My sister's visitor

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but I am really unsure about the situation.
I am currently visiting my sister in Germany and met a cat that she sees around her place all the time and tells me about. He/ she is just sooooo adorable. The cat waits inside/ outside her building door to be let out/ in my the residents when they come in or go out. My sister's apartment is on the garden level and the cat appears when she cooks. My sister finds him/ her cute but she is not an cat/ dog person. A couple of days after I arrived I met the cat and he/ she was friendly. I said hello and the cat was so vocal. I got a bump on my hand when I extended my closed fist to greet the cat and then the cat allowed me to pet hI'm/ her briefly. My sister always said that the cat us shy. Now we do not know if the cat belongs to anyone - no visible id. I really do not know German pet culture enough but it does not seem that the cat's starving but according to my sister the cat was rather chunky and lost some weight in the past year (my sister's been in this apt for 2.5 yrs and has always seen the cat). No one in the building has a cat door or leave out a bowl of food / water outside the door. My sister has seen the cat walking around in the neighborhood. So in this situation, is it advisable to leave a little dry food out for the cat? He/ she definitely appears whenever my sister is cooking. The thing is, my sister may not be the most responsible of people to be consistent with feeding the cat. She is kind of scared to touch the cat (or any animal for that matter) and so vetting is not an option. In this case, will it be wrong for me to give the kitty some food and then hope my sister will continue it when I leave? She will for a while, am sure- she has all the best intentions but they vacation a lot and I can see her forgetting once in a while. Also they will probably move out of here in the future. Would appreciate you weighing in on the situation.

When i was last living in the UK, i had several "gentlemen callers" I too lived on the ground floor, and often had the french windows open. I was still grieving the loss of my own cat a few years previously but i welcomed my feline visitors very much.
There was a big black cat that used to have a nap on a chair near the door.A huge black and white that used to appear at lunch time - greedy kitty, it was clear that he had just eaten HIS lunch before trying out my place!( cat food on his whiskers). He would often have a snooze on my lap.Best of all, the two Ocicat brothers who would come to lie in the sun on my floor near the doors. They were very shy and it took over a year for them to let me touch them.
It was clear that all these boys were other peoples pets. I did not feed them as i did not want to entice them away from their owners. They were free to come and go as they pleased when the doors were open. Maybe your sisters cat is the same? Could she ask around to see who he/she belongs to?

Awwww.......

Well, since she doesn't really want to be involved, I think it's best not to feed the kitty.

That said.... does she have a printer? Can a picture of the cat be taken - and imported into a document - effectively creating a little "poster" to put around asking people if this is their cat? Is there a phone number she'd feel comfortable using? Or maybe buy a prepaid cellphone with very little minutes for the purpose? Just to find out if kitty is owned and being cared for? And if not... maybe find a shelter that might be able to take it?

The vast majority of cat owners in Germany (where we live) allow their cats outside; many shelters and cat rescue organizations will not adopt to you unless you promise to keep the cat as an indoor/outdoor pet. Therefore the probability that the cat has an owner and is just opportunistic and looking for an extra handout is high. If you or your sister feed her, she'll continue to come by and beg.

Our shared cat is indoor/outdoor and there's a good reason why we call her "Miezi the Moocher". She makes the rounds of the neighborhood at dinnertime and attends every cook-out in the area. It's likely that your sister's regular visitor is another moocher.

As Laurie suggested, you or your sister could photograph her and show people living within one or two blocks of your sister the photo and ask whether she belongs to anybody. You could also ask neighborhood kids playing outside (they all have English in school) whether they know where the cat lives.

Originally Posted by LDG

Awwww.......

Well, since she doesn't really want to be involved, I think it's best not to feed the kitty.

That said.... does she have a printer? Can a picture of the cat be taken - and imported into a document - effectively creating a little "poster" to put around asking people if this is their cat? Is there a phone number she'd feel comfortable using? Or maybe buy a prepaid cellphone with very little minutes for the purpose? Just to find out if kitty is owned and being cared for? And if not... maybe find a shelter that might be able to take it?

Click to expand...

I would not start feeding this cat if your sister won't consistently take on the commitment. It might be someones cat if it is in good weight and has been around for a year. Enjoy your stay!!!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am not going to start feeding the cat and I do not think my sister will. I really hope that the cat belongs to someone. I asked my sister to write to her landlord and ask if it belongs to someone in the building. She's seen the cat for her 2.5 yrs here but says the cat's lost weight, though it is not skinny now by any means. Also last night (nearly midnight) when we returned from a roadtrip (we were out since I last posted) the cat came inside the building when my sister opened the door and then when we were still bringing in the baggage, the cat left. Which makes me think that he/ she may not belong to anyone in the building and spends the night outside. It saddens me so much - especially since he/she reminds me of Hobbes. I leave for London in 2 days and so it will be upto my sister to try to find out about the cat, if she wants. I just pray that the cat is well and taken care of.

here he/ she is:Attachment 15517

I'm just wondering if the cat wasn't pregnant before and now that she's had the kittens she looks like she lost weight.

Wouldn't it be nice to save them all?!?!?!
I really hope this kitty has a nice, comfy place to call home with someone who loves him/her

The reason the pregnant issue did not come up was because my sister saw the cat chubby for over 1.5 yrs and it is only this past year that she's been saying the cat's lost weight.
The more I hear and see, I someone feel that the cat's without a home. He/ she is outside all times of the day and night. My sister will write to the landlord and ask some neighbors.

Such a pretty kitty!

I'm glad your sister is going to look into it.

AWWW what a pretty kitty. I sure hope your sister will to help this cat. Really might just be a local stray who gets by with scraps here and there and kindly people feeding him. Vibes to this kitty