Hi everyone. I have been a member since 2006 but I haven’t posted on here in ages. I was single back in my active posting days but I am married now. Because of our jobs, my husband and I live in separate cities. He is going to be transferred soon and we will be in the same city. He has never been much of a cat person and was always one who thought animals belong outdoors.
Here is the dilemma. Back in January (ish) of 2023, this orange & white cat started showing up at my husband’s house. Eventually the cat allowed my husband to pet him. He’s been hanging around ever since. The cat had a collar on and one day showed up with it missing. He showed up again with a new collar and again that one eventually went missing. He hasn’t had another one since. The cat eventually started darting into his house when he would walk inside. My husband started feeding him pieces of chicken and turkey. Of course he is going to hang around. One day he was outside and some people/kids were walking by. One of the little girls was staring at my husband who was with the cat. So my husband asked her if this was her cat. She said yes and he told her that she could come and get him. She did. She took the cat and then told my husband “it’s a girl”. We don’t know who the kid is or where she lives. This cat waits for him and comes running when he gets home from work. He set up a little bed outside for him to get out of the rain and the cold. I sent him a couple of work lights to put inside on the colder nights. Needless to say, he has become VERY attached to this cat. He kept asking me if I thought he would use the bathroom in his house if he left him inside overnight. I told him if he had to go, he would. Just a week ago, we had a VERY cold spell here in South Louisiana with 2 days straight of below freezing temps. He finally went to the store a bought a litter box for him. He sleeps inside most nights and gets mad when my husband has to leave for work and puts him outside. Within the next few months he will be moving to where I am. He is worried about the cat. I suggested he find the owners and go talk to them and see if they are willing to part with the cat. What do you all say?
Here is the dilemma. Back in January (ish) of 2023, this orange & white cat started showing up at my husband’s house. Eventually the cat allowed my husband to pet him. He’s been hanging around ever since. The cat had a collar on and one day showed up with it missing. He showed up again with a new collar and again that one eventually went missing. He hasn’t had another one since. The cat eventually started darting into his house when he would walk inside. My husband started feeding him pieces of chicken and turkey. Of course he is going to hang around. One day he was outside and some people/kids were walking by. One of the little girls was staring at my husband who was with the cat. So my husband asked her if this was her cat. She said yes and he told her that she could come and get him. She did. She took the cat and then told my husband “it’s a girl”. We don’t know who the kid is or where she lives. This cat waits for him and comes running when he gets home from work. He set up a little bed outside for him to get out of the rain and the cold. I sent him a couple of work lights to put inside on the colder nights. Needless to say, he has become VERY attached to this cat. He kept asking me if I thought he would use the bathroom in his house if he left him inside overnight. I told him if he had to go, he would. Just a week ago, we had a VERY cold spell here in South Louisiana with 2 days straight of below freezing temps. He finally went to the store a bought a litter box for him. He sleeps inside most nights and gets mad when my husband has to leave for work and puts him outside. Within the next few months he will be moving to where I am. He is worried about the cat. I suggested he find the owners and go talk to them and see if they are willing to part with the cat. What do you all say?
Will they check his eyes? (Thought I saw a tiny bit of nictating membrane there, maybe it’s just the sunlight).
Get them both given a health check and up-to-date vaccinations, and obviously get rid of any parasites the new boy has, so there's zero chance of anything nasty being passed from one cat to the other. As 
