My cat has been found

[lightbulbooo]

My cat has always been an outdoor cat since she was spayed as a young cat but slept inside and came and went as she pleased for food and cuddles. About 3 years ago she started disappearing for a few days at a time which turned into weeks and eventually only saw her every few months but I always checked her over and she was a good weight and even tried keeping her inside for a while but she was desperate to be outside so let her go, figuring that she'd found a new home. The last few times I've seen her she's not been very friendly and wouldn't let me pick her up or handle her and now I haven't seen her in over a year.
I had a note through the letter box today asking me to call an rspca mobile number. I called them and they said that a lady down the street has been feeding her with the help of the rspca for a while and she had her microchip scanned and that I should go and speak to her tomorrow.
I was asked if I still want her, to which I asked if this other lady wanted to keep her and she said I'd have to speak to her about it.
Now I'm worried and I don't know what to do. I know I have a responsibility for the cat but I now have two young children and I'm worried that the cat won't get along with them especially how she was behaving the last few times I saw her and I don't want to have to keep her locked up when she wants to be out, she'll just go straight back down the road as soon as she's outside again and I feel like it's unfair to make her a house cat when she so clearly wants to be outside.
If she's been getting help from the rspca to feed her and she's had her to the vet to have her microchip scanned then that suggests to me that she doesn't want her, so what do I do if she doesn't want to keep her?

Maybe she did the responsible thing of checking to see if she was already owned, before officially deciding to take her in? The RSPCA may have been helping to feed her as a way to catch her.

I'd go and have a chat and see if you can come to a compromise. It might be she will be happy to look after her if you supply her with some food (after all, you would have been feeding her anyway if she hadn't disappeared) or it might be she wants to keep her and is willing to take full responsibility.

Either way, I am glad you cat is safe and well.

Someone must be feeding her, or she's an exceptionally instinctive hunter.

All you can do is ring tomorrow & find out.

If she doesn't want her you could ask cpl to rehome her as a farm cat, they have supervison from the farm but a bit of food everyday and vet care if needed.

Either way you've done nothing wrong.

Hmm, the way I'm reading this, the other person has been feeding your cat but has now decided they can't afford to keep the cat so maybe wants you to financially support the cat while it lives with them? Is that right?
I would not support this proposal. Either the cat is yours and they stop letting it in to their house and stop feeding it completely so it returns to you when hungry or they take it in and support it properly. If I'm feeding a cat I want the benefit of having a pet. (I've previously had this argument with a neighbour who reluctantly stopped feeding MY cat when I shouted a lot).
Have I understood the situation properly?

However I'm glad your cat has come back (even if not to you) and you can stop wondering about them.

One of mils neighbours had similar, it was only her cat when it was ill. RSPCA told neighbour to either stop feeding it or adopt it & accept responsibility.

They stopped feeding it.

Maryann I think I understand it the same way as you but I won't know for sure until I've been round to see this lady tomorrow. Best case scenario for me is that she wants to take her on and we can change the microchip information over. That way I know she's taken care of and where she wants to be.
I don't want to financially support a cat that I don't even see but at the same time I don't want her to be homeless or suffering.
If she doesn't want her I think I'll have to keep her indoors for a few weeks to make her feel like this is home again and so she gets used to being fed here again and get her checked over at the vets as she hasn't been flead or wormed or had her injections in quite a while now as far as I know. And obviously tell this lady to stop feeding her

My other concern is, because she hasn't been around to be treated for fleas and worms or had her injections, is it safe to have her in the house with a baby and a young child? I had an issue with fleas many years ago and it was a nightmare to get rid of it took years, I hate to imagine this situation with children in the house

If the cat comes back to you, I would take her to the vet immediately for a health check. Get them to flea and worm her there if possible or get the stuff and do it yourself as soon as you get home. Have her bought up to date with everything. I can't see why she wouldn't be ok to be in the house with children as long as you are sensible about contact, not leaving them alone, not letting cat sleep on their beds with children in. Good idea to keep cat infor a few weeks so she learns where home is again.
Hope tomorrow's chat goes well for you.

I suspect that keeping her in for a few weeks won't do it unfortunately. We took on a cat when we moved house and he decided that he didn't like it with us (quite possibly because we had him neutered and vaccinated!) and kept disappearing. We put signs up everywhere and eventually he was discovered in a village a good 3 miles away. They gave him back to us and we kept him in, but he took to looking for open windows and managed to escape by shinning down a tree after jumping a good 3 feet from the window and back he went to the village. He was returned again but was so obviously unhappy that we negotiated an owner swap - they were very good and kept us up to date with what he was doing, and he lived a long and happy life there.

If you do have the cat back, don't be surprised if it goes again - they can be very determined and perhaps rehoming would be a better option,