Stray cat dilemma

I'm turning to my friends here to help me make the right decision. Our neighbor took in a stray little cat, he's probably about 9 months old. Here's my dilemma. He's supposed to be our neighbor's little girl's cat but they don't feed it or let it come inside. Basically he's neglected and has started coming to my door for food, attention and a safe place to sleep. I feed him and I made him a bed by the front door from an upside down plastic tote and a polar fleece blanket. I can't let him inside because he hates our golden retriever who's an inside dog. this little kitty doesn't deserve to be treated like this just so a kid can say "oh yeah he's my cat" but not take care of him at all. It's quickly getting into very cold nights here with ice on the way and I don't want to find him laying in the street one morning. he is the most affectionate loving little guy, talkative and frisky. He's a gray tiger stripe with amazing green eyes. I'm extremely inclined to scoop him into the carrier one morning and take him to a rescue shelter run by our vet. Someone willing and wanting to give him a safe warm loving home would surely adopt him. He's beautiful, just doesn't like dogs. Is it better to rescue him or watch him continue to be neglected? that seems like a no-brainer but I have a feeling the little girl would say "oh, he just ran off" and not really care. She's kinda that way to be honest. Should I stay out of it? I'm a firm believer in that kids who cannot take care of a pet should not have one at the expense of the animal's safety and comfort. To me, it's cruel. He's such a beautiful kitten and I do think that's the only reason the little girl wants to call him her cat. Like he's some sort of animated stuffed animal.

This message was edited Nov 23, 2009 10:24 PM

This message was edited Nov 23, 2009 10:27 PM