady next door! Very loving, always jumps up on my shoulders. She’s a part of my daily routine! I always check on her multiple times a day, and 2-3 times a night to make sure she’s comfy in her shelter. I’m ordering her a collar to officially adopt her, and if I ever move she’s coming with me! Working cats need love too!

He belonged to the neighbor, but she never let him in the house, so I created a place for him in my garage. I left the windows down one night, this is what I came to the next morning.
I haven’t seen him in close to two months, when today, I see him up for adoption on a cat rescue site listed as a tripod (he recently lost a leg). They called him Sammy , which was the name of my neighbor’s cat. I’m so excited to have found him again. So, I put in an application to adopt him. Maybe he’ll actually be my cat after all

THIS is Tux! His family moved in behind us late last year & he comes to watch us through our glass door multiple times a day, for hours at a time. He waits patiently for one of my two cats to come out OR for my youngest (arm pictured) to deliberately open the screen door to let him in.

Justin is NOT a fan of cats and usually will chase or lunge at them when given the chance. Well to this little guy, it mattered not. He wouldn’t be intimidated and insisted that he and Justin would be friends. After a few weeks this was the case. Justin was won over. Then, he turned his attention to my wife and I. Gordon, as my wife named him, started stopping by the house to say hello. This progressed to stopping by for a bite to eat and a place to sleep for a couple hours. We found out that this was his MO up and down the block. He didn’t really belong to anyone, he wandered freely in and out of houses and was fed and offered places to sleep wherever.
Several months later we came home from a week away and poor Gordon was on front step of our house looking VERY ill. I took him to the vet and they told me he had a kidney issue that would require IV fluids for the next week. So dutifully Gordon and I went to the vet and they’d hook his little arm up to an IV and he’d curl up in my lap and let it happen. The vet said that she wished all her feline patients were as willing and accommodating as Gordon.
After his health scare, Gordon got back to doing what he did best and ate/slept/caroused around the neighborhood. Then in January of last year he went missing. No one in the neighborhood knew anything of his whereabouts. It was and remains an absolute crusher for me. He was the sweetest little orange guy and I’m sure that he came to me when he was sick because he knew I would help him.
I can only hope that someone said, “This cat is too awesome to live on the streets!” and took him in forever. Regardless, my heart aches knowing that I’ll likely never see him again. Gordon, I hope you’re out there curled up on someone’s couch enjoying your best life. Miss you my friend!

Tigger, month six (lol). One day in summer we left our front door open and in came Tigger. We called the number on the tag, met his real parents (one street over), and we thought that was that. Wrong! Tigger comes over twice a day minimum, sleeps over, the whole bit. We are HIS pets

Started feeding the mom/now grandma in the front 2 years ago. she has now raised her offspring & their offspring on my porch

I talked to the neighbor and apparently he was born under the bush outside the house about 8 months ago and his siblings didn’t make it. Apparently he’s just stuck around. He only lets my neighbor and I get near him.

I couldn’t bear watching poor Merlin trying to get comfy yesterday, trying to groom his ‘matted beyond hope’ fur - so, I’ve sacrificed my bestest crochet snippers, grabbed a huge bag of treats, put my ‘big girl pants’ on and stepped up to do the right thing (I’ve been terrified of hurting him) ...
Merlin now is minus quite a few matts. He actually lay there for a good 10 mins before a paw the size of a side plate plonked onto my arm (no claws) and he chirped to say ‘enough’.
I thought that was it ... but no, he only asks for a tummy rub and then ROLLS OVER so I can do the other side!!!
It may not look a lot in the picture but it means the world to me - Merlin now has a ‘bare bit’ on his side that no longer pulls when he moves - he looks like Tatty Ted bless him.
I won’t be able to do them all, but I’ll get as many as I safely can when he lets me. Let’s face it, there are some places no self respecting kitty will let you snip near - even for treats.
I’m learning to read his body language and tail twitches so that I don’t do too much at a time.
I’m just thankful for his trust and the rapport that lets us work together on this xx
Merlin is also ‘part Hobbit’ - he’s loves Second Breakfast (I haven’t broken it to him that it’s actually what he didn’t finish at First Breakfast - covered from the fridge - who am I to burst his bubble).

I named him Bo and then I realized Bo was in heat when she would do big screams every night outside my bus window.
Then she became Bo Derek
Bo Derek is in love with Lieutenant Dan and doesn’t understand why himbs not interested in her love. Lieutenant Dan lost one leg and his balls in the same day before I adopted him. Poor guy.
Bo Derek waits under a walnut tree for Dan several times a day.
Sometimes he plays hard to get. Sometimes he showers her with kisses.
I can’t get a date during the pandemic but Lieutenant Dan can!

My 6 year old asks constantly when we are getting another cat and I tell him, “When it’s time for us to add another cat to the family, Charlie will send us one...” Well, this gorgeous thing showed up 2 nights ago. She sat in my lap in the yard for almost an hour before my husband pulled into the drive way and scared her off. And now she’s back and loving getting loved on!!!! I think she’s in love with my 6 year old! Our neighborhood is over run with feral cats and while I officially believe now (based on the matted fur) that she is feral-ish, I also think she wants to be loved on. She had a nice meal while she was getting loved on and I think it might be time to get her cat food if she’s going to continue to hang around!

I got here. He was on my porch. I unlocked the door and he barreled right the heck in. Took over my bed and is fast asleep. Turns out he has a nasty infected wound in his back foot. Something tore his inner toe from the rest of the foot. Stinks! To the vet at 4:45

Scarfed down 3 cans of wet food like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. We make bed out on the front porch to keep him dry & warm. I walk into the living room a while later to see him relaxing on the couch with my oldest.

Lived there for two years before I finally gained his trust. When he first let me touch him he was skin and bones and the biggest head I've ever seen. Now after almost 6 months of allowing me to feed him, he is filled out, and while he will not come in the house (big dog scary) I have officially claimed him as ours. He has the best meaty head and cheeks ever!

Always interested what i was doing and would sit with me for hours while I was working on my van, little by little he snuck his way into my place and has certainly made himself comfy.......I've tried to find possible owners but nobody has claimed him so he has moved in full time and now goes by the name of Shadow as he is always by my side and sticking his nose into whatever I'm doing