An Analogy

Compare it to having a pet squirrel.  You lay out some seeds and coax it out.  It may visit you very day and might even eventually let you touch it.  But it never truly belongs.  Every night it is called back to the wild.  The squirrel has no real attachment to you, only the treats you share.  If the neighbor were to offer a better fare, it would be gone.

Better to befriend a stray cat.  Their loyalty is fluid and follows the affection that they are given.  Love them and they will stay true, just be warned that when your attention to them wanes, so will their allegiances.