I'd bring it back in and keep it in a room with litter, food, etc. Keep yorr other kitty separate....maybe even keep your cat in your bedroom if he keeps investigating the other cat.
How is your cat reacting

Tomorrow you can ask around but tonite he's not safe left outside. If another animal does come by he has no way to defend himself.

Just because a cat is outside does not mean it is a stray. I know of at least 3 people (my sister-in-law, next door neighbor and a friend) that let their declawed cats outside.

Growing up, our cat was an indoor/outdoor cat as well (now I know better).

It is skinny? Is it frightened of you? If not, I'd say it belongs to someone maybe even in your complex.

I kept the cat in my bathroomn for most of the night, with food water and an extra litter box. Around 3 in the morning though my kitten woke me up because the cat in the bathroom was freaking out. So I ended up letting it back outside, however it didn't wander far. It stayed under the stairwell right outside my door, and I left the water out there with it all night. It was still there this morning waiting for me. I was going to take it to the vet to get an exam and check it for a microchip, but I had trouble getting it in the carrier, and about that time ANOTHER cat showed up, and this one was definitely a stray (I have seen it around before, the only random cat I have ever seen around here before. He is called the "resident cat" and is very mean." and the cat that found me last night went crazy and bolted. I hung around awhile longer, and the cat from last night wouldn't come out from under a car, and the resident cat wouldn't leave and was rubbing up against me and hissing at the other cat. Eventually I gave up. I left food and water under the stairwell. When I got home, the food was gone, and so were the cats.

I did contact the apartment management, and as of now they haven't had anyone report a missing cat. They took my name and number and said if anyone asks about it they will send them to me since it seems to have taken a liking to me. If I see it again I am going to make another attempt at taking it to the vet. The person I talked to at my apartment said I can keep it at my place temporarily, but they will not allow me to have a second permanent pet.

The cat didn't seem skittish of me in the least, but it doesn't seem to like other cats. (Which who can blame it when resident cat tries to attack it???) My kitten did calm down after awhile last night. I think she was just annoyed at having another cat in her house- she has gone with me to visit family members who have pets and does fine with cats and small dogs. I suppose maybe its a territorial thing? Now she wants to go outside to see the other cats and seems annoyed that they get to be outside and she doesn't!

When I owned cats.........years ago.........they were always indoor/outdoor. Then, at least in that part of the country, indoor-only was unheard of. Anyway, I owned a siamese that would disappear for days at a time but would always return healthy and happy. One Halloween, some neighborhood kids and mom dropped by and the cat answered the door with me. They said, "we know that cat! He comes and lives with us sometimes........now we know where he lives"!

Maybe the declawed cat was checking out where he can find a part-time home and food!

Sounds like someone moved away and left the declawed cat. When a "pet" is left behind it will make "friends" with another human quickly. Being you live in an apartment complex, I'd say that is the situation with that poor cat. As you manager to check their records of tennents who recently moved to see if they owned a cat. If you are lucky you may find out who left it behind and be able to report them to your local humane organization. Animal abandonment is punishable by law.

I would call the local animal control and the local police department. You tell them that you've found a "grey striped"(or whatever) declawed cat on xxx street and you leave your name and number.

Most police departments and animal control agencies do keep list of people (phone number & address info) who report lost and found animals and many pets are connected back up with owners this way. (You do not have to relinquish the animal to the authorites).

I would take the cat to the vet (or police or animal control, whichever works best for you) to have it scanned for a microchip. If there is no chip, then put an ad in the paper for found kitty. And I would put up a few signs in the neighborhood. I would also keep checking the paper for lost pet ads.

After a couple weeks, if you haven't identified the owners then you can decide to either keep the pet, at which time you take it to the Vet for a thorough checkup - or turn it over to animal welfare - or find a new home for it.

I once found a sweet cat hanging around my house: very friendly and appeared healthy and well fed. I had no idea whether it was a stray or owned by someone, so I put one of my cats collars with tags and my address/phone on it. My thinking was that if the cat had owners they would remove the collar when the cat came home, and if it was a stray the collar would stay on. It stayed on. I took the cat in and eventually gave it to a good family.

My friend B found a stray kitty once. She started with found lost kitty ads and flyers... which then turned into free kitty to good home ads and flyers....

Marita,
I did that with a cat once. A few days later I got a phone call from the owner stating it was so nice of me to worry about her cat. I thought that would be the end of it, but 2 days later he was back minus the collar. He stayed with us then. Unfortunately I couldn't get him to use a litter box and he needed to go out a few times a day. We had him for 2 years and he came home one day hardly able to walk and kind of dizzy. The vet said it was neurological and he declined fast. We had to put him to sleep. Didn't want to pay for an autopsy, but the vet knew of some other cases that summer where cats ate some birds and ended up with a parasite in the brain.
I wish I would have been able to get him to use the litter box and make him stay indoors. My other cats are and will be always indoors.
Katharina

I know that indoor cats tend tolive longer than outdoors but I also know that some cats just cannot be confined indoors. They are so good at plotting their escape. If you can, try to never get them a taste of outdoors somehow. With the danger of bird flu these days (whether real or not) you certainly don't want to have your cats a chance to expose them to this if at all possible. Good for you Marita , you have the right attitude.

I haven't seen the black & white declawed cat since last weekend. It came back once more after my attept to take it to the vet, and I haven't seen it since. The apartment complex insists no one has reported a stray cat, and that no one has moved out recently who had a cat. Unfortunately, my apartment charges an arm and a leg (and maybe your first born child) to have a pet. People with dogs are pretty good about it, but I am the only one I know who lives here who has their cat on the lease. Most just hope no one sees it. So unfortunately there is still the possibility that someone moved and lost it. Since I haven't seen it in a few days I am HOPING that it either went home, or that someone else picked it up and gave it a home. It was such a sweet cat. I'm keeping my eyes open though.

The gray striped stray is still hanging around. I quit feeding him for a couple days because my boyfriend said I shouldn't be feeding him kitten food. So I plan to get some adult dry food for him. Since he has lived here since I moved in over a year ago, I am pretty sure I am not the only one who takes care of him, but he is definitely an outdoor kitty.

The only really bad thing about the situation is that now my kitten runs out the door every day when I come home. She doesn't go far, but sniffs around the stairwell where the cats were eating before. I am worried that I might have to start putting her in her cage during the day when I am gone so she can't get out.

My current 10 year old cat was a stray at 6 or 8 months, and I tell her all the time that finding her was like God sending me a little angel from heaven. She was so skinny and tired, her feet all cut up, ear mites ...she was a mess. But she has gorgeous long white fur and one eye is blue, the other gold abd she is the sweetest, cleanest, most lovable cat in the world. Strays can and do make nice pets!

Shelters have good success rates with adoptable good natured cats, not everyone goes for the kittens only - my cat before Sugar was adopted at 1 year old from a shelter. As much as I love kittens, the older ones need a chance too. I had Daphne for 14 years, she died from cancer a few years after I found Sugar. Another sweet and devoted pet, it's been 7 years and I still miss her.

It seems like this little angel has chosen you. They know instinctively who they can count on. She may be back, do all you can to help her! If you need money for vet care, I ain't rich, but I could help out a little.

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's advice and imput. I still have not seen the black and white cat who I wrote the original post for. I can only hope that she had a great home and went back to it, or that someone else was lucky enough to take her in. She seemed like a very lovable pet.

The gray tiger striped cat comes to see me everyday. He (at least I think its a he) is a little skittish, sometimes lets me pet him, rubs up against me, but never lets me pick him up. I would love to try to take him to the vet, and maybe in time he will trust me enough to let me do so. In the meantime, I think of him as my outdoor kitty, and I leave food and water out for him every day. Even on the days I don't see him, I know he was here because by the time I bring the food bowl back in every night it is empty, or close to it. I liked the idea of getting it a collar, and I think I am going to get him one, and if I am really lucky he will even wear it!

My baby kitten, April, has learned not to go outside... at least for now anyways. One day in the cage while I was at work taught her to stay inside when I come home! Its funny- I bought the cage only to use on vacation and when I take her to my parents house, but she loves the thing. Its like a kid and their bedroom- they love being there until it becomes a punishment. April plays in her cage and sleeps in her cage all the time. I have it set up in the living room and leave the door open, but when she is bad she gets "sent to her room" (meaning she gets put in the cage and I close the door instead of free roam) and she knows she's in trouble. I started putting her in the cage for half an hour everytime she bolted outside, and when she didn't quite get the picture I put her in it with food and her extra litter box for a whole day while I was at work. She's been an angel since.

Just remember, the stray you find might have an owner somewhere missing their beloved pet. My cat is lost right now and my fear is that someone thinks he is a stray and it taking care of him. Always take that cat to the vet to check if it has a microchip!