It's a tortoise shell, or maybe a dilute tortie.

Yes, a tortie, which means it is most likely a female. Do you have the NextDoor app? It looks very healthy but someone could be looking for it. ND is the best app for reuniting pets and their people.

I'd call it a calico because of the white patches. Most likely female. I don't think that coloration is restricted to any particular breed. I used to have a tortie (no white) named Bunny, my Houzz namesake.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I thought perhaps calico, but the white patches confused me.

We do have a next door so I'll try there. I also sent a message and photos to our Community Manager and she'll send an email with photo to the residents.

I'm wondering if someone lets her out every day at this time - because she's back now and this is about the same time yesterday that she showed up.

Calico - that's just the coloring, it's not a breed. Hopefully she's spayed and not out bringing more kittens into the world. And hopefully she won't be injured or killed by cars or other animals. I can't imagine my cats running loose outside but I know lots of people allow that.

Having lived with two calicos, that is a calico! They are very friendly and also demanding. Almost all calicos are female. The few male calicos are sterile, weak, and short-lived.

Calico is a domestic cat and can be of any breed. The "calico" is a result of two X chromosomes .

Just invite the cat in, treasure it if you can't find its home, and be prepared to become servants to a cat!

So pretty! She has the very distinctive Tabby ”M” and stripes, too. I think a Tabby Calico mix.

In our shelter we would call it a "tortie and white." Likely a female. Calico is more the patches. She's pretty.

Calico. With the white, calico.

https://cats.com/tortoiseshell-vs-calico

It's an empress perfect paw. And obviously you aren't being a good hooman servant by the photos :) Sassy pretty thing she is.

But yeah, try to find out if there is an owner. Girls aren't as easy to tell as boys about if they have been fixed or not. She might turn into empress mommy paws.

Mine is also a tabbico aka caliby.

I've had five pure tortoiseshells over the years, and looking back I don't think they had any white patches at all so this may be called a calico since she has white paws. At first, I thought she was a dilute from the one pic but that was just the pic angle.Definitely a female. Calicos usually have more white patches.

I am not a cat expert but really enjoy reading stories about the "cat distribution network" (lol) on site like reddit. @beesneeds may be spot on that there is always a possiblity of pregnancy. I've heard pregnant cats sometimes look for nice humans to be their servants when they're about ready to have kittens.

Rob - thanks for the link, those cats are beautiful.

Hu - you are definitely right about the demanding part. After DH left I only petted her for 5 minutes or so then I went inside so we could watch the last 15 minutes of a movie. She sat outside the patio door staring at me and meowing. She spent part of this afternoon snoozing on top of the patio table.

Hopefully someone will respond to either the next door notice or our community email. Although this is a very sweet cat we aren't in a position to take her in. We had cats but always kept them inside. I don't think it's fair to the cat to let her roam because of the traffic. And I don't particularly want her hanging around the bird feeders or vegetable garden.

So sweet. she loves you.

This afternoon -

MIL took in a cute little calico that was hanging around her friend’s complex. She was already spayed so had been a TNR. It took her a long time to come out of the bathroom, but now she curls up in MIL’s lap. Meet Daisy! She’s maybe about a year and a half old by now.

Yes. It is a catticus calicous grouchius. They are known for choosing their own human. If he/she returns, your best chance to avoid stalking is to let him/her in, so he/she can adopt you.

Poor thing - she's looking for some love and attention.

It seems like she wants to adopt you, though maybe she already has a home with some HOA-scofflaw. She looks healthy enough.

Cat color genetics are super interesting. I think you can't get black/gray and orange on the same cat unless they have two X chromosomes, so males have to be XXY to have this coloring, and as a consequence are quite rare. If I remember right, orange cats are more likely to be male (maybe 2/3 of them) for reasons that I don't remember now.

Male calico cats are 1 in 3000 among calicos and are sterile, as noted above.

We have 2 calicos. They are beautiful. But, as 3katz4me said, it’s not a breed, merely a coat pattern. Not a tortoiseshell (torti), as they have no white.

Aren’t the suggestions given, simply colorways? and the actual breed is ”domestic shorthair”? AKA, adorable! Or, a ”NOC”: ”not our cat” for one who decided they live with you even though they don’t.

I wonder if someone read my message on Next Door or the email the Community manager sent and decided to keep her at home. We had a beautiful afternoon and she didn't visit. I have to confess that I was a little disappointed. But as I mentioned before she doesn't show up every day - she probably has a string of homeowners to visit on her wanderings.

Thanks for the update!

Beautiful coloring, but it's not a special breed, just a plain ol' DSH (domestic short hair.) Cats generally don't roam more than a block or two from their house, so it probably lives nearby.

It reminds me of when I was staying in the country. One morning I was home alone, lying in bed, looked out the window and saw a cat. At first I thought our cat had gotten out; then realized that the color was wrong. I grabbed my phone and took a video to help find the owner. The cat turned and ran with kind of a hopping motion. So then I thought, "Poor rabbit, something happened to its ears." I felt guilty that I hadn't gone out to feed or rescue it, but I wasn't dressed and didn't want to get out of bed. When my husband returned, I showed him the video. He said it was a good thing I hadn't gone out because what I had seen was a bobcat!

Well Jupi - that would have been a shock! Good thing you opted to stay inside.

Daisy being the queen of the screened porch with big brother Romeo. 😻