I'm not particularly a codie-- didn't learn that growing up-- but I am a certified cat lady, and a stray cat is currently moving into my house of his own volition (I have 3 already, and for me, that's a very small number of felines to own). I guess the stray is mine now. He has a name, I feed him regularly, and he sleeps in the basement-- he won't let me pet him but he comes into the house when the door is open, prances around, and makes my older male cat angry.
My ex bf asked me why I feed the stray cat.
I said, if I don't feed him, he'll starve.
He said, what if a person showed up homeless on your front doorstep? Would you feed them indefinitely?
I said, No. People can basically take care of themselves, stray domestic animals basically can't.