Cat update!
It's been a bit of a roller coaster, because when my sisters brought the cat in they found it had a microchip! I didn't post in here right away because I wanted to see what happened first. The shelter told my sisters the owner lives near me. Mind you, I walk the dog basically twice a day and I'm not sure I'd ever seen this cat before, so I assume it either was purchased recently, or was just being let outside a lot recently.
Anyway, they called the owner and didn't hear back. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let my sisters keep the cat while waiting to hear back, either: they made them treat it as if they were just bringing in a stray. They said at most they could just monitor the site to see if the cat ended up in the adoption pool. Didn't even volunteer to call and let them know, give them first chance after bringing it in, or anything. Pretty upsetting for all of us.
...until this morning, where my sisters apparently noticed the cat had been added to the site, pounced all over it, and got the cat! Shelter said the owner was "dodging" calls, though I'm not sure what that could mean other than "they didn't get back to us within a few days."
Anyway, the cat is safe and sound and back in its new home and very comfortable. Happy ending! They decided to name it Myrtle. The vet did indeed confirm it is a female, apparently rare for a ginger.
Maybe the virus hit and they just didn't want to deal with it (if it was already an indoor cat), or maybe it was both in and out and the prospect of letting the animal roam and then come inside was problematic under the circumstances. Whatever it was,
My best guess is maybe this person has had the cat for a few months and, once the virus started spreading, either didn't like the idea of a cat that came and went (for obvious reasons), or if it was an indoor cat, just couldn't deal with taking care of it. The idea that it was owned for awhile and then something changed, though, fits with the timing, the fact that I hadn't seen it, and its behavior (somewhat friendly, ravenous and eager to be petted after presumably being outside for a few days).
So glad we got a happy ending with this one.