Stray cat won't leave but I already have indoor cats
Persistent strays will stake out your doors or sprint through open windows the moment you offer a little water or attention. This makes it impossible to step outside freely or leave a window open without the stray trying to move in. You end up having to avoid the stray entirely or confine it to a single room so your own house cats don't react aggressively.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Stray cat won't leave but I already have indoor cats
- 1Trying to ignore the catDid this help you?
- 2Washing hands after interacting with the outdoor cat before going back insideDid this help you?
- 3Giving indoor cats extra treats to appease themDid this help you?
- 4Leaving the window open and isolating the stray in a single roomDid this help you?
- 5Taking the cat to see if it has a microchipDid this help you?
- 6Registering the cat at the humane societyDid this help you?
- 7Posting found cat messages everywhereDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My window was open it came and and hasn't left since”source ↗
“She was waiting by the doorstep for a whole night and sprinted straight inside my house.”source ↗
“Im leaving the window open and not letting it leave my room because I got another cat in the house and I don't think she'd take kindly to another cat showing up”source ↗
“One stormy night, the culprit was outside our window demanding admittance. We had no choice.”source ↗
“So this is NOC ( aka NOT OUR CAT!) It’s been a hundred degrees here for the last couple months so I give her water. She thinks we are best friends no matter how much I try to ignore her. I have 4 house cats so absolutely can’t take her in. But every time I try to go outside, there she is.”source ↗
“I did pet her a bit yesterday but looked up to the evil glare of one my cats in the window So promptly ran in and obediently washed my hands and gave double dose of cat treats. 😭”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 22How to tell if a neighborhood stray cat is in heat
- 2Why does making the pspsps sound scare my cat away?
- 3Will my cat get depressed leaving a multi-cat home?