Hi Everyone,



I'm not sure this is the right place to post this, but I need help.



You see, there has been this little gray cat in my neighborhood for quite some time. She has no collar, but I always assumed she had a home because she was always well groomed. We'd see her around our yard a lot, stalking the birds (we have 3 bird feeders). At first, she was a little skittish with us. But after a short while, she became comfortable with us and came over for pets. When she started to get closer, we saw that she was a bit on the skinny side, but otherwise well groomed. But we were suspicious of the fact that she was so thin, so we gave her some food. Now, she always comes by for food. Which I sort of expected, but this cat now wants to move into our house. She is here from early morning, until late at night. She was outside our window at midnight the other night! We don't know what to do - she looks clean and well kept - her fur is not matted at all, her ears are clean and she's very friendly - she is definitely used to humans. As I type this, she asleep on my couch. She wants this to be her home!



Now, if it weren't for two things, we would take this cat in:

1. My husband is pretty allergic to her: rashes on his arms and legs when he pets her, mild asthma, etc.

2. We keep reptiles: iguanas, tortoises, snakes. Some of the reptiles are free roamers and she would be a danger to them, as they would be a danger to her (especially the iguanas).



So, my questions are: if this cat has a home, is it normal behavior to try and move into another home where the treatment is better (we are assuming we're treating her better, anyway)? And, does anyone know of a way for us to find out if this cat does have a home? We were thinking of putting a collar on her and somehow attach a note to it. But, we don't know if she'll let us, or if she could hurt herself with a collar.



If she is homeless, we really want to help her find a home. She's such a good cat, and this is really tearing us up. I have to put her out soon, and I am just feel really bad about it.



An advice?



Thanks so much in advance,

Christine

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