I agree with Karen. Maybe just ask to be friendly and polite and avoid future trouble. I don't know how the laws are in your state but in New York, a cat cannot belong to someone. They are not licensed by the county or state and therefore no ownership is implied, unlike dogs that "belong" to a person. Basically this means I could go take that cat and make it my own, assuming the cat wanted to live with me, and the people would have no legal recourse to get the cat back from me. They would have to take me to civil court to get back "their" cat. Strange but true.