If it's an "outside cat" it can just be hanging around the place. My parents have a cabin in the countryside and there's farms around. One day a cat just showed up. They pet her and give her food once every few days, but she's independent and pretty much just wants to be petted. Very affective and always seeking human attention. She just decided to hand around the place. I also have a cabin deeper in the woods on the same land and the cat is often just following us when we walk from one place to another.

So when they had a house built there, the construction workers just had a cat hanging around. She was coming out of the woods to be petted, then went back in the woods or just went chilling in the barn until her next round. Feeding her is pretty much just extra, because she can take care of herself.