How to tell a stray from an outdoor cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Long story follows, TLDR at the end:

My indoor cat got out a couple weeks ago and came back after 12 days. To get him back I put out mountains of food each night and covered the yard with motion sensitive cameras and started leaving the door open anytime we were awake. We caught him on camera each night along with at least 10 other cats, along with skunks, raccoons, and possums. One morning I came out from my office to refill my coffee and a strange white cat was inside my kitchen and bolted. We eventually caught our cat on camera when we were awake and called and he just walked through the door a half hour later.

After we stopped putting food out our yard ceased to be the cat hangout, except for that white cat. This cat was out at the edge of my yard and started meowing loudly every time he saw me or my wife. We felt guilty and started bringing him food, of which he eats massive amounts. Over the days he’s gotten more friendly and I finally picked him up and petted him. Now he hangs out in my yard a good portion of the day, and he hears me getting up in the morning and is howling outside my door.

He’s declawed, and deceptively light because he has a very thick coat and long fur. He’s got burrs matted into his fur, but that isn’t really uncommon for an outdoor longhair. He’s been eating 1.5-2 cups of cat food each day for a week, which is double what the bag says an adult cat needs a day. So I really doubt he’s eating anywhere else.

So, to my question, how do I figure out if he’s owned? While my cat was gone we plastered the neighborhood with flyers, most of which were ripped down. Some jerk called and said we were idiots for offering a $100 reward for a cat, saying “It’s not like it’s a dog”. So I’m not enthusiastic about putting up more flyers. I put an ad on craigslist, but I’m not hopeful about that.

TL;DR:
Have a cat hanging around my house, trying to get in. Seems skinny, is declawed, matted up fur, definitely not feral. Eats twice what a cat normally needs, and is always begging for food loudly. Crummy neighbors and neighborhood rule out any kind of door-to-door search for owners or flyer campaign.

We kind of want to take him in, but we don’t want to steal someone’s pet. Ideas?

2

You could put a collar on the cat that had a tag with your phone number on it. That way if it did have another family, they would be aware that someone is taking care of their pet.

3

I’d plan on keeping him sounds like if someone owns him he’s not well cared for. First step in keeping him is a vet visit. Have them check to see if he’s chipped. If so the can find his owner.

4

If I had a declawed cat hanging around that much in my yard, I’d get him in the house. Declawed and outdoors is just a bad mix, and that poor guy could be in for a short, brutal life.

I’d definitely take him to the vet and see if he’s chipped. If he is and they can track the owner, you can get him home. I’d still make at least some effort to find an owner if he isn’t chipped (craigslist, or if there’s a neighborhood google group or website maybe). There’s a pretty good chance that he’s somebody’s indoor cat that got loose accidentally (sound familiar?) and they’d like to get him back. If a reasonable effort to find his owner isn’t successful, and you want him - well, you have a new cat.

5

I too think you should take the guy in. To find his owner you could try social media, put his picture up on Facebook, local forums etc. You may not even have to do this in your own right, local rescue organisations may well be happy to do it.

6

I agree; this makes me want to cry.

I also agree with the rest of zoog’s post – take kitty to the vet, etc.

And please keep him or her indoors.

7

If this were my neighborhood, there would already be signs up if this cat was a pet. I would say take him to a vet and see if he’s chipped. If he’s not, then make sure he’s chipped and snipped* and congratulations on your new feline overlord.

I really would not trust Craigslist.

*And in this case, maybe shampooed and clipped? Just to keep the rhyme.l

8

Keep an eye on “his” gutline over time. Could be “he” has multiple buns in the oven.

Anyway, if “he” is declawed and is handleable it is not in anyway a feral, but a stray. Do check and see if he/she is chipped. If not checking with local shelters/animal control/vet offices might be a good idea. Often they keep lists of lost pets people have reported to them.

9

Well, for male cats, it would be if they still had a pair of…

10

I’m a total cat guy and first let my say kudos to your concerted effort to find your escaped kitty!

I’m a firm believer that cats belong** indoors only**! If they never go out they don’t know what they’re missing, and even if they previously have, well, tough titty. They’re really not missing much (other than a high potential to get injured or killed). If a cat is allowed to go outdoors without a collar and/or chip well, I feel the owner is being irresponsible and I wouldn’t lose too much sleep about keeping one I find. In fact, I’ve kept or found homes for strays several times already. I took them to the vet to check for an ID chip and checked the local ‘Lost Pets’ boards each time, but it’s an unfortunate fact that there are a lot of casual cat ‘owners’ who may feed strays and even let them in & out of their house, but don’t truly ‘own’ them (i.e. take them to the vet, collar them etc.)

So to answer your post’s title question: There’s only a very fine line between an ‘outdoor’ cat and a ‘stray’. (Obviously a feral cat is different altogether).