Stray cat - WWYD

Quite tricky. I would be inclined to contact the woman and ask if there had been a change of mind, or would she like to make another appointment to pick up the cat? At least then you would have some definite information to work on.
Although cats do have their own opinions too.

My sister recently took in a very young, female cat who was living rough in the nearby park. She made all the usual enquiries but failed to find an owner.

The cat is now very much part of the family and rules my sister's other cats with a paw of iron. The other cats are elderly bachelors who seem to regard her with amused tolerance.

On the subject owners reclaiming their cats; we used to have a large female British Blue cat. Once we found a small Blue Burmese had been lurking outside our house for several days so we took him in and made enquiries. A man claiming to be his owner turned up and when our British Blue answered the door with us he exclaimed "That's him! I'd know him anywhere." Needless to say we did not let him take either cat away. Luckily, we were able to contact the real owners via our vet.

You now have another cat. Do not contact the woman again!

If she turns up tell the cat left of it's own accord. If it was hers and she loved it she would have turned up.

It frightens me the people that take cats (and dogs) with no evidence that they are fit to own them and don't want them for horrible reasons.

As of June 24th all cats in England should be microchipped.
You should take it to the vet and see if its owner is registered . If not adopt it!
Lucky you!

loopylou

OP has already stated the cat has been taken to the vet, but no microchip.

You have done everything right to find out its owner. Well done you. As the cat isn't registered to anyone, I think you can safely say she's yours congratulations lucky pus cat.

WoodLane7 I too have been in this situation. I wasn't in the market for another cat but she mysteriously appeared and refused to leave. She is my shadow cat, a lovely gentle soul who at some point has been owned and has been used to other cats. I did everything I could think of: local FB groups/cat rescues, posters round the village, messages left with all local vets, paper collar in case she was owned locally by someone not on social media. I had a couple of people come to see her as they thought she might be their lost cat...... they weren't sure, though in fairness she is black with no real distinguishing features. My vet was really supportive and after four weeks he was happy that I'd taken all reasonable measures to find her owner and that I was quite certain about keeping her. He had that microchip in faster than you could blink. Strangely she was neutered but not microchipped and doesn't have the clipped ear that the trap/neuter/release charities use to denote feral cats that they have treated.
She was a special gift from somewhere as I had to have our beloved 19 year old tabby PTS early in the year and she has been such a comfort in my grief.
I think your instincts are correct. Get her microchipped and she is yours

I would not chase the woman who did not turn up. If she wanted the cat she could at least have contacted you and made another arrangement to pick her up. She is obviously in no hurry.

I agree fully with WoodLane7. Please act soon to make the cat "yours". Good luck!

When DD2 was discharged from a long stay in hospital, we often ate in the garden at night. Soon we were joined by an enormous fierce looking tabby, who would eat anything we threw at it. A week later, I found he had been living on our garden table, under the folded down umbrella. I made enquiries and it was decided the cat belonged to the new gamekeeper on a nearby estate. By this time, the fierce looking cat had turned out to be the daftest, friendliest puss ever. DH doubted a gamekeeper would have a cat, but I took him to the keeper’s house, where he loudly disclaimed any knowledge of the animal, which was purring very loudly in my arms. I was pleased and brought the cat home.
Alfie lived the rest of his life with us - unfortunately he was a good hunter, his biggest gift being a fully grown stoat! Always fur gifts, never feather.
He became quite ill when he was older - thyroid and heart. Medication worked for a while, but he lost weight, despite a luxury diet, then one morning he went out and never returned. We believe he’d gone off to die and hope his end was quick and painless. 😢

First find out whether you are legally permitted to keep the cat, when someone has claimed her.

If you are, go ahead and keep her, but do please have her neutered and vaccinated. Otherwise you put your two cats at risk of infections they may not survive, and you land up with a litter of kittens you cannot find homes for.

I myself would contact the lady who has been in touch, asking if she is going to come and see the cat and decide whether it is her cat, and if she wants it back. Make it plain you are willing to keep the cat.

If you return the cat to her, and it walks back to you - for any cat I have ever known could cover 3 miles in the course of a few days, if it really wanted to, you will be facing a new dilemma, which it might be well to broach if the former owner does want the cat. If she does, ask her what she wants to happen if it does make its way back to you.

I always say cats choose their owners: this one chose you.

Keep it and get it chipped to you.

Ignore other lady

I would take a rather different view grandtanteJE65

If my cat had been missing since February I would be there in a flash. There is a massive red flag there. Remember that the despicable dog fighting groups collect cats to use as bait and will often send plausible women to claim cats that have been found.

If the OP has posted photos of the cat on FB, it is entirely possible that those same photos could have been digitally manipulated to "claim" ownership.

Keep the cat. If she loved her cat she'd have been round asap.
This reminds me of a cat I once had, very much loved and cared for. I noticed over time that she was going missing for a afternoons then days and eventually overnight. She always came home, clean, dry and not hungry at all.
Anyway I was leaving the area and the "To Let" board went up. A few days later I answered the door and there were 4 children with their father on the doorstep. Children in tears.
Turns out dad had a takeaway and was feeding her meat from the kitchen. Kids loved her -
"Please can we keep her, we love her very much !"
What could I say...I only moved a few streets away in the end and yes, she had a long happy life dining on chopped beef and donner meat.
Cats know where they are better off !

A work ex-colleague told me about when their family cat went missing. She and her twin sister lived in a rather strict household and her mother had strict rules about where the cat was allowed to be. She was also strict about not allowing the girls to smoke although they both wanted to.

The two girls both went to the same school and they used to smoke on the walk home. One day, shortly after the cat had left home, the girls popped into the off licence, attached to the local pub, to buy fags and there, curled up by a log fire in the public bar, was their runaway cat.

They never told their mother, partly because of the smoking, but they also felt that the cat must be happier living in the pub.

One of our cats developed a habit of popping out in the afternoon, and then coming back just about in time for News at ten. We worked out that he was going to visit someone and being put out the door at bedtime. This continued for some months, we knew where he was ( an elderly chap nearby), then he 'disappeared ' for a couple of months, but was spotted occasionally. He eventually came back, never strayed again, no harm done. We referred to it as his gap year.

I am going to offer a different perspective. Please do not take offence.

Sometimes on our local Facebook page we see a post from a cat owner asking people not to feed or take in their cat, photo supplied. They want him to stay with them and eat the food they give him as his rightful owners, not go begging.
Is this a possibility?

I don't own a cat and I don’t put out any food for any cats that stray into my garden. Consequently no cats hang around or mew to come in. It is a two way process.

I hope you get this sorted soon.

Gummie

You now have another cat. Do not contact the woman again!

If she turns up tell the cat left of it's own accord. If it was hers and she loved it she would have turned up.

It frightens me the people that take cats (and dogs) with no evidence that they are fit to own them and don't want them for horrible reasons.

I agree.

Any decent, responsible owner would have
1) had the cat chipped, and
2) have been searching for it, via Facebook, posters, local newspaper, vets, etc.

The cat will be far better off with you.

In the old days cats always ‘found’ their owners, all my cats ‘found’ me it was very different then, no indoor cats and no FB, you could put a notice up on the local newsagent and you could ask around but mainly the cat choose their own home.

I am totally in the corner of those that say if the lady hasn’t bothered to come for her cat, ( if it is her cat ) then she’s not very eager to have it back and the fact that she/ he was thin and hungry and you’re happy to give her a good home says it all keep her and love her

You make a fair point Cabbie21 however there are other factors to consider.
Many cats are indeed chancers and tap into the kindness of strangers. The cat that I took in was voraciously hungry, dull rough coat and full of tapeworms. She had an injury to her hind leg, probably an airgun pellet, and her teeth were in terrible condition. She had clearly had a long and difficult struggle to merely exist.
So I guess what I'm saying is - take an intelligent view and consider all options. As an experienced cat owner, I hope the OP will trust her instinct and follow her kind heart.

So many cats are lost or run over or get carried away after climbing into a vehicle. Keep them in to keep them safe.
The days are long gone when dogs wandered loose and it’s time cats also stayed home, to protect them and the birds.

Little cat has decided where she wants to be, obviously wants to be with you so please keep her, love her & be happy with her! That woman does not sound as if she had really lost her cat! Do not trust her unless she has absolute proof of ownership! Anyway we do not own cats, they own us & this little cat now owns you! Be happy!

I would definitely contact the woman once more to make sure she"s not coming for the cat. She may have had some sort of problem and not be able to visit. I should want to check that if it's her cat she definitely does not want it back. No point letting you or the cat get used to your home only to be whisked away in a couple of weeks if the woman has a change of heart.