I hope the cat has a home and stays safe. It very well could be a stray.

Knowing me, I'd be on the lookout for the cat and hope to help it somehow.

I'd be on the lookout too. You could try calling vet offices and the local shelter(s) to see if anyone has reported a lost cat.

If it has one clipped ear (just the tip cut off), it's feral cat that has been spayed or neutered. If that's the case, feed it! :-)

I love B&W cats. I hope this one has a home, or will get one.

It's a tough life out there with a horrible fate. I hope you take the cat in. Do check around for a lost one but if someone does own the cat and lets it roam, maybe they would let you adopt to give it a better life.

We live in an area that sounds very similar to yours. I took in a cat that I found and have never been happier. It always breaks my heart to see homeless cats, I want every one of them. I just bought a GREAT cat book today. I will post a picture in case anyone is looking for a fun coffee table book.

Caflowerluver,

Craigslist under Community "Lost and Found" and also Community Pets is one way you can look for LOST notices. I've posted notices there when I have seen a pet killed by a vehicle. Mimipadv and Alisande's suggestions are good. We live in an out of the way area where people tend to abandon pet cats and dogs. This was especially the case after the 2008 economic collapse. Three of my pet pals were abandoned here and we took them in. Some nearly died from cold, predators or traffic before we could catch them. After they were caught, I called various offices and looked in the paper want/lost ads as well as Craiglist. I also phoned our anImal control officer. People ditch cats and dogs all the time, unfortunately. (It is an outrage -- don't get me started :-(

We ended up taking in three abandoned pets over the years and it was a win win. I hope you find or get kitty a loving home. Thanks for being a caring person.

I have always felt sorry for the animals that have been dumped here. A lot of times it was too late when we found them. I would like to take the person who dumped them and dump them in the middle of the 100 acre woods behind us and see how well they do.

I will post a notice on Craigslist. That is what I wanted a picture for and to put on a flyer to post in the neighborhood. I hope it is not a new cat one of the neighbors just got and they think it should run free. I have got into heated discussions with a few neighbors on that subject.

It is too dangerous for any pet to roam free here. A neighbor's dog, that they let roam, just got run over and killed a couple of weeks ago. It was a hit and run at night. They had emailed everyone on the street asking if anyone knew anything. IMHO people like that should not have pets.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Bless your heart for caring. I don't know what those boobs are thinking when they take an animal out to the woods and let them go

I have been very impressed with the Nextdoor community forum. The one for our area is great for trying to find out who a lost pet belongs to. And it's pretty successful. If you have a nextdoor in your neighborhood that's a great resource.

Please don't post it on Craigslist. The cat could meet a horrible fate there too:

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/dangers-of-free-to-good-home-pets-on-the-internet/

Craigslist

If you spend much time at all on Craigslist, you’ll see lots of cats, dogs and other critters looking for a new home. While the site is good to network a couch or other items you’d like to sell, think twice about using Craigslist to market your pet. Lots of bad things can happen to pets on advertised and rehomed on Craigslist:

• They may be used as bait animals for dog fighting.
• People who torture and kill animals like to search the listings for new victims.
• Other people that source animals for research facilities all use these ads to find pets.
• A newer phenomena is pet flipping – searching free adds for pets to sell for a profit elsewhere (they often end up in one of the above categories)

Keep in mind too....I got MY cat off Craigslist. He is spoiled rotton....:0)

I've heard if you say, "We want to see your home before you adopt my pet"....that helps....

Have volunteered at feline rescue/shelters; we also asked for references, name of vet and neighbors.

When we explained why, serious adopters understood we were just trying to keep the cats safe. Unfortunately, can't just look at someone and know what kind of pet parent they will be (e.g., Michael Vick).

snookums2 - Regarding Craigslist, I am not marketing or selling the cat. I was going to ask if a cat like the one I saw was lost in my area. I was going to post in the Lost & Found. If someone responds, then I was going to ask for proof like pictures.

Caflowerluver, it's good that you're just looking to see if the cat is lost.

As an additional comment on Craigslist (and all Free to Good Home ads in general), dog fighting has been big business in PA. They look for dogs to train as fighters, and for small dogs and cats to use as bait. Horrible, but true.

When answering Free to Good Home ads, men (and I suppose women) will often show up with their kids to give the impression that this will be a family pet. If asked for references, they give the names of fellow dog fighters. They all vouch for each other, of course.

Every so often I respond to some of the Craigslist ads, explaining the above. If they are getting rid of a beloved pet because they just had a baby and are afraid the cat will smother it (yes, people still think this), I try to smother that rumor.

I don't do it as often as I should because it's so sad to see all these animals on the market.

Please know you can pull thousands of pictures off the internet in less than a few minutes. Pictures prove almost nothing unless you know the person's house and can confirm the animal is showing up in previous pictures in said house. :( Craigslist has become a very scary place and has also become a venue for sick people.

On Craigslist, please take it all to heart and use other safe avenues. It's a very real problem. That it doesn't happen to everyone isn't much consolation for the cat if he falls into bad hands.

OK, I won't do anything and will just let it wander around. Hopefully coyotes, bobcats and other animals won't get it or it won't get hit by a car.

On FB most towns have their own site. Perhaps you could check that site and see if someone has posted a missing cat. Our site has found dozens of lost pets from our town and neighboring areas.

FB has lost pet groupds, see if you can find one in your area. They can help you. If you get yo the point that you can pet it, you could make a paper collar with a note attached to have the owner call so you know it's not a stray. A rescue group would let you borrow a trap to catch the kitty. Then you can find out if it's microchipped. Please get in touch with a nearby pet rescue and they can assist you in capturing and maybe they will agree to take it in as well.

I think it is just fine to post an ad on Craigslist and see if you turn up anyone who has lost a similar sounding cat. I am in rescue and we use Craigslist all the time, and I also network a lot of lost and found pets on it. It's not an inherently bad tool - you just have to be cautious, just like you would using any other method of finding the owner.

If you happen to see it again, you might try shaking something that sounds like a bag of cat food or treats, or even open a can of canned cat food. Cats that recognize those sounds might come a little closer if they are hungry enough. Good luck.