Before I start, I’m not interested in stealing this sweet girl! I just don’t really know what to do in this situation.

This girl has been coming to my house since last winter. At first, I caught her on camera sleeping inside one of our heated cat houses that we have for our feral community. A few weeks later, she appeared on my porch and she was super sweet and affectionate, so I figured she probably had an owner. I spent some time posting online and in neighborhood groups, but eventually, I was able to get her in a carrier and I took her to the vet to be scanned for a microchip. She had one! At that point, it took a few days to get in touch with the owner, but I eventually did find them and they live not very far from me, in the neighborhood over from me. I ended up driving her home to their house and dropping her off and I was happy to reunite them. Well, it was obvious they just threw her back outside because she was back at my house the next day.

Personally, all of my cats are indoor cats, but I don’t judge anyone who has an outdoor cat as long as it’s done safely, but the issue is that I live directly off of a main road. There is a five lane road about 100 feet in front of my house. This is a main road and cars come through doing up to 60 miles an hour and I have had at least four cats get hit in front of my house in the last year. It makes me really nervous to have her just roaming around my yard all the time. I ended up driving her home a few times and every time she came back to my house. So eventually, I decided to drop her off at the shelter and do a seven day mandatory hold. If they didn’t come pick her up, I could legally adopt her and home her somewhere safe, but they picked her up from the shelter after being notified. And then just put her right back outside and she’s back at my house now. Rinse, wash repeat. At this point, I’ve just given up and I’ve started feeding her and letting her live on my porch.

Any advice? I’m scared if I stop feeding her, then she’ll start venturing elsewhere and try to cross the road and get hit. But I know if I take her home she’ll just come back. I guess I’m just venting, but also looking for advice.

Should I stop feeding her to encourage her to go closer back to her home, but risk her crossing the street? Or just let her keep doing what she’s doing? She’s not a nuisance and I’ve actually grown to love her, but I won’t live here forever, and I’m scared of what will happen to her when I leave.