A strange cat thinks it lives in my house (pics, of course)

I’ve been seeing this cat for some time in the neighborhood. It looked abandoned to me, but I could never get near enough to tell.

Today, when I was getting ready to go out to lunch with **taxi78cab **and Spatial Rift, I saw it again. I went to load something in my car, and came back - and it had gone inside the house.

I tried to call it, but it ran up the stairs! Well I was already running late to the lunch, so I abandoned my SO with a last admonition to “Give it some milk, and i’ll stop by the pet store!” And out I ran. (poor guy).

I know little to nothing about cats. It’s significantly thinner than taxi78cab’s cat, and I can feel ribs, but it’s coat is clean. I think it hasn’t been out for long.

**taxi78cab **gave me a sort of starter kit, (thankyouthankyouthankyou) with litter and food and even a litterbox. She seems friendly enough (the cat, **taxi **is plenty friendly already). She ate the kitty food taxi gave with relish and is now taking a nap, I think.

I took a bunch of pictures and I’ll post them around - but now what? What happens if no one answers? Do I keep her? She seems to have even melted this confirmed cat-hater’s heart, with her big eyes.

She’s hard to photograph but I think we got a few good ones.

Kitty 1

Kitty 2

Kitty 3

She doesn’t bite or scratch. She doesn’t ask to be petted either, but does occasionally rub up against your leg. And she definitely has her claws, so says my SO.

I knew you all would never come in here without the promise of pics. :smiley:

She’s a calico! If you do wind up keeping her, she’ll be a handful, but it’ll be worth it.

One more question - am I doing the right thing by keeping her here until someone claims her?

She looks like my kitty!

That’s good, my kitty has a ton of personality.

So does my husband’s cat, but that cat’s personality is all hell-raiser. Mine’s just bossy.

Yes, as long as you’re putting up “found cat” signs. Beautiful cat.

Yes, I’m going to hit the office tomorrow and print up some pictures of her so I can post them around.

You keep her, you name her, you take her to the vet to make sure she is healthy, you serve her for her natural life, you are sad when she dies, you get another kitty to keep her company, you get her toys to keep her occupied, you tell us how cute she is and what really smart things she did.

From the pictures, she looks pretty healthy & clean. I wouldn’t get too attached until you know for sure.

If she’s anything like my cat, her owner accidently served her fresh White Fish when she was in the mood for a nice Orange Roughy with garlic lemon sauce, so she decided to take a walk about & see what the other humans are serving up.

If no one answers the “found kitty” signs, I’d take her to the vet and have them run the chip reader over her. No chip, no answers to the signs, she’s yours!

Cats that adopt you are almost always better than cats you adopt, IMHE.

Congratulations, you’ve been adopted!

Anaamika’s got a kitty!!!

That’s it, you’re stuck now.

Post the signs, have a vet scan for the chip, but if the little thing’s been running around for a while, probably no one’s missed it yet.

Confirmed cat-hater, my eye. You are now a converted cat-slave.

The best cats are the ones that choose you. The best cat I ever had literally ran up my leg, to my chest and forced me to hold him, then refused to let me put him down. Ok, yes I went to that house to get a cat, but the place was full of cats, and before I could look at any others, that one picked me.

You’ve been selected.

Enjoy.

Anyone want to take bets that even if someone claims this one back, that Mika’s at a shelter looking at castaway cats within a couple days? After all, she’s already equipped with a litter box. No use having a litter box without a cat or two, right?

YAY, Mika! That cat is gorgeous! That’s a true blue calico (or is it true orange, white, and black calico?) Whether she has owners who love her and want her back, or you end up keeping her, I hope she’s safe and happy. Not all kitties are lucky enough to wind up in a kind adoptive home.

She reminds me a little of my youngest, though mine is a torbie. (Any excuse to show off my ratcats.)

And what the heck, my oldest hates to be left out of the picture, so here she is performing leaps for cash. (Note: 15 meg video file, takes a minute or so to load up if you’ve got a fast connection) Please disregard the hideous sofa slipcover. It’s Mr. Stasaeon’s grandmother’s sofa, so we’d rather that ugly slipcover get destroyed than the sofa. While you’re at it, ignore my ghoulish laughter; it’s surely documented to be the stupidest laugh in the known free world.

~sigh.

I am also the worst linker of pictures in the known free world. This one is Kero.

Preview is my friend. Even though I am preview’s fairweather friend. No wonder it hates me so.

Aww, a calico. I miss mine. She sounds like my old cat, Anaamika. Runt of the litter, didn’t like to be held but loved petting if she was in the mood, and I’ve never seen a cat act more like a dog. She would follow me around the house everywhere.

Another vote for Yay! A calico! Feather is a grey and peach calico, and Maxie is a black and orange calico - two of the best cats ever. Calicos are apparently a little nuts but absolutely full of personality.

(This is one of my favourite pictures of the girls - cats need a lot of sun, you see.)

I agree with levdrakon in a way…that kitty looks very well-kept for a stray. She might have a micro chip. I’d hold off on giving her milk - many cats are actually lactose intolerant (despite the cats+milk=goodness myths) and will get the runs after they drink it. I hope you can keep her though, she is a beauty!

She seems adult, clean, socialized to humans. Did she look vaguely like this whilst appearing at your door and rubbing up against your leg? If so, you’re getting scammed.

**Mika ** you are doomed.

The purring monsters will melt your heart.

KIIIIIITTYYYYY!!! That is a very beautiful cat. I think you should keep it! Yes, yes I do. :smiley:

Gorgeous cat! What a beautiful face. Calicos and torbies are total divas, but they have so much personality that it’s worth it. My Dolphie is the Queen of the Universe and I find that every tricolor cat thinks the same of herself, but they are wonderful nonetheless (or maybe because).

Good luck with your new pal. If she belongs to someone else, this may be a sign from Bast that you need a cat…

Yep, our Scraps is pretty much a diva. A slightly confused, vague diva, but definitely the queen of her own little world. We call her our Phoebe cat, because she’s…not dumb, but off at an angle, like Phoebe on Friends.

That’s as opposed to Macy, our “Stewie cat”…so-called because I’m convinced that she’s actually plotting to kill us all in our sleep, and the only thing stopping her is the fact that she can’t get the lid off the catfood container herself…