Ever found an unfamiliar cat lounging on your doorstep? You’re not alone.
I’ve had many random cats that visited my home every now and then.
Some of these cats don’t stick around for long. But what if you have one random cat that lingers longer than usual?
When a random cat visits your house, it might be driven by practical reasons like hunger, curiosity or seeking help. Some cultures and personal beliefs often interpret such visits as signs of luck, spiritual guidance, or protective symbolism. Understanding these interpretations allows us to respond with kindness and respect
Let us shed light on why a random cat might choose to visit your house, delving deep into both their behavioral instincts and the potential spiritual significance.
What Does It Mean When A Stray Cat Comes To Your House?
There are around 70-100 million stray cats living on the streets of America. I would say that the odds of one visiting you at home are rather high.
Instead of chasing the cat off your property, please take a few moments to empathize with the reasons that brought the cat to your home in the first place.
The Cat Is Curious
Cats are very curious creatures and love exploring or investigating something or someone that has caught their interest.
If you have other pets at home, the stray cat might be intrigued by the meows and cat scent that have been emitting from your home.
Cats are very sensitive to sound and smell and won’t hesitate to satisfy their curiosity.
The Cat Wants Food And Shelter
The cat might not be lost but it could be hanging around your home hoping to get some food and water.
Cats that are comfortable with humans are smart enough to know that we can be a good source of food if persistent enough.
It could also be that the cat is starting to feel too hot or cold from the current weather and needs some shelter.
It is heartbreaking to have so many homeless cats wandering around looking for food and shelter to survive.
The Cat Is Sick Or Injured
Cats are smart creatures and some might know that humans that can help if it is injured or sick.
They have been many stories of homeowners finding an injured cat showing up at their front door and wouldn’t leave.
There are pregnant cats that will not hesitate to try and seek help from a human when its time to give birth.
The Cat Likes Your Garden
If you have many plants, bushes and trees in your home garden, it can attract strange cats to it.
Cats are known to eat certain types of plants when they are not feeling well or if they are in the mood to chew on some greens.
Chances are there is something in your garden that your cat likes.
If you notice that you have a cat that comes to your house or garden frequently, be careful to not use any pesticide that can be toxic to animals.
You can also consider planting some cat grass in a quiet corner for the cat to munch on so that it will leave your other plants alone.
Cat owners that grow a wide variety of plants at home need to know what indoor and outdoor plants are toxic to cats to prevent any unfortunate incident.
The Spiritual Significance Of Cats
Now that we’ve understood the behavioral aspects of a cat’s surprise visit, let us navigate into a different territory altogether.
By going deeper into various cultures and spiritual beliefs, we’ll uncover another layer of depth to these random feline encounters.
Cats hold a special place in many cultures.
Ancient Egyptians revered cats and even worshipped them. Even today, statues and depictions of cats are common in Egyptian history.
In some Asian folklore, the ‘Beckoning Cat’ is a common talisman. It’s believed to bring good luck.
Norse mythology associates cats with Freyja, whose chariot was once said to be pulled by two cats.
You Are Being Protected
Cats are often seen as spiritual beings with a protective aura, helping to ward off negative energy or evil spirits.
If a random cat visits you, it could signify a protective presence surrounding you.
Some might take this to mean that there is negative energy at home and the cat is here to ward off that negativity.
Please do not panic and do anything drastic.
You might not be facing any immediate threat but the wandering feline could just be making its protective role known in your life.
Good Luck Is On Its Way
In some Asian cultures, cats are considered symbols of good luck or fortune.
Some households and shop owners will place a fortune cat near their door entrance to beckon in more good luck and fortune.
Calicos and white-colored cats are said to be auspicious signs symbolizing wealth and prosperity.
This could mean an improvement in your financial health, family life or professional career.
What To Do When A Random Cat Comes To My House?
There are a couple of things that you should at least do if you have a recurring feline visitor.
Identify the Cat
If you recognize the cat that comes by your home all the time as Romeo who lives two houses down the street, then having to inform the owner is easily done.
What we are trying to do here is to see if the cat is a stray cat or a feral cat.
Stray Cat
Stray cats are cats that have been socialized and are rather comfortable being around humans.
They might seem a little shy but you try to escape if you try to pet them. They may or may not have an owner or they could be looked after by cat lovers around the neighborhood.
A stray cat might seem lost or disorientated. Cats can get lost sometimes when they try to follow a scent or prey and can’t find their way home.
If the stray cat is wearing a collar, there might be the owner’s contact details on it.
Sometimes, there’s a chance that a stray cat is microchipped as well.
Feral Cat
It is rather easy to tell if it is a feral cat from its behavior.
Ferals cats aren’t socialized and are very wary and fearful of humans.
You can’t even get close to the cat without it running away.
The tip of the left ear might be snipped off to show that it has been neutered or spayed.
Feral cats don’t have any owners but may wander from house to house looking for food.
Give It Food And Water
Not many cats can say no to a fresh bowl of yummy-smelling cat food especially if it has not eaten for a day or two.
If the cat is a stray, try to encourage the cat to come over to you. Stray cats won’t shy away from people and will usually come at the prospect of food.
For feral cats, it can be trickier as they don’t like being close to humans.
What you can do is leave some food and water in a quiet corner and go back in.
The feral cat will come by to eat once it is certain that the coast is clear.
Provide Shelter For The Cat
Depending on the current season that you’re in, providing shelter for the cat could make a big difference in its survivability.
Wet and cold seasons are bad for cats as these bad weathers can leave the cats suffering from hypothermia if they don’t take shelter.
If the stray cat looks dirty or has fleas. you can attempt to bathe the stray cat to clean it up if you are confident enough.
It might not be a good idea to let the stray cat take shelter in the same room as your other pets.
There’s no way of telling if the cat is carrying any disease that can be passed on to your other pets.
Set up a warm and dry corner inside the garage with a warm blanket or cardboard box for the stray cat.
Do the same for the feral cat but don’t hang around or it won’t use your shelter.
Bring It To The Vet
It might be a good idea to bring the cat to your vet or the nearest animal shelter where they can try to scan for a microchip.
Bringing a stray cat to the vet is going to be a lot easier.
The vet can also do a quick check to see if the cat is in good health or requires medical attention.
Try To Locate The Owner
If the stray cat is microchipped, it will be easy to contact the owners via the information embedded in the chip.
The problem arises if there’s no chip or collar info on the cat.
What you can do is paste posters of the cat in the neighborhood.
If the was found in your area, its home shouldn’t be too far away.
Social media or local animal shelters are also good places to broadcast information about the cat.
Put yourself in the shoes of the owner, they must be worried sick and frantically searching for the lost cat.
Pets are more than just animals, there are treated like family by many pet owners.
What Can I Do If The Cat Has No Owner?
There are a couple of options that you can consider if the cat doesn’t have an owner and seems friendly.
Adopt The Cat
If you have been fostering the cat at home, chances are you would have started to develop a close bond with the cat over this period
If you have the means and time to adopt, this would be the best option for the cat.
There’s a high chance that it is an abandoned cat.
Before officially adopting the cat, make sure to bring it to the vet to get all the blood test done.
Sterilizing the cat should also be strongly considered as cats that are not neutered tend to have more health and behavioral problems.
They become harder to manage during mating season with the constant yowling and urine marking.
Don’t forget to prepare your home for the arrival of your new family member by getting all the necessities for your cat.
Adoption Ad
We understand that taking on a new pet is a huge commitment that involves time and money.
It is something that needs to be considered carefully.
If you are not able to adopt the cat, put up an ad in your local SPCA or Facebook group for pets.
There are many people out there who are looking to adopt a cat rather than buy one.
Animal Shelter
In the unfortunate circumstance that you are not able to find a suitable adopter, putting the cat at an animal shelter would be another good alternative.
Many of these shelters have their own adoption drives that can help get your cat adopted quickly.
Make sure to find a no-kill shelter as there are some shelters that will euthanize animals that are not adopted after a period of time.
Adult cats usually take longer to get adopted than kittens.
In the meantime, you can also visit the cat in the shelter to keep it company.
What If The Cat Is Feral?
It is a lot harder to rehome feral cats as they are not very comfortable being around humans. It is possible but it takes a lot of time and effort.
However, many local cat communities offer a Trap-Neuter-Release program. This is to ensure that feral cats are neutered to prevent overbreeding.
It takes patience to trap a feral cat as they are very wary of us. But with enough time and effort, it can be done.
There are many local vets that offer sterilization procedures for free or for a small fee when it comes to feral cats.
That helps to keep the cost down for TNR volunteers.