We've had a couple of outdoor visitor cats for the last couple of years.
We've been leaving food outside but we've never seen more than a fleeting
glimpse of them.

One of them, who I've taken to calling ShortTail Tom ("Shorty") is so shy
I've never seen any more of him that a dark shadow darting under the
neighbor's car. I believe he actually lives with my landlord, but I'm not
sure of that. The other I call Cali Girl, because the few times I've seen
a glimpse of her across the street after dark she has looked like she's
maybe a calico.

Last week Shorty was waiting at the head of the driveway when I got home
from work and strolled through the beams of my headlights while I got
parked. He's a beautiful silver tabby with a tail about 3/4 the length I
would expect. I was pleased to see that he doesn't look undernourished or
ill.

Cali Girl has been getting a little closer - she will wait by my front
fence while I fill the food dishes at night (about 20 feet away). But this
morning when I came out at 5:00 AM to leave for work I heard "meow" from
under the neighbor's car - Cali Girl. She approached to within about 10
feet, and I got to see that she's a beautiful longhair calico. She also
didn't appear to be undernourished or ill, but it's kind of hard to tell
from a distance with longhairs.

I'm hoping that they will both continue to get more comfortable and come
closer. Meanwhile I'll keep leaving food out for them and will work this
weekend on putting together some sort of enclosure for them outdoors. The
temps have started dropping below freezing at night, and I'm not sure
whether these kitties really have homes to go to.