Hi. I have been feeding a stray cat for about 2 months. Since he/she comes
around only at night, I haven't had any interaction with him--just glimpses of
him through the window as he runs away. All I know is that he has no collar
and eats all the food I put out every night. Now that the weather has turned
colder, I want to trap him and adopt him if he'd like a new home with me. My
question is how can I tell if it's a feral cat or a domesticated cat who is
lost or abandoned?

I had assumed it was just a stray since my last two cats were rescued strays
who turned out to be wonderful, sociable cats (I didn't do the rescuing, just
the adopting). There aren't a lot of outside cats in my neighborhood and I
certainly haven't heard of a feral cat population in my neighborhood. I would
expect even a stray cat to be fearful at first and I was planning on bringing
him in my home, and letting it get used to being inside by isolating him in a
room by himself with food and water for a day or two and then slowly getting
him used to me before taking him to the vet for a check-up and a scan for a
microchip (in case he is just lost). However, I've been reading online about
ferel cats and how they should not be released from the trap but taken
immediately to a vet for evaluation. Now I'm starting to worry if I do let him
out of the trap and he turns out to be feral, I'll never get him back in the
trap a second time. If he does turn out to be feral, I'm prepared to get him
neutered and then release him back outside and continue to feed him. So as soon
as he is trapped, is there a way for me to tell if he's feral or should I just
assume that?

Any comments or advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kathy.