Friendly Stray or Outdoor Cat?

[icoele]

Recently I've been seeing a black cat with a white locket around my neighborhood. I think it's a boy, though I'm not sure and I am definitely no expert. Today my dad informed me that kitty was outside sitting on our air conditioner! He (I'll go with male for now) has only let me pet him once before, and that was a week or two ago. I didn't see him again until today. When I did, he didn't run from me besides a light jog. Then I approached him, got a few pets in, and went to go get a treat bag to give him a few. When I came back outside, the rattling of the door scared him and he ran into the garage. (Coincidentally, this is where my cat Minnow, who looks a lot like this cat, ran when we were trying to trap him!) I set a treat in the doorway to attract him, and he soon came to me, starting to dart away. When he heard the treat bag rustling he turned straight around and gulped it down- literally, I'm not even sure he chewed. It was on the ground one moment then gone the next. We purchased a breakaway collar and we plan on attaching a small plate with the words "My owner, please call (my phone number.) I don't want to come on too strong to this cat, so I didn't try to put it on him today. Hopefully now that I've given him some food and love, he'll return. I took a few videos. Can anyone take a stab at the gender?

Also, a question on genetics, kind of. This is my cat Minnow, who we took in at 3 mos as a stray kitten.

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• icoele
• Oct 1, 2015

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• icoele
• Oct 1, 2015

At the bottom of this post I've included a video of the other cat. Minnow is obviously a longhair, but this other cat is a short or medium hair. Their markings look like they could share a parent, though. Is it possible for them to be related?

To summarize, these are my questions:

1. How do I tell if this cat is a stray or owned/Is this cat stray or owned?

2. What gender is this cat?

3. How old is this cat?

4. Could this cat be related to my cat Minnow?

5. It's almost Halloween. If I see this cat within a week before Halloween, should I keep it in my garage (if I haven't already figured out if it has an owner/taken it in) until after Halloween to make sure it stays safe?

The videos:

Video 1 [x]

Video 2 [x]

Thanks to all!

 

[shadowsrescue]

Since the cat is friendly, you could take the cat to the vet and see if it is microchipped.  That might help.  You also could post fliers in your neighborhood or go door to door with a flier asking about the cat.  Neighbors should be able to tell you if they have seen the cat around. 

I do not know the sex of the cat or the age.  Yet a vet could tell you both. 

If you do plan to care for the cat after it is determined it is not owned, it will need a check up by the vet as well as determining if the cat is spayed or neutered.  This is a must if the cat is living outside and also necessary for inside living.  Spaying and neutering not only helps control the sky rocketing pet population, but also has numerous health benefits for the animal.

I hope you can determine if the cat is owned or not.

Thank you for caring for this sweet one.  He/she is a beauty.