A cat has turned up.

[JudithsDead]

My friend came round yesterday for dinner at 6pm and a cat followed her into the house and ran upstairs. It had been following her for quite a while. It then came down and hung about it the garden. It’s thin and a bit scruffy. I don’t know much about cats but it seems young. I’m afraid I fed it as we’d had some wine by 9pm and it was really mewing and I got worried it was hungry. We put a note on the local facebook group but have only had people posting the same or similar cats saying this cat hangs around their garden sometimes but is very timid and won’t come close. Not sure if it’s the same cat as this one is very chatty and affectionate.
Anyway we trooped to bed about 11 and left it in the garden. Woke this morning it’s still there! Opened the back door and she ran straight in and has been mooching around the house and garden for last hour.
We have a dog and the cat growls a bit and arches back when shes seen him but he’s ignoring her.
Should we feed the cat again? Water is down and she’s been drinking.
We are both flat out for two days at work but thinking if it’s still here by Wednesday then take to vets?
It’s also got a hanging down loose belly/pouch but very prominent spine and hips. Looks a bit incongruous.
Thanks for any advice x

Yes take to vets and ask them to scan for microchip. If no chip then it’s yours. Congratulations, you’ve been chosen!

Sounds like you have been chosen by a cat. Congratulations. See if a neighbour can lend you a carrier to take her to the vet to be checked for a chip. If you can't find her owner I would consider it fate.

Congratulations 🎊

Should I feed it again this morning? I don’t want to prevent it going home?

I wouldn't feed it just yet, cats are very good at conning extra meals out of people. I would ask on Facebook if anyone has a chip reader if you cant get it to a vet. We have several people locally who would happily come and check her for a chip if she doesn't have one then you can decide your next steps and if you want to keep her.

Yeah I’d probably feed it. You’re not really “preventing” it from going home if it can get outside if it wants to. I know what you mean, if it does have a good home it will be less likely to go home if getting fed elsewhere, but if it looks hungry and skinny etc then it probably doesn’t have a good home. Or it’s been lost for quite some time.

Please give the cat food and water and take it to the vet for a health check up and to check if he has a microchip.

Once you have checked with the vet that the cat can't be traced to an owner then cat distribution system will have done its work and you will be the proud owner/slave of a feline overlord.

We seem to be the drop-in centre for Catland. A couple of cats saunter in, eat whatever food our cats have left, then settle down for a sleep. When they wake up, they saunter back out and to their own homes.

The cat may be looking for the same deal or you could have been chosen for permanent residence.

If it’s thin then it’s a stray. I would feed it yes, it could be relying on you to survive.

If it's skinny with prominent spine and hips then please feed it. Either get it to the vets ASAP or ask FB if there are any scanning angels - volunteers who bring their own scanners to check for microchips.

At the moment there is a cat crisis, due to the CoL people are not feeding their pets and are abandoning them in high numbers, it's awful out there so please feed until you are able to get it checked.

First thing, get her scanned.

I wouldn't feed her yet. You'll never stop her coming back if she thinks she'll get food!

The saggy tummy is her primordial pouch. It is to protect her internal organs. Sometimes if a cat is underweight it can be particularly prominent. When we got our cat we were actually concerned that the rescue centre had messed up and she was pregnant.

I would until you get it scanned, keep posting on the Facebook groups. It might have travelled far so no chance of getting home
if it has an owner perfect, if not will you keep it? We were ‘chosen’. Worried for the first year or so it would ‘return’ but she stayed. Loveliest cat who we had for 16 years. I do wonder if it had a family who were looking for her but I did try my best and she wasn’t chipped! She never had kittens so must have been neutered too.

The primordial pouch is normal but prominent spine isn’t. I’d feed her and take her to the vets whenever is convenient.

I'd feed it - better to risk feeding someone else's cat than to let a potential stray go hungry!
If it has a decent owner it should be chipped. If my cat went missing, I'd much rather someone fed it and took care of it, than to think of it out there and suffering.

If it’s got a very prominent spine please do feed it, it sounds very under nourished. Once you’ve had a chance to take it to the vets and know if it’s got an owner that’s different, but being that skinny doesn’t sound like normal cat opportunistic scrounging for an extra meal.