Has this ever happened to you, dear Pandas? You go into the kitchen, say hello to your cat sitting on the counter (it says ‘meow’ back), and then you start making yourself a heartwarming mug of hot cocoa. You leave but then you stop and glance back. That wasn’t your cat! (Maybe you didn’t even have a cat!) How did it get in? What happened to your own cat?
If you’re in need of some good vibes, then you’re going to love the My House, Not My Cat Facebook group. It’s a wholesome online community dedicated to people who share photos of cats who wind up in their homes, visit their yards, and patter in to meownage them in their offices. Scroll down, upvote your fave pics, and share your own photos of cats that aren’t yours chilling at your home in the comment section, dear Pandas.
Stephanie Holcomb, who founded the group in October 2016, told Bored Panda that she came up with the idea to create the community because she kept seeing ‘My House, Not My Cat’ memes pop up all over the internet. “Cats would just let themselves in people’s houses via doggie doors or open windows, and these people didn’t have cats! They were hilarious, so I did a little search and found that there wasn’t a group made up specifically for that yet.” Scroll down for the rest of our in-depth interview with Stephanie.
#1 Gave This Guy A Piece Of Bacon On My Way Home From The Bar Last Night. Followed Me Ten Blocks Home. This Is How I Woke Up
Image source: Sheridan Branting
#2 My House, Not My Cat. Came Home Yesterday To Find That Santa Left This Black Kitty On My Balcony… Who Then Proceeded To Give Birth To 7 Little Beans. 7 Black Cats Born On Christmas, That’s Gotta Be Lucky
Image source: Amanda Short
#3 I Have Been Feeding A Cat For Some Time Now. Of Course I Set Out A Little Shelter And Blanket Also. I’ve Grown To Call Them My Phantom Kitty. I Could Never Catch It During The Day So I Figured I Would Sneak Out To Take A Peek Tonight. Look At This “Cat”
Image source: Michelle Slater
#4 My House, Not My Cat
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
Image source: Liseanne Ferland Rolwing
#5 This Is Crumpet. This Is My House. It Is Not My Cat
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.
Image source: Gregory Hawk Hauling Swales
#6 I Opened My Front Door Today, And A Flea-Covered, Cuddly, Sweetheart Came Running In
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
Image source: Heather Nicole Creech
#7 First Photo: This Was Not My Cat, He Just Entered My House And Slept In My Bed Second Photo: Now He Climbs Me Third Photo: He’s Definitively My C A T T O Now
Image source: Pedro Augusto
#8 This Is Swirl Who Was My Cat, The Kitten Is Not. He Loved Kittens And Would Steal People’s Kittens And Bring Them Home. He’s No Longer With Us So I Miss Those Days Of Coming Home To A Random Kitten In The House
Image source: Lisa Kitchens
#9 It Only Took A Few Months For Amelia Pond To Go From “My House, Not My Cat” To “How’d You Get So Fat?!?”
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
Image source: Emily Warren
#10 This Is My Glass Of Water, This Is My House, This Is Not My Cat Drinking My Water In My House , This Is My Neighbours Cat Ted!
Image source: Anne Mullis
#11 This Is My Bathroom…. This Is Not My Cat! This Is My Neighbours Cat Ted!
Image source: Anne Mullis
#12 I Was Told To Come Here And Tell Y’all About What Happened Over The Last 12 Hours At My House, With This Cat That Is Not My Cat, And Now These Kittens That Are Not My Kittens Or Her Kittens
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.
Image source: Karyl Alderman
#13 My Mom Sent Me This, Neither Of These Cats Belong To My Parents
Image source: Carrie Lawsterbunny
#14 My Cat. Not My House
Image source: Rowena Lister
#15 I Went To My Kitchen To Get My Washing Out Of The Machine And Feed My Cats, But Walked Into Five Cats In My Kitchen. I Only Have Three!
Image source: Hannah Rose Summerfield
#16 This Is Mr. Black. He Is Our Neighbours Cat Who Visits Us Every Day. He Is Not Ours But He Thinks He Is!! Here He Is Doing The Biggest Blep. He Has A Natural Snaggletooth
Image source: Aimi Mori
#17 I Left The Door Open A Moment Too Long When I Got Home One Day And This Little Goob Sprinted Inside, Circled The Living Room, And Plopped On The Floor
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
Image source: Lauren Simmons Lewis
#18 Okay, So About A Week Or So Ago I Had Just Gotten Home From Work When I Hear A Meow At My Apartment Door
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
Image source: Alicia Reed
#19 My House. My Coffee Table. Not My Cat
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
Image source: Rachael Judd
#20 My Carport, Not My Cat
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!
Image source: Tristen Rogers
#21 Soooo, This Is My Car, That Is Not My Cat
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
Image source: Amelia Markgraf
#22 The Mama Cat Who Had Babies In My Garden Shed. She’s Ultra Friendly And Her Babies Are Thriving! We’ve Got A Few Friends Interested In Adopting Them, But I Think We *might* Keep Them
Image source: Shazmin Krahenbuhl
#23 My GF Ask Me Why Did I Put A White Cat In Our Laundry Room, Didn’t Know What She Was Talking A Out, Send Me The Pic Felt In Love With Cat, Cat Is Now Part Of The Family
Image source: Carlos Gomez
#24 I Do Have A Cat, He’s The Cat On The Left. The Cat On The Right Is Not My Cat. He Would Very Much Like To Be My Cat. I Too Would Also Like Him To Be My Cat. My Actual Cat Disagrees With All Of This, And So Do His Owners
Image source: Ken Reader
#25 My Deck, Not My Cat Or Dog!! My Neighbor’s Pets Came To Visit Me This Morning!!
Image source: Eva Wiedeman
#26 My Stroller, Not My Cat. This Is Ralph. Ralph Decided He Wanted To Hitch A Ride Around The Neighborhood
Image source: Jaime Stahnke
#27 This Beautiful Girl Visits Almost Every Day For Breakfast! We’ve Named Her “Magic”
Image source: Tracey Lammert
#28 My House… Not My Cat…
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.
Image source: Susan Ward
#29 Last Year We Met This Orange Goofball While Walking Our Dog, Justin
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!
Image source: Matt O'Keefe
#30 My Flat, Not My Cat
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
Image source: John Sanders
#31 Our Resident Stray With A Hedgehog Friend Visiting At Dusk
Image source: Lars Gustav Midbøe
#32 Is This How One Acquires A Cat?
Image source: Laura Solomons
#33 I Had An Unexpected Vistor This Evening. He Is Welcome To Join My Social Bubble Any Time He Wishes
Image source: Erica Brackenbury
#34 My Baby’s Bassinet, Not My Cat
Image source: Meera Paleja
#35 My Dog, My Couch. Not My Cat
Image source: Natalia Elisa
#36 Why Do Neighbourhood Cats Always Come To My House
Image source: Tish Burley
#37 I Just Bought A House. It Apparently Came With A Cat. No One Told Me. I Don’t Even Have A Sofa Yet, But I Have A Pet? My House, Not My Cat
Image source: Giselle Bodin Lyons
#38 My Bed. Not My Cat. Left The Front Door Open And Came Into My Room To Find This Kitty
Image source: Claire Arthur
#39 Kevin Doin A Heckin Protest. Kevin Is Not My Cat, But I’m Trying To Convince Him To Be My Cat. We Do This Everyday. One Day He’s Gonna Surrender To My Love, Damnit. For Now He Just Uses Me For Food, And I’ll Take It
Image source: Crystal Damato-Pineda
#40 This Is Sharon. Sharon Would Sneak In The House On A Daily Basis And Pretend To Be Asleep When We Had To Escort Her Out. Sharon Is Not Our Cat, Nor Do We Know If She Is Actually Called Sharon
Image source: Hannah Green
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