diff --git a/kitty/mouse.c b/kitty/mouse.c
index 3a7e3921d..76821d00f 100644
--- a/kitty/mouse.c
+++ b/kitty/mouse.c
@@ -832,10 +832,21 @@ HANDLER(handle_button_event) {
     Tab *t = osw->tabs + osw->active_tab;
     bool is_release = !osw->mouse_button_pressed[button];
 
+    if (button == GLFW_MOUSE_BUTTON_LEFT && is_release && osw->suppress_left_mouse_release) {
+        osw->suppress_left_mouse_release = false;
+        return;
+    }
+
     if (handle_scrollbar_mouse(w, button, is_release ? RELEASE : PRESS, modifiers)) return;
 
-    if (window_idx != t->active_window && !is_release) {
+    if (osw->is_focused && window_idx != t->active_window && !is_release) {
         call_boss(switch_focus_to_in_active_tab, "K", t->windows[window_idx].id);
+        if (button == GLFW_MOUSE_BUTTON_LEFT) {
+            // Treat split-focus transfer clicks as focus-only and suppress
+            // the matching release to avoid release-without-press reports.
+            osw->suppress_left_mouse_release = true;
+            return;
+        }
     }
 
     Screen *screen = w->render_data.screen;
diff --git a/kitty/state.h b/kitty/state.h
index 0fa8a69d8..71e986c38 100644
--- a/kitty/state.h
+++ b/kitty/state.h
@@ -329,6 +329,7 @@ typedef struct OSWindow {
     double mouse_x, mouse_y;
     bool mouse_button_pressed[32];
     bool has_too_few_tabs;
+    bool suppress_left_mouse_release;
     PyObject *window_title;
     bool disallow_title_changes, title_is_overriden;
     bool viewport_size_dirty, viewport_updated_at_least_once;