Help! Picked up a cat about a week ago.

[Killer Kitten]

I'd hire a lawyer and prepare to fight for custody. I'd also get some pictures of what rough shape the animal is in. If it's too late for that, I'd get my vet to sign a statement about what kind of shape the cat was in when you brought it there.

The last thing I'd do would be surrender the cat. In the U.S., I've seen surrendered cats go to the pound, then get destroyed because the original owner adopted an "if I can't have it nobody can" type of attitude.

Lawyer up first, details later.
Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Lizzie]

I had something similar happen to me. As soon as the cat had been operated on for a fistula from an old wound, which I paid for, the neighbor came over and said thanks very much, now I'll take him back. I asked them to pay for the vet bills and they told me it had been my choice to have the cat treated. I told them to call the police and I would tell them that I'd seen the cat limping for a week from the infected wound, and that my vet stated that the cat's condition was that of a stray - fleas, worms, ear mites, bad coat, and injury. I then ran inside and called the vet and he reassured me that he would back me up. If you can afford a lawyer, I know I couldn't, then that's a good way to go. If you can't, see if the vet is ready to make a statement that in his opinion the cat is a stray. In my case, the neighbor didn't call the police, but they did get their children to stand at the fence and call me a cat stealer every time they saw me in the garden.

In the U.S., ownership involves providing food, water, shelter and reasonable care, and I should think it is the same in Canada. If this woman didn't provide these basic needs, and your vet should be able to assess this, then she can't say that she owns the cat. See if the vet can give an estimate on how long the cat had the untreated injury and infected eye.

Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and fight for a cat.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[moosmom]

Lizzie is right. Whoever cares for the cat, i.e., vet care, feeding, shelter, etc., is responsible for it. That's the law. Fight for your cat. And keep us posted.

[QueenScoopalot]

I too would fight! Did you place a "found ad" that this woman saw? How did she know you have him? If the cat wasn't vaccinated and neutered etc. by her, and you have done so, in the U.S if this wasn't done, and you have done so, he's legally yours...not sure about laws in Canada though. There was a woman near me who was feeding a small colony of ferals. A neighbor complained to the Board of Health, and she was threatened with $100.00 a day penalties if she continued feeding them. She did feed them on the sly (they went under her huge backyard deck to a basement window), and I trapped the group, and once all were altered and specifically vaccinated for rabies, by law they were no longer deemed a 'health issue' and she was never fined over feeding them after. If the courts allow her to get him back even after you've incurred medical expenses for him, I'd just make him vanish if possible. I have made cats go *POOF* into the night without any knowledge from the so called owners.

[kb2yjx]

GOOD LUCK!!
It is good to see that I am not the only person that has made a cat "vanish!" We had a stray that suddenly showed up on the back patio. The cat had no tail and was friendly. Out came the food and we fed " BOB " and then he disappeared for a while. He did come back and became a regular. I was able to pet him and he would follow me to be sure I was getting him his food. I kept telling him to come back, so he could get food, and to trust me so I could help him. A neighbour told me Bob "belonged" to a man, who never took care of him(obvious by the way he devoured food). The day before a blizzard, Bob showed up. I grabbed a carrier, put out food, which he ate in less than a second. I put a second can just outside the carrier, when Bob went to eat it, I pushed it in the carrier, he went right in after it. Door closed and Bob ate all the way to the vet. He was adopted the day after Christmas that year by a lady minister, who loves him dearly. Do I regret that I "stole" the man's cat? NEVER!