Accidentally stolen a cat...?

[CrabfishEverdeen]

So, we've been in our new house for around a month now and a cat from the neighbourhood seems to have adopted us.

He (I think is a he) initially came to the door a few weeks back, while I was having a cigarette outside, was really friendly and invited himself into the house, I'm a big softy when it comes to animals so I just let him stay in for about half an hour, OH came home and put him out immediately.

Since then, kitty has been a permanent fixture on our doorstep, he's there every day when I get up at 4:30am and when OH gets up at 8:30am and is there waiting when we get home from work, I've given him a bit of attention but refrained from feeding him until yesterday because he seems to have lost weight and is getting pretty skinny.
I've let him in the house a few times as it's been raining and he just sits at the patio window getting soaked and my heart melts a little bit.

The thing is, the last thing I would want to do is steal someone's pet, I'd hate to think someone was missing him but at the same time, I can't see him sitting out in the rain and getting all skinny all day and night. He's a lovely cat and we'd gladly keep him but don't want to be a catnapper!

He's not wearing a collar so I can't get in touch with his owners and our area can be a bit rough and don't know how well they'd take it if we did get in touch with them. ive checked all the lost cat posts online for the last week and nothing's come up. I'm not really sure what to do, I guess we should get him checked for a chip, I just worry that his actual owners might not look after him so well and that's why he's looking for a new home :(

Any words of wisdom or guidance are much appreciated :)

You are a cat owner! You have been chosen! Congratulations!!!!

Enjoy every minute with the kitty and feed him lots. Sounds like he's been abandoned - vet him and take him home for more love.

Good for you Crab, you are doing the right thing.

I used to feed the look-like-a strays around here, the last one that I took to the vets (but it took a LONG time to trap him) was starving, had no teeth and had cancer.

RIP Steve the Stray

*used to because I nôw have my own cat and he isn't welcoming of others on his patch!!

Ah crab, even if your cat has a home then it's decided you need a cat and has,come to convert you.

We've got two, had three but one of our rescues kept disappearing to his previous owners so in the end I signed him back over (talked to cats protection first and all agreed that it was best for the cat). I'm now wanting a new kitty and have decided if dp says no we will (we is me and the kids) use the "found it in a box" ruse :o. Don't worry, I wouldn't but I keep showing him pics of small helpless cats and pleading.

He used to say no. Now he's saying when we move. Yay!!

OP, that's great. Your vet should be able to help and advise. I hope you haven't been put off posting and got some useful ideas of what to do next.

Could the cat have been left behind by the previous owners of your house, or have found his way "home" after his owners moved? Ask neighbours if they recognise him.
Meanwhile give him shelter and dinner.

One of our cats looks a state, he has bald patches, flaky skin i skinny and walks funny - he has special needs and is on several medications. I can understand why people would think he's a stray, and people have and have taken him to the RSPCA, so much so that the RSPCA now know him and won't take him anymore. Due to his health he can't wear a collar but is chipped. People think they are being nice taking him and feeding him but invariably he ends up missing a dose of medication which is bad for him.

I'd always rather someone check on him, god forbid he actually was injured or something. The neighborhood now know him and if he's having a 'bad' day with his condition will bring him home.

Oh and the vet told me it would be cruel if we kept him locked in!

Not going to repeat advise but I will add that most people over feed their cats and they are over weight, meaning that correct weight cats are perceived as "underweight".

You should be able to feel the spine on the cat easily with a firm stroke (same for ribs) you should see the shoulders. there should be a dip in front of the hips - this is a fit cat.

Obviously I don't know what this cat looks like but I get told constantly I don't feed my cats enough by people with tubby tabbies.

I too have a cat who is very friendly and often mistaken for hungry. He isn't hungry he is fit and in very good shape, unless someone else feeds him something (he has a specific diet) then he comes home and pukes all over the floor then takes a couple of days messing up the litter tray and being very unhappy until his tummy settles.

Despite being asked nicely, several new homes over the last decade have had neighbours who continued to feed him, make him really sick until he has to be kept in and in a couple of instances outright blatantly try to steal him ignoring the fact he has a family he very much loves. Other people's well intentioned actions have impacted on his health greatly and it really grates when I hear of people keeping a cat without doing the most basic paper collar / scan checks first.

Most recently a new neighbour came out to have a go at me because he had scratched her after being encouraged into her house. Our last house a neighbour whose cats died missed having a moggy about so decided she would have ours! She was asked repeatedly to stop feeding him but instead came over to ask his name because after months of coaxing him with food she had decided to keep him and began locking him in - his health plummeted due to the crap he was fed and I had to make him an unhappy house cat until he regained strength.

There is a huge difference between friendly curious cats out and about and injured sick strays - a vet can settle which for those who are not knowledgeable about cats (and loads aren't). This is a great place to post for advice but understand that for every "stray cat has chosen me" type thread there is a "missing cat" or "neighbour has stolen beloved pet" thread. It is a sore point with most cat owners I know.

A scan is easy, I wish people would do that before anything else to remove all doubt. If the vet finds a microchip then happy days - you can get the critter home where he belongs and the rescue centres are busting with cats who need a family.

The animal's welfare comes before anything else.

A cat who is getting thinner and camping out on your doorstep like that is most likely asking for help. You can't second guess every possible scenario, so feed and scan ASAP is the most sensible approach, for this particular cat.

Keep us updated ?

LightNC has summed up the situation perfectly. Feed and get him scanned for a chip and perhaps use a paper collar. But do feed!

Get him checked for a chip as soon as you can. This is standard advice. And anyone who complains that their cat is being 'stolen' or overfed by neighbours and hasn't in fact chipped their cat is being completely unreasonable.

Agreed microchips are essential!

I completely agree with previous posters, you are doing the right thing by feeding him. Keep us updated!

Crab you are very kind to notice & care about the cat, I agree with the advice to get it scanned/checked by the vet & in the meantime put food out.

Keep us posted

And water. Really important. If either of my boys were lost and hungry, i'd fucking shake the hand of whoever took care of them for me while they were lost.

I second what RubbishM said, one of my boys went missing and it would break my heart to think of him asking for help and being ignored.