I live in a small, historic neighborhood in upstate New York. It's on a river, kind of quiet, quite a few neighborhood cats. I have 2 indoor cats, littermate spayed girls, 3 years old. They're very indoor--have become agoraphobic, in fact!

Well, a local long-haired cat seems to have adopted me. It's hard to tell if she has an owner; if she does I don't think the owner is very attentive. She was very thin when I started feeding her about a month ago, still on the thin side although she eats around 1 6 oz can of cat food every day and doesn't seem to want more (couldn't handle the dry stuff my cats eat, didn't seem to be able to chew it, I wonder if her teeth are okay or if she's older). She's very affectionate. I sometimes wonder how bad a stray longhair will get to looking... it's possible that someone is combing her once in a while, I don't know. Maybe I share her with neighbors, but she seems to be on my porch almost every day now, miaowing for food and attention.

Anyway, winter will be here in a few months. I will never be able to let her in the house, I don't want to introduce her to my 2 indoor cats (my apartment is small, and my cats have minimal shots from a holistic veterinarian), but I wouldn't mind having her be my "outdoor kitty." I also want to know if she's had her shots, since my children and I pet her, and she's nipped me a couple of times (seemingly in fits of affection), but hasn't broken the skin. If she has no owner, I will get her vetted (I think she's spayed, or maybe a tom, but also might have worms, or worse?), then purchase or build an outdoor enclosure for her for the winter. I don't want to have to plug anything in in order for her to keep warm... any advice on what sort of bedding I should use so she'll be warm enough outside in an enclosure? I'll build the enclosure next to my house under an awning, where she's getting her food and water from me now.

My plan is to take a picture of her next month and post a flyer around the neighborhood trying to find her owner. If she has one then I guess I'll proceed differently.

I don't know if I'm doing the right thing (never fed a stray long-term before... although she may not even be a stray), but she seemed hungry and affection starved, and I guess I couldn't help myself.

Any words of wisdom?

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