in taking a cat(possibly owned by a neighbour) to the vet?

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Over the past week a cat has been making an appearance in my garden, She is thin and threadbare looking, by size she appears a youngster but I have a feeling she might just be a small but possibly elderly cat.
I think she may belong to my neighbour who has two cats she never allows out. I am not sure but I think this may be one of them, my neoighbour however is not answwering her door (very odd woman).
Myt concern is that the cat looks as though she is lifting with fleas and appears irritated by her skin. I am not sure if she could have some skin thing which is causing this or if it is just untreated flea infestation. IF this is my neighbour's cat then I would have concerns about it's welfare given the appearance. The cat is very friendly and tame but her neck is really irritated looking and she is getting at her skin.
Financially I cannot afford to pay a vet's bill but I could ask the local PDSA to have a look at her if needed.
Should I? What do other people think?

I don't think the PDSA will because as far as I know the cat has to be registered to you and you have to be receiving benefits?

The RSPCA are a pile of useless shite so I guess that leaves a cat charity?

Could you Google your local one and ring them up?

My "odd" neighbour has now deigned to answer the door, confirmed the cat is hers and said she is "an outdoor cat" .She confirmed this to my son who knocked to say the cat was in our garden, had some cuts on her neck (from where she is getting at her skin). Neighbour told him that she "knows about the cuts"!

Take it to the vet - many will provide foc if you can convince them its not yours and she could be microchipped so they will check for that.
Also, i'm sorry to say this but you need to report your neighbour to the RSPCA and let them investigate. It really is not acceptable to allow animals to live in this situation.
If she cannot provide the cats the correct care or cannot afford it she should let them be rehomed. Maybe try callilng Cats Protection League for advice?

Get the rspca out but catch the cat first.

Have spoken to RSPCA - they are going to do a welfare check and now I am worried that she will link it back to me. The cat is in a bit of a state though, the RSPCA said not to take it to a vet or treat the fleas because they need to see the state the cat is in to make a decision.

God I am worried now.

Thinking of knocking and saying I phoned RSPCA because I thought it was a stray and that even though I have ring back they now want to see the cat - or will that makje things worse?

Don't tell her you called the RSPCA in case she takes the cat inside then the check can't be done. You did the right thing OP so don't feel bad about it !

My cat is a feral an outside cat. She's also well fed, flea treated, microchipped and cared for. What a rubbish excuse for neglecting the poor animal.

Don't tell her you called them, exactly as Cazza says, she might take it in then so the rspca won't be able to check it!

The cat is still in the garden and my very territorial cat is tolerating her which tells me she views the cat as no threat .

It's made itself comfy on a garden chair and I have just picked a flea off me!

...and the cat is still in the garden. Have a feeling it has been evicted!!!

RSPCA will visit but don't know when. I can't wait and will probably rung Cats Protection League tomorrow and ask if they will cover a vet check.

We had a similar thing but we were the owners! Our cat was forever being taken by well meaning neighbours to their vets, who'd then ring us (microchip) and demand answers as to her condition.

Luckily our vet had the records of her (unfortunately ongoing and in the end terminal) illness that we spent over £2k trying to 'fix' She looked terrible though, thin and very small, very lethargic. We put a note in her collar eventually saying she was being treated and please to leave alone. We could have kept her in but as she was used to having free rein of the house and garden we thought she'd prefer to continue.

Thing is though - I'd always rather people cared and acted in favour of the cat in these circumstances so you definitely are doing the right thing IMO

Thanks for adding that Puffin - it's the reasn I haven't put any "spot on" flea treatemnt on her - just in case there is an underlying thing there. She is definitely flea infested though and I can't do anything like visit a vet as she is not my cat. No sign of the RSPCA.