A new friend...

First off Im not sure this is the right place to post this so please feel free to move it to a more appropriate area if need be!
We moved into our house over a month ago now and I seem to have aquired a 3rd cat... She is a beautiful sandy coloured love machine. She looks pretty old to me and has a huge tummy which is pretty close to the floor so Im assuming she's had kittens at some point in her life.
She meets me at my car everytime I come home and we have a little chat while she follows me to my door, where she sits patiently while I go in and her her some biscuits or dry food. She then eats like she's never been fed and then I break my heart when I have to close the door on her.
I see her out all the time and she doesn't seem to have one door that she hangs around more than any other, which would indicate that is her home.
Im not sure what to do about her. Its so so cold here and I worry about her.
I was thinking about getting in touch with the previous owners to ask if they know whos cat she is? She stretches up my door while I unlock it, like she's been there before.
She doesn't belong to the previous owners, they do have a cat but he was black and white and is definately still with them.
Any suggestions on what to do here? I lived in a flat before so never had to deal with outdoor cats coming to visit. Is this just something they do? steal your heart and make you believe they are homeless?

Certainly sounds like you have a Charlie here! I would hazard the guess that she does have a home and she's just an outdoorsy indoor/outdoor with a hearty appetite (pretty much like Charlie! )

He is incredibly mean to me though as he sits on the garden table and watches me wash up, then sits on the sil of the French doors and stares at me for hours on end - I feel so bad!

I would say that your little one probably came into the house while the previous owners were there and remembers that - Charlie sure did come in here, he would fight the cat flap once we sealed it!

Indoor/outdoor cats are incredibly adept at milking the sympathy of kind humans to get food - if this is the case she probably has a round of several food bowls to go to every day!

Strangely, not everyone collars their indoor/outdoor cats, so you don't always know who they belong to. We have a ginger boy who lives in the next block of flats, they only put a collar on him when they heard Nate asking the cat if he wanted to come home with us and lo and behold the next day he was sporting a new red collar with a tag.

I don't have any experience with strays or ferals as there simply aren't any around where I live, the two cats I see outdoors I know where their homes are. I would have a feel of it to make sure it is not skin and bones (doesn't sound as if it is), otherwise I would assume it has a home to go to.

I would be tempted to put a collar and tag on it, saying something to the effect of 'this cat begs at my door for food, if it belongs to you please call ***** and I will stop feeding it'

Originally Posted by Epona

I would be tempted to put a collar and tag on it, saying something to the effect of 'this cat begs at my door for food, if it belongs to you please call ***** and I will stop feeding it'

Click to expand...

Yes, such a collar and message seems to be the appropriate to do in cases like here. The message preferably in a messagecontainer.

You can write; Is this cat yours? Please do phone me. And your phone number. Or something like that.

Great advice everyone thanks
I had a call from my Mum at lunchtime to say she had just dropped off some mail at my house and Edith (as we have taken to calling her... ) was sitting on my doorstep purring like a machine gun
I have sent a text to our previous owners asking about her so I'll see what she comes back with.
Mark and I have both picked her up several times and she does feel a healthy weight and she is so so loving. She rubs all over us like shes known us for years!
I just hope she does have a warm cosy home to go to at night and being outside a lot is just her own personal choice

Ok well I need my eyes testing Edith is actually a male called Gizmo
I got in touch with the lady who lived in our house before we bought it and he has a home a few doors along the road, however....they apparently go away on holiday and leave him and the woman who owned our house, and a few others, all fed him.
He also has gungy eyes which I mentioned to her and she said that another woman a couple of doors down used to bathe them with cotton wool.
I am releaved but I am also fuming with anger.
According to the owners he refuses to go in the house but how can this be true when he is desperate to get inside my house and goes into the other womans house aswell?
He met me tonight and we had a usual chat, although it's pretty one sided because when he miaows nothing comes out and he came to the door and I gave him some of Sleeves and Nismos favourite biscuits, then I shut the door and left him eating on my door step

Originally Posted by Pombina

Ok well I need my eyes testing

Edith is actually a male called Gizmo

I got in touch with the lady who lived in our house before we bought it and he has a home a few doors along the road, however....they apparently go away on holiday and leave him and the woman who owned our house, and a few others, all fed him.
He also has gungy eyes which I mentioned to her and she said that another woman a couple of doors down used to bathe them with cotton wool.
I am releaved but I am also fuming with anger.
According to the owners he refuses to go in the house but how can this be true when he is desperate to get inside my house and goes into the other womans house aswell?
He met me tonight and we had a usual chat, although it's pretty one sided because when he miaows nothing comes out

and he came to the door and I gave him some of Sleeves and Nismos favourite biscuits, then I shut the door and left him eating on my door step

Click to expand...

Aww...well I hope that he is at least neutered...and I would seriously talk to your neighbor about getting him microchipped.

Katie