Thanks to everyone for the very helpful information. I sent an email to Companion Animal Trust this morning and look forward to hearing from them. By the way, a third cat showed up this morning. Word is out we've opened a cat chow restaurant!

If the cats are skinny and appear to be sick then I would assume that they are either strays or were dumped. To be on the safe side, you could try trapping them. Liberty Humane Society might be able to see if they have any microchips. They can also help out with a low cost spay/neuter.

PS: Thanks for the CATJC plug shadrack

You can email us at CompanionAnimalTrust@yahoo.com. We will be happy to help you.

www.companionanimaltrust.petfinder.com

I would check out and ask for advice from CATJC, a local yahoo group. Great cat people who could probably answer your question. You may also want to contact Companion Animal Trust on petfinder. CAT is very dedicated to the welfare of feral and domesticated felines in the area.

We have been feeding two young and beautiful cats that appear to be siblings. They visit whenever we are outside on our back deck. One is more skittish than the other, both are a bit underweight, one has come close enough to see that she needs medical treatment for an eye infection, both are non-aggressive yet wary toward us but do hiss and spit at our companion cat. There have been no fights as our feline tends to ignore them. It appears they sleep in the bushes located by a condo construction site on our street.

We would like to continue to care for them by providing food and medical treatment (including spaying/neutering) but have no way to ascertain if they belong to anyone. How have others on the list handled this type of situation of not knowing if the cats truly belong to someone? We wish not to overstep our boundaries legally but have a need to care for these little creatures.

Thank you for any advice.