Is it a stray or just curious?

There's been a new little black kitty (teenage cat) around our office the past few days. He's SUPER friendly, curious, talkative, and follows us around as we walk around. He's such a little love, and gets on well with the 4 office cats (who are owned by a lady who lives in the building).

I asked her today if the new kitty is hers or if she knows whether he's a neighbour's cat or a stray, and she's got no idea, but suggested I tie a loose ribbon round his neck with a "Dear owner, please call [my number]" message to figure it out. But my husband says that's dangerous as he might get it caught and get stuck. All four of her cats started off as strays around here, so it's possible he is a stray.

So I turn to you, internet - how can I safely determine if this little guy has a home or not? I can't really say that he's well fed - a coworker says he was eating fried chicken in the gutter last night.

Bonus photos of said cat:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15757699/Photo%2001-05-2012%2017%2041%2057.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15757699/Photo%2030-04-2012%2017%2030%2000.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15757699/Photo%2030-04-2012%2017%2030%2002.jpg

(Sorry, images were too big to embed!)

Can you snag him and take him to a vet's office to check for a microchip?

I've got a spare (safety) collar if you wanted to use it to attach a message to him for his (hypothetical) owner.

He's super cute!

Is there somewhere local you can put up "Found" fliers?

I agree with your DH that the ribbon is not a good idea. My friend once put a birthday ribbon around her cat's neck, and the cat nearly hung itself on the iron banister (luckily she found him in time).

It looks a lot like one of the semi-owned cats who wander our garden.  Our next door neighbour feeds them, but never lets them in.  The one that looked like that one went missing around 3 weeks ago.  I don't think it's him, of course.  We're in south Lambeth, and while I know cats can travel, I doubt he'd go that far.  He (even though I don't know the gender of the missing cat) be bigger now, I think, but he was bright and cute as anything.  He'd sit on the garden shed and peer at me curiously like an Egyptian statue.

Good luck finding an owner.  I agree with the tag being dangerous.  Someone put one on my MiL's cat and it nearly strangled her.  And my husband ended up in A&E because she scratched him so hard when he tried to get it off.

I would assume he has a home until more time has passed and you have more evidence.  Would the lady consider offering him a place to stay to see if it accepts or not?  If he doesn't has a warm snuggly home already he will probably start spending the night.

A cat eating fried chicken off a kerb is not an indicator of a homeless hungry kitty.  My cat love people food, even though I don't give it to them often - they go over to my neighbors to get it then come home to barf it up on the rug   .   Even if he's begging for food - my neighbor cat comes into my kitchen all the time to beg me for food.

A lot of times I think that people see a wandering cat and assume worst case scenario.  I'd look for signs like wounds, fleas and being too skinny and thirsty.  Are you thinking about trying to take him home SP?

My neighbor had a beautiful gray cat named Winnie, who was always wandering off. People would tell her they'd seen Winnie several blocks away or even in the next town or the woods. She finally had the microchip done. And then Winnie disappeared again -- we'd see her around the neighborhood from time to time but she never went back home. Finally my neighbor spotted her in another neighbor's yard and spoke to the woman. The 2nd woman said she'd had the cat for some time and never thought to check for a chip. So I guess Winnie does what Winnie wants, regardless of chips!

Can you snag him and take him to a vet's office to check for a microchip?

That'd be the next step after trying to find an owner, but there's no vets around here and I'd feel weird taking (potentially) someone else's cat hostage on a bus like that...

I've got a spare (safety) collar if you wanted to use it to attach a message to him for his (hypothetical) owner.

Ah, I didn't know these existed - would a velcro-attached ribbon achieve the same thing do you think? That's easily within my means to DIY.

There's places to put posters, but I'm not sure what they'd say, as the cat's not necessarily missing (he might be going home at night, I don't know what happens after I leave the office).

I would assume he has a home until more time has passed and you have more evidence.  Would the lady consider offering him a place to stay to see if it accepts or not?  If he doesn't has a warm snuggly home already he will probably start spending the night.

No, she can't - her husband's cut her off: No More Cats!

A cat eating fried chicken off a kerb is not an indicator of a homeless hungry kitty.

Excellent point!

A lot of times I think that people see a wandering cat and assume worst case scenario.  I'd look for signs like wounds, fleas and being too skinny and thirsty.

Yeah, he's not got any of those, but I'm not sure he'd be old enough to. He is very thirsty, though, but I'm not sure that's enough. My instinct is that he's way too comfortable around people to be a stray, but I figure even if we do the note route, at the very least we'll find out his (or her) name!

But then again, there are tons of stray cats around here - only a few months ago I saw a very young stray cat mum with a whole litter in an abandoned playground, and there's tons of derelict buildings and food lying about (Shoreditch/Brick Lane area).

Are you thinking about trying to take him home SP?

If he's homeless, yeah. He's got bags of personality already and my husband is pining for a cat after our poor, beloved, wonderful, amazing cat died in his sleep very suddenly a month ago.

We had a kitty (young female) that kept showing up at our back door crying. She looked so dirty and skinny that we let her in and kept feeding her. This went on for about a week, until we got a knock on the door from the people that moved out of our house in November. They were looking for their cat...who quite happily came prancing down the stairs and meowed and went off to their car. LMAO, it was really kind of funny! She was a very cheeky cat and still comes to the back door looking for food. We have since gotten a kitten of our own so we tell "Crystal" to go home...she doesn't live here any more.

Black cats are very cool.  They tend to be calm, smart and sociable, I'm sure it's why they became the stuff of superstition.

I hope you get some answers soon, and that it works out in favor of the fuzzy love

Update: I've bought a safety collar for £2 off eBay on equestrianerd's suggestion, and have asked office lady to keep and eye open for any clues until I can test the plan when the collar arrives...

Black cats are very cool.  They tend to be calm, smart and sociable, I'm sure it's why they became the stuff of superstition.

My sister has a pure black cat with yellow eyes she must be the odd one out cause she is anything but calm lol.   Nigal is nearly 3 years old so she isn't still a kitten in the playful stages. she is a terror she is always picking on my sisters other 3 cats especially my sisters oldest cats who is nearly 15 Max doesn't take alot from Nigal the black cat. Nigal gets into ANYTHING & EVERYTHING she thinks she runs the house not my sister lol. I call her the devil incarnate lol she is pure rotten an you don't dare scratch her belly or her ears its a trap every time an it doesn't matter who does it she even attacks my sister as well.   my sister has had her since she was a wii kitten an my sister doesn't have any little kids its just her living her at the house my niece is at college.

Good luck Squirrellypoo with the safety collar who knows maybe in a while you might have a new kitty!!

Black cats are very cool.  They tend to be calm, smart and sociable, I'm sure it's why they became the stuff of superstition.

I hope you get some answers soon, and that it works out in favor of the fuzzy love

I'm laughing reading this as our black kitten is climbing up my leg trying to get to the kitchen counter.

I wouldn't necessarily equate friendliness with not being a stray, SP. Some cats are just that way despite being in the school of hard knocks!

I look forward to your updates!

Just a followup to say that I never saw the black kitty again. Disappeared very suddenly again after he'd been at the office constantly for several days. So I have no idea if someone else picked him up and took him to a nice home elsewhere, but that's the story I'm sticking to in my head.

it's probably just wanting a bit more food haha