40 People Share Their "My House, Not My Cat" Moments, And They Are Adorable
Cats have a talent for showing up exactly where they are not supposed to be, and somehow making it feel like they belong there. That is the charm behind the popular "My House, Not My Cat" posts, where people share the moment a random feline strolls in and acts like it pays rent.
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In this roundup, the cats are curious, bold, sleepy, and occasionally impossible to ignore. Some belong to neighbors, some are strays, and some seem to have quietly claimed a couch, a porch, or an entire home without asking permission.
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Either way, these photos prove one thing, cats are very good at choosing their own humans.
1. This Is Homer!
"My partner and I met him probably 5 years ago, we never knew who he belonged to, so we fed him and he would spend most of the night with us, he ended up being my neighbours cat and his real name was “a**hole” (we named him homer we didn’t know what his name was).
Last year we ended up moving to a new town 3 hours away from where we used to live, it was really hard to leave homer behind. We loved him and cared for him almost like he was our own, my partner travels to melbourne and visits him sometimes!
Well a few weeks ago, our old neighbour contacted us and said he was moving and going to work in the mines and that he was looking at rehoming Homer, so of course we said yes! So In a few days our little grey man will be reuniting with us and we are so excited!"
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2. "8 Years Ago This Beauty Was Eating Food With Ants Crawling All Over It, Had Fur That Felt Like Straw, And Would Cower Each Time Anyone Would Attempt To Pet Her"
"Now, she's a vocal, affectionate, prissy lil Peach that demands "kitty time," a well-made bed, and special collars. She's come a long way from being not my cat to being a family member"
3. "This Is Marley. Marley Is My Upstairs Neighbors' Cat. This Is My Couch. I Don't Think Marley Got The Memo"
4. "Furthermore, This Fella Has Greeted Me The Last Few Mornings. He’s Chonky And If His Collar Is To Be Believed, His Name Is ‘Do Not Feed!"
5. "The Little Fellow Has Become Cuddly Now … I Guess I Have A Cat. Kinda. It Turns Out He’s My Neighbor’s Cat And Lives With Two Other Cats. So He Basically Comes To My House For Some Piece And Quiet"
That is one very determined visitor.
6. "My Porch, One Of My Dogs...not My Cat"
"This male cat is sound asleep sharing a dog bed with a female Belgian Malinois dog I'm fostering. There are 2 male Malinois out of view & this cat likes to tag along as I leash-walk each dog.
All the dogs are friendly toward the cat but the female dog is especially attentive to him"
7. "Please Enjoy This Crummy Picture Of Charlie The Neighbor Cat Waiting Politely Outside My Patio Door For His Supper"
8. "Technically, Tony Isn’t Ours"
"Our neighbors tossed him out. He comes in for breakfast and dinner and sometimes if it’s raining.
He has trained us to pay tribute with treats on a schedule. Yesterday was a nice day so I put a blanket on the pool deck and was lying down to get some fresh air.
I turned my head to the right and saw this"
9. "My House, Not My Cats"
"Last spring I planted Catnip with my garden herbs that I hang in pots on our fence. I didn't grow up with cats, so I was ignorant to the fact that some cats really do find it irresistible.
The huge tabby on the chair was the first one to turn up shortly thereafter. We simply call him Mister, because it's very, ahem, obvious that he's a male from the rear. It was clear that he had never been socialized around people.
He has never been aggressive, but he was very scared of us for a good long while. Any sudden movement would send him back on top of the fence where he was most comfortable.
It has taken 9 patient months, completely on his terms, but I can finally feed him treats right out of my hand and even pet him a little bit. I think he sired 2 generations of kitties somewhere in the neighborhood in the meantime, because these friendly little kittens started showing up gradually too.
You can't tell in the photos, but they do have distinct stripes. I had never seen black tabbies before! We leave food and water out, and are very generous with the treats.
We've been helping to get them all fixed, too. Someone else around here also seems to be assisting with that, though I've not quite figured out who.
If I can manage to get Mister in a carrier and get him in to be fixed, that will be a huge accomplishment. Slowly but surely, I guess. In the meantime, they come and go as they please, and you never know who is going to make an appearance on any given day.
This was this morning's swarm."
10. "Not My Cat! I Guess She Heard I Feed Strays And Was Quite Demanding….later I Discovered She Was Eating For 4!"
11. "This Guy Started Showing Up A Few Months Ago. He Has A Collar On But No Tags. One Day I Decided To Put A Note On His Collar To See If He Had A Home. He Does! His Lovely Mom Text Me All About Him And Thinks It’s Great He Comes By For Naps And Hangouts With Me"
Turns out he had a very understanding mom.
12. "19th November 2018…. This Little Guy Jumped Through My Window As I Was Sleeping On The Sofa And Started Eating My Food That Was On The Table, He Ended Up Staying The Night So I Called Him Rusty"
"I ended up keeping him for a month before finding his owners on FB, I was heart broken to hand him over but I knew it was the right thing. 3 months later he came back so I contacted his owners only to be told that they have moved over 300miles away so I knew I had to keep him.
Since then he’s been my best friend and he’s happier than ever "
13. "Not My Cat, But He Heard The Thunder From The Storms Rolling In Here In Indiana Near Louisville And Was Pawing At The Door To Get In And Take Shelter. Lol. Sweet Guy"
14. "Well, Seems We Have Another Mhnmc Sitch"
"I take care of a feral colony that lives in my garage (with heaters!). Mama Cat decided last night to give birth (yes, she’ll be TNR’d).
Only she abandoned one newborn kitten around 00:45 today. Unbeknownst to us.
We found a mostly frozen newborn kitten that I’d swear was agonal breathing. I got kitten warmed up and cleaned up, it started moving.
After a lovely meal of KMR, kitten is a milk drunk void. Hopefully, we won’t lose it.
Meet NMK (not my kitten) but probably will be."
15. "So We Moved In To A New Place In December"
"This fellow has now learned to walk quietly behind me and sneak in when I open the door from my morning coffee run. This was my morning meeting … my colleagues commented “There’s a lot of meowing, Hamlen, for someone who doesn’t have a cat”"
16. "This Petite Démon Found A Cozy Place At My Car In A Rainy Evening, Then Found My Sofa And Tried To Eat My Soul"
17. "My House, My Stairs, I Don't Own A Cat!"
18. "This Was My Toby, He Turned Up As A Hungry Kitten, As They Often Do"
"My neighbors were very anti-cat, didn’t like them at all…….until our Toby decided to visit.
He made himself at home, sleeping on their bed. Toby changed them completely, they bought him treats, cooked him chicken, and they even rang to see how he was when they were away.
Sadly, we lost our dear Toby to cancer last year. We’d had him ten years, and he was very much loved by us and our neighbors.
We laid him to rest in the memorial garden, and to my surprise, I found a small plaque that they’d put on a rock nearby.
It read “Toby, he was our little friend”.
I sobbed when I read it.
(Photo shows Toby with our beloved late doggy Sausage, who our neighbors also loved.
They are shown here on a doggy bed bought by them)"
19. "Our Fishing Bivvy, Not Our Cat"
"... he just turned up and got straight onto the nearest heated cushion with built-in massage capacity (me). He then divided the night between me and my partner in our separate sleeping bags, demonstrating PhD-level expertise in getting under the covers to where it was really warm.
I can fully recommend having a warm soft purry thing in the sleeping bag to enhance a night's camping. In the morning, he got up from his snuggle with my partner when he noticed I was making tea, and required milk - which he got, of course.
The bailiffs came by and told us he's called Leo. When we left he was still trying to get under things, on top of our pile of packed up kit! "
20. "My Cat And Not My Cat In My Desk …. The Red One Is Mine, White Boy Almost Mine."
Some cats just refuse to respect personal space.
This petty revenge start, when an “incoming” cat switched families and got returned years later, is like the original owners’ cat saga.
21. "So This Was Joe. My Moms Former Neighbors “Owned” Joe"
"They left him outside all the time no matter the weather and really didn’t bother with him. One day my mom tells me they packed up and left in the middle of the night.
They took their dogs and a few things and just left. So old Joe started spending most of his time on moms porch.
He would do the rounds in the morning, visiting a couple of the neighbors who would give him treats and sometimes food. There was also an older gentleman who walked down the street every day who gave him treats.
When winter came, my mom went to Michaels and bought one of those little wooden crate-type boxes, threw a blanket into it, and slid it under the porch swing (covering that with a blanket to block the wind) against the house so Joe would have a warm place to sleep, because he would never come in the house.
Joe wasn’t a fan of being petted and picking him up was out of the question, but he’d sit close by and relax on the porch with you.
Joes have been gone a couple of years now but I just found this page so I thought I’d give a little shout-out to this fuzzy boy"
22. "So Just Found This In My Cats Basket. Not My Cat!"
23. "Allow Me To Introduce All Of You Fine People To My Mhnmc, 'Girlie'"
"Girlie has anointed herself my greeting committee. She knows which one is my assigned parking space, and if my car isn't in it, she will wait for me (year round!) on the sidewalk along the road I take to get home.
Girlie knows the sound of my car, and will come running from out of nowhere when she hears it! When I come home, I roll down the windows of my car and call for her.
Girlie is usually waiting for me, but on those odd days when she isn't, I hear the sound of her tiny paws shortly after, scrambling across the stone landscape toward my car. I can then see this healthy chonk full-tilt running behind my car to beat me to my parking space so that she can greet me properly.
She sniffs the plants and waits up the hill on the sidewalk for me to grab my stuff and start the walk home, and then(and only then) she darts up my stairs and stands impatiently with her nose pressed to my security door. At this point, she lets out the tiniest little 'mew!!!' to let me know that she is ready to sit with me for 5 minutes at the top of the stairs while I dole out her favorite snacks.
I treasure this time. I tell her about my day, scritch under her chin (everywhere else seems to be politely rebuffed so far) and when the snacks are gone, she trots down the stairs into the night.
My little love, Girlie"
24. "I’ve Told Y’all The Story Of How Lando Started Out As A Mhnmc By Swaggering Through My Front Door And Declaring The House As His Back In November 2019."
"Well, I was going through my phone not long ago and found a picture I took of him walking down the street about a month or two before he barged into my life. From that skinny stray to the loving and vocal 21lb a**hole, his transition from a NMC to my cat has been one hell of a glow up for him"
25. "Mr Gaston…..my #notmycat… The Kitty Who Refuses To Go Home…. This Is His Third Day Without Leaving Our House… 🤷🏻♀️… I Do Suspect That He Has Gone From #notmycat To #congratssuckeryouhaveanewkitty Well My Other Two Loves Him So I’m Guessing He’s Staying."
26. "My Bed. Not My Cats"
"No idea where the fat tuxedo lived. She would just show up and hang out. The other turned out to be our next door neighbors. He also liked to hang out for awhile then would go home"
27. "I Bet My Neighbor Thinks Their Cat Likes To Roam All Over Town Every Night"
28. "Are You Satisfied With Your Current Health Insurance Plan?! Did You Know That By Switching To Meowco, You Could Save An Average Of 100%!? ... Just Uh... Open This Door, And I'll Discuss Plan Options With You." - Mystery Kitty"
29. "My Bathroom, Not My Cat…."
30. "This Sweetie Is Cece Sunshine"
"My husband was in Puerto Rico taking care of his parents. This teeny gal kept showing up.
My husband fell in love. So in love, she is now a Texan.
So it was his parents’ house, not their cat, but now, a vet visit, shots, travel certificate, plane ride with a layover away, she’s all ours. We needed a black cat to add to our unintentional growing litter. (
She is adapting well to English. Just kidding.
She’s a cat. They do as they please in all languages)"
31. "Nmc Not Only Will Only Eat On The Counter But Now She Seems To Prefer Her Meal By Candle Light."
32. "I Feed The Stray Cats In My Neighborhood, I Have A Regular That Has Been Coming Around For About A Year, He's Friendly And I've Named Godfather, He's A Big Tuxedo So The Name Fits."
"I've recently had 2 more show up. A black one I call Slayer, because my black cats name is Pantera and I thought they were pretty metal lol.
But this guy I call Romeo cuz he sits on this table outside the window and meows to my female cat. Like a little Romeo and Juliette. But he's so gorgeous I thought I'd share him."
33. "Hagrid Is Back. It’s Snowing And He Doesn’t Like The Cold"
34. "Mama(We Still Can't Agree On A Name Smh But She Is Now My Cat) Is Taking A Much Deserved Break From The Bebbies."
35. "My Garden, Not My Cat. I Don’t Know Who He Is, Where He Comes From, What His Name Is, But He Keeps Coming Round And Eating My Own Cat’s Food. He’s Chunky, He Looks Healthy, And He’s Brazen, I Found Him On My Sofa A Couple Of Days Ago!"
36. "Got A Delivery For A New Mattress At My Apartment Today, This Lil Cutie Snuck In While I Let The Guys In My Apartment, Not My Cat."
37. "Nmc" Enjoying, What I Assume Is, "Not Really My Bed Anymore"
38. "Not. My. Cat. Keep Telling Myself That"
39. "This Is Isla. She Lives Up The Street And Is An Outside Cat. She Visits Every Evening For Snuggles And Cuddles, I Think She Thinks This Is Her Bed….it’s Not But I Love Her."
40. "There Are No Pets Allowed In My Shared Accommodation, But Apparently Nobody Told This Baby Or Their Much Quicker Ginger Friend, And Obviously I'm Not Gonna Tell On Them."
There are undoubtedly many cats roaming your area because more than 50% of people let their cats have access to the outdoors. Cats are opportunists; they will congregate in areas with abundant food.
Perhaps they enter because they enjoy the smell of anything you're preparing inside. So, if you want to be pleasantly surprised, just cook something that smells good.
After a roommate blamed him for losing a cat, he got a month free rent, read this missing-cat payoff.
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