Everyday on my way to the local shops there's this little black and white cat sat either under a bush or on a wall,it's extremely skinny looking and quite dirty as well but it has a collar. I have spoken to people in the immediate vicinity of where it usually sits and none of them know who it belongs to.

It's a sweet little thing, it usually follows me for a little bit and then waits for me when I'm on my way back, it's very friendly, almost verging on clingy! For the past couple of days I've been picking up a little pot of cat food for it, I know I probably shouldn't because I wouldn't want anyone else feeding my cat but this one gobbles it down in a couple of minutes.

I've been contemplating calling one of the animal charities to come and have a look at it, Is that the right course of action? I don't want to steal someone's pet away from them (assuming they still live in the area) but I can't leave it to fend for itself.

What i would do is take the little kitty home with you ASAP. If the cat looks skinny and dirty and looks particular unkept, it's very likely the owner isn't looking after it well enough. Take the kitty home with you, look after it like would your own (if you have any) and put posters up and leaflets. Post on message boards in your local shops. If after a few weeks no one comes forward you have 2 choices, keep the kitty or take it into a local shelter. But be careful, if he/she does have an owner it's obvious they dont care for it so tbh with you i wouldn't hand it back to people who will not look after the poor thing.

I hate to see cats like this and it upsets me. Please go get the kitty and bring it in the warmth until you know how to proceed. Dont leave it out...please go fetch her/him ASAP. Keep us updated on this poor lovey.

How long has it been there? If I was in your situation I'd contact the Cats Protection and/or take it to a vet. CP should advise you on the best course of action, and some places have those collars that say 'have you lost this pet?' or similar, so if the cat is going home, then its owners will know someone cares. The vet will be able to see if it's got a microchip, which is a slight possibility seeing as it has a collar.

I don't know how old it is, but it might be an elderly cat (they often look uncared for) that's lost its way, so someone might miss it - for some strange reason, I've found people either leave it a long time for the cat to be missing, or they don't ring round or put posters up.

I'd be wary of taking any stray to your house if you have cats of your own, just because you don't know what this little one has.

Good luck.

If the cat is friendly have you tried claling it over and looking at it's collar to see if there is a number for the owner?

I used to see it around only occasionally about a year ago but in the past couple of months it's there almost everyday, I suspect the owners moved away and left it behind.


I'm gonna go up a little later and if it's still there and bring it back with me if it is, I've become quite fond of it really, it's a very sweet little cat!

@mouths, looking at it, it seems quite young.

It has one of those little barrel things on it's collar, I had a nosey at it last week cause I wanted to know which house it lived in but the barrel is empty.

I think it's lovely that you care about this little cat and if it hasn't got a home it would be nice if you could take it in while you try to discover if it has a home or not. At least it would have warmth and food and someone who genuinly cares about it. Some cats who seem homeless aren't always, but many are and too many people walk on by reluctant to get involved all the while the poor little cat has no where to go. I know some cat owners are not happy about people messing with their cats but I have 3 and I would honestly be over the moon if one of mine got lost or something and some kind soul took them in and looked after them while I was found. My cats are microchipped so easy to trace where they come from. If your heart tells you this little cat needs help, then help it and if its owners can be traced all well and good. If they can't, at least the cat is not left fending for itself when others will gladly love it.

Oh, poor thing. Hope it all gets sorted then

I went to see if it was still there, it was sitting under a bush like it usually is. Thankfully I didn't have to resort to abducting it, I just made encouraging noises and it followed me like it does most of the time.

I gave it a pouch of my cats food and a wipe down with an old damp cloth. I must say it's very affectionate!! Really seems to enjoy being stroked and fussed over! Now I've got find something comfortable for it to sleep on and figure out what to do next.


I knew it was skinny, but it is much skinnier than I thought, you can feel it's spine if you run your hand down it's back! I'm gonna try and an get it to the local Blue Cross on Monday and get it checked over.
Last edited by Calien01 : 26-04-2012 at 18:30

I think you've done the right thing - poor little cat.

It sounds like such an affectionate little thing it must have felt really lonely and sad sitting under that bush.

Hope everything works out and they manage to find it a loving home.

This might sound a bit daft, but what would be the best amount to feed it? I don't want to overfeed it and make it ill but I want to make sure it has enough to eat.

It's sleeping on a couple of old garden chair cushions and an old towel, it seems happy enough with it's new arrangement.

If it has a phone number on it's collar ring it. Take it to a vet to get it scanned for a chip. If it doesn't have a chip then it's down to you to may for any necessary treatment. My suspicion is that it's an older or old cat that possibly has an overactive thyroid, which can be treated.

I'm taking it down to the Blue Cross on Monday have it checked over and see if it has a chip, so I have a little lodger for a while

I'm going to see if it will let me brush it and get rid of a few of it's manky knots of fur.

Feed it kitten food, it helps put weight on fast.

What I would suggest as not all dirty, tatty cats are strays. (We had a cat that had matted fur, dirty, scruffy etc he had no teeth and hated being brushed(was quite violent and vicious he had to be knocked out at the vets so they could groom him) and looking at him he could have been a stray at certain times but he was a very much loved old fart of cat). I would make up some posters just in case anyone is looking for their cat. At one stage we had a strange cat constantly hanging around, coming in through the cat flap and eating the food and we thought he was a stray and we caught him and put notes through letter boxes and posters up. He wasn't a stray and his owners were frantically looking for him. Also not all cats are microchipped or have up to date details on their microchips.

It's so good to see your looking after the little kitty til a home can be found. But yeh it's best to check the little thing over to make sure they are healthy. About feeding it, i suggest feed it once in morning and once a night, wherever it bee tinned, pouch or dry food. If you give tinned or dry i suggest about 40g. Keep the kitty comfortable until you know what next to do.

This cat had a coller you say, i really wouldn't try finding the owners cause to me is seems the poor little thing has been abandon and i wouldn't want to think of that little kity going back to where it was never looked after. Keep a watchful eye on the kitty and lets us know how you get on, on Monday.

I will make some posters to put around the area, I'm also going to have another knock around some of the houses and see if anyone knows if it belongs to anyone or possibly the owners moved away and left it behind or it retuned to it's old home like they sometimes do.


Kitty will certainly have a home here for as long as it needs it, the little thing has captured my heart

Thanks I'll pop out in a bit and get some kitten food.

Sounds like my oldest one, he's 20 and absolutely refuses to be groomed. He's a total embarrassment to look at, all scruffy and bedraggled, but I can't get near him and he's too old for an anaesthetic. Fortunately he doesn't leave the garden these days, but anyone finding him would think he was being neglected - in actual fact, he's much loved and has been nursed through a couple of potentially fatal illnesses.

Be careful! We adopted a stray kitten some years ago. He was very cute and affectionate, and we were happy to have him. We had him injected and microchipped, and let him out when he was old enough. He turned out to be a wanderer, and I was always having to go and fetch him from someone else he'd adopted. One day he went off and didn't come back, and no-one had seen him. Few months later, we had a call from a vet about 2 miles away. Kitten had been in an accident and they'd traced us through the microchip. Sadly, he was too badly hurt and had to be put down, but we ended up with £500 worth of vet's bills for a cat we'd hardly seen!

Regarding the posters, be careful. You dont want the owners turning up, take the cat back and again not looking after it well. I'm hoping this cat stays with you cause i think you'll look after the poor thing more so then the owners if thay did in fact abandon it or pay it no attention.

Just an update on the Blue Cross visit, kitty is a boy, they think around 4/5 years old, no chip unfortunately. There's nothing medically wrong with him, just underweight (got a list of high calorie cat foods) they did a de-worming and flea treatment.

Still nothing on any potential owners, most of the people on the road he was on don't seem to know who he could belong to.

Good news! Hope he is just every so slightly plump in a few weeks.

OP does that mean you will be keeping him, at least until he's put on a little weight, by which time you'll be so attached to each other you won't want to let him go I bet he thrives with a bit of care.

In the end I think I will most likely end up keeping him lol, which I have no problem with, he's a lovely little cat