Don't know what to do - Help!

Hi guys and gals,

When I was moving into my apartment last week I saw a grey and white cat strolling across the roof of another home near my upper apartment. I noticed that it wasn't afraid and it wasn't skinny at all, so it looks like it had been fed.

This morning I locked up my apartment, turned around and there it was! I stopped and said hello, and it stopped as well. It talked with me for a moment, then came right up my stairs to lay on my deck and get lots of love and attention. The cat looked older, sturdy, and had minimal bumps (fleas or just burrows, could not tell). S/he seemed really friendly and was content to receive pets and love and lots of talking. I tried to see if it was declawed but wasn't going to grab the paws with no bond formed.

I know next to nothing about outside cats, and I'm very unsure as to whether this is a cat that lives somewhere nearby and is someone's outside cat, or a stray. There is no indication that this is a feral cat (I read the Sticky's on this forum!)...I can't afford to feed it or keep it really...but I don't want it to starve (but, being a fat kitty I'm not sure it's starving).

S/he seemed so nice. I'm so strapped for money at the moment (gee whiz moving is a pain in the butt!) so I don't know what to do. My first thought is to see if it comes back and how frequently.

Anybody have any advice?

Oh, golly gee, thank you for at least petting it.

I would ask your new neighbors (good way to get to know them!) if they know anything about the cat.  I would NOT at this time ask the property manager, who might decide the cat is feral and call animal control.  Based on your description, s/he definitely isn't feral, probably someone's indoor/outdoor cat or possibly abandoned.  I live in an area where there is a high rate of foreclosures and evictions; when people move out some leave their cats behind. 

It will probably come back, especially if  you start to feed it.  Do you have garbage dumpsters outside or inside--the feral colony I fed supplement their diet with birds, mice and food from the dumpster.

The best thing you can do for it is to make sure s/he is spade-neutered so kittens don't show up at your doorstep.  There are low cost spay/neuter places around.

Not sure about the surrounding environment, we don't have any garbage dumpsters (I live in an upper portion of a house in a residential area, not a complex, it's nice and quiet.) All of the trash we accumulate is neatly stored until garbage night.

I will definitely ask my neighbors (they are very sweet!) and even though I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue with my landlady (she totally waived any and all fees associated with Luna since she "had such a hard time getting a place with my kitty and I know what you're going through, so I won't charge you") I won't tell her either.

I have never encountered an outside cat that approached me (they usually run away) so I didn't want to ignore it. I stayed for about three minutes petting it and loving on it.

AW sounds like a real sweetie of a kitty. I bet it is someones pet cat and I would start asking around. If this is just an abandoned stray, then I would take it to the vet to see if it has a microchip and see if she/he has been neutered. With females, sometimes you can see the spay scar. They won't charge you for this. If you can, and no one claims this kitty, then make some calls to local rescue or cat foster groups and see if you can get this kitty a new home. :cross: Much luck

Feralvr said:

and [ IF ]  no one claims this kitty, then make some calls to local rescue or cat foster groups and see if you can get this kitty a new home.

Much luck

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Common shelters almost never help semiferales, too much trouble for them. But they are often good at helping tame cats, who got astray or got dumped.  Ie cats easy to get adopted, as soon they find some decent adoption home.

So, unlike most of our protegées, you can also get help from a very common, decently managed shelter.

Although try to find a no kill shelter.

Good luck!

ps   but most probable, is she some neighobours out going cat. Observe, some cats can wander quite some distance if they are used to it.  so it is not enough to ask just the nearest neigbours.