transitioning and outdoor cat indoors

Question
My boyfriend's neighbors have a cat that they leave outside all the time and don't feed her regularly or take care of her.  It breaks my heart to see her huddled up against their house in the rain.  She is very sweet and friendly to me - always approaches me and seems to be begging me to take care of her.  I'm considering "catnapping" her and taking her to live with me and my 2 cats, but I don't allow mine outdoors and couldn't let her out where I live.  I think she is only a few years old, but has always lived outside.  Do you think she would adapt and be happy to live exclusively indoors?

Answer
Catherine,

I understand completely how you feel about watching this cat trying to get shelter from the elements by huddling against the owner's house. I can't condone cat napping no matter how tempting it may be to do so. My recommendation to you would be to knock on the door and ask the neighbor if you can have the cat. It is important to keep any judgement and anger in terms of how you feel about this cat to yourself. Be polite, mention to the owner that you have noticed the cat and you really like her. Tell him that the kitty comes up to you, that she is affectionate with you and that you really like to take her home. Ask if you can offer a permanent home for this little one. If you mention that you have noticed how this kitty is outside even in poor weather you may cause the person to become defensive which isn't helpful. You may find out that this kitty is simply a stray that someone abandoned in the neighborhood. You should try not to be judgmental or accuse the neighbor...I have found that an amazing amount of people will make excuses about why the cat isn't being taken care of, many folks will actually offer you the cat, but tact is important. The minute that you begin being judgmental or condemning this person while you are having this conversation the worse that the outcome will be. If you aren't able to be polite and objective then I would suggest that you have your boyfriend talk things over with the person that you suspect owns this cat. Your boyfriend could even say something to the effect of "You know, every time that my girlfriend comes over to my house this cat comes over to see her...She's really in love with this cat and she would love to take her home. She wasn't sure who this cat belongs to or even if she is a stray. She really would like to take this cat home with her, but she's too shy to ask. She is absolutely crazy about cats so I said that I would try to find out if the cat is a stray or someone owns her. As much as my girlfriend loves loves this cat she doesn't want to break anyone's heart by adopting her only to find out that she already has a home." The calmer, cooler and more objective that you or your boyfriend can be about it the more likely that if your neighbors own the cat they could possibly claim that she is a stray or even that they simply don't have the time, money, energy, etc to care for this cat. This is one of those instances where you want to try and build a totally non-judgmental rapport with these folks so that you can get what you want in the end..You can talk about your real feelings when you are behind closed doors and out of ear shot... I know how you feel, I know how tough this is, but I have managed to convince people that weren't all that keen to care for their cats to let me take them home. From my experience if you try to talk to someone by acting like an SPCA vigilante they are going to get angry with you and slam the door in your face....Kindness, patience, tact and an objective attitude usually work in your favor in situations like this...In order for you to do what is best for this cat without potentially having legal problems down the line (many jurisdictions consider pets to be property so in theory cat napping is comparable to shop lifting or similar crimes) you need to keep yourself calm. If the people in question decide that they don't want you to have the cat then you can always call in your local SPCA or Humane Society investigators and they will deal with this in a legal way which will give you an opportunity to adopt this cat. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, or you would simply like to send some pictures or an update my way please don't hesitate to contact me again.