i would call around--a humane society/spca would be my first call before animal control--and find out what the laws are in your area. in some places, any outside animal is considered a stray and therefore you can pick it up and take it home. in others, however, that's not the case..... in michigan, for example, if you find ANY stray cat or dog you are supposed to call the police or animal control within 48 hours of finding it--theoretically, they are supposed to come and get it from you, you are NOT allowed to keep it yourself and try to place it. in reality, those officials who even know about the law (and a lot of animal control officers in michigan do NOT!), will tell you to place ads in the paper, try to find the owner, and then let you do whatever. a friend found a roaming german shepherd, and did all the correct things--ads in the paper, on petfinder, local rescues; had the dog vetted, and then put it up for adoption. WELL.... turned out the dog HAD been microchipped when it was adopted from a shelter. part of the agreement with the shelter, of course, was that the dog be neutered--which it hadn't been. the previous owner, thus caught out, went and had charges pressed against my friend for theft--even tho they told the new owners they didn't want the dog and they could keep it. we aren't sure WHY they went after my friend, except maybe for being angry that probably had to pay fines because they hadn't neutered the dog in the first place. nevertheless, my friend was found guilty of not reporting finding said dog, and had to pay fines and court costs...(the dog was later found to have some major congenital illness, which the first owners MAY have known about; the new owners then tried to sue my friend for medical expenses....)
ie, make sure you're covered legally, then save the kitty!
