Stop a Stray Cat from Following You

So you're walking down the street and suddenly you hear a meow. You look behind you and see a stray cat. You ignore it and walk to your house. You then accidentally drop your house key, and when you pick it up you see that same stray cat. Now when you try to go inside, the cat tries to come inside, too! But you manage to not let it get in. Now it's the next day and you are going to work. You open the door and find the cat lying there. Now the first thing it does is try to get inside again. You manage to shoo it away, but as you go to work, you see it following you again. Now you need to find out how to get rid of it once and for all!

Steps

 * 1)  Don't hit the stray cat! Think of all it may have gone through. It might have gotten hurt, or tortured by an abusive owner. Maybe it's a mother and it lost her kittens. Perhaps it is a very young cat/kitten and lost its mother, and is now looking for food?[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 1.jpg|center]]
 * 2)  See why it's following you. Maybe it can smell food on you, or maybe it just thinks you're nice. Animals, like babies, have a sort of "sixth sense" about people who want to be friendly or like animals. Or it might just want help.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 2.jpg|center]]
 * 3)  Stay still for a moment. If it's looking for food, then it will try to reach the place where the food is (e.g pocket). If it likes you, then it will purr around you.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 3.jpg|center]]
 * 4)  If it's meowing in pain or in a begging tone, then it may need help. Maybe it needs you to take care of its baby or wants you to find its mother. If you have the heart, then see where it will take you.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 4.jpg|center]]
 * 5)  Protect it. It might need you to protect it. Unless you don't care for it then you could just leave it. But that would be mean.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 5.jpg|center]]
 * 6)  Don't actually give it food by the hand. If you do, then it will register your smell and follow you for more food, sort of like the no feeding seagulls rule. Doing this can decrease the chance of it not following you. Instead show it the food then throw it far away, the cat will go to the food and start chewing it and when it's done it will come back only to find that you're gone. (Mainly because you ran away when it was eating food.)[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 6.jpg|center]]
 * 7)  Call the pound or any animal shelter near you. (But if this option appeals to you, make sure you find a no-kill shelter so the cat is not euthanized if no one adopts it.) But think about this first. What if it had kittens and left them to find food for them. What if you sent the cat to the pound and it does have kittens? What will happen to them?[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 7.jpg|center]]
 * 8)  If it still follows you, then scare it away. Stomp your feet and go "Pst!". It may get scared and run away. But beware, because some cats may attack if you do this.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 8.jpg|center]]
 * 9)  After it's gone, think about if you did the right thing or not.[[Image:Stop a Stray Cat from Following You Step 9.jpg|center]]

Tips

 * Try to find the owner or help it.
 * If the owner cannot be found then try to find it a new home or keep it till you find it a home.

Warnings

 * Don't hit it! A: This is animal abuse and B: the cat may have an owner nearby.

Related wikiHows

 * Tame a Feral Cat
 * Bond With a Feral Kitten
 * Catch a Stray Cat