I Need To Get My Cat Back

[Siamic]

Hello! My name is Zach. And this may not be the right place but I am a cat behaviorist and vet tech. Having some trouble just being optimistic. And I am not sure where to look. I have exhausted all options. I can't find anyone that actually knows what to do here. Anyone ever have to go to civil court to recover a cat that was kept for reasons outside of your control by another party? I had a friend foster/board my personal cat due to an emergency revolved around surgeries of family members. They are denying to return the cat. Kind of lost on what that process and not even the dang lawyers seem to know or want to lend a hand even though you can supposedly file yourself. I was rejected by 15 lawyers Because they don't deal with cats. I have 30 pages of vet records, current rabies vaccine on file and tag, current microchip, 4 years of complete receipt information adding up to $8000 and 4 veterinary signatures indicating this is my cat. There is so much information there that it is hard to dispute. But I am stuck because I am autistic and everyone I have asked has carried this concern around this it is just a cat and figure it out yourself attitude. I am about to just give up. I welcome any support, even just a hey the world is not ending. Thank you for being here. I would even appreciate some kind words.

 

[Krienze]

If you have vet records that prove you've been paying money for this cat, I would think this counts as theft and that you could take this to the police.

 

[fionasmom]

I agree. With those kinds of records, go to the police. If this would be appropriate, you might even tell the party holding your cat that you intend to do this in order to see if that might make them turn her back over to you. While I am certainly not making light of your situation, it seems very open and shut. Did you google animal law or animal attorneys in your area? You could possibly have a phone consultation with an animal attorney out of state. You are a vet tech which means you work with people who are informed about animal law to a certain degree. Can any of them help you or give you advice?

 

[Siamic]

I just realized I even have genetic health markers from Basepaws lol. I should. I have more evidence than most.

 

[Willowy]

Have they said why they don't want to return him? Have you offered to pay for his care while they had him (being that they acted as a boarding kennel)?

Cats are considered property, and I'm pretty sure you can sue for return of property in small claims court. There are ways around that if they really wanted to keep him ("oops, your honor, someone left the door open and he ran away!", etc.) but it might work.

 

[Anchoress]

Similar situation developing here with two of my cats. See thread in the SOS section . A lot of good advice there. Yes police, . Back later but we may be losing power at nine . WITH THEE IN HEART.

 

[Meowmee]

Hello! My name is Zach. And this may not be the right place but I am a cat behaviorist and vet tech. Having some trouble just being optimistic. And I am not sure where to look. I have exhausted all options. I can't find anyone that actually knows what to do here. Anyone ever have to go to civil court to recover a cat that was kept for reasons outside of your control by another party? I had a friend foster/board my personal cat due to an emergency revolved around surgeries of family members. They are denying to return the cat. Kind of lost on what that process and not even the dang lawyers seem to know or want to lend a hand even though you can supposedly file yourself. I was rejected by 15 lawyers Because they don't deal with cats. I have 30 pages of vet records, current rabies vaccine on file and tag, current microchip, 4 years of complete receipt information adding up to $8000 and 4 veterinary signatures indicating this is my cat. There is so much information there that it is hard to dispute. But I am stuck because I am autistic and everyone I have asked has carried this concern around this it is just a cat and figure it out yourself attitude. I am about to just give up. I welcome any support, even just a hey the world is not ending. Thank you for being here. I would even appreciate some kind words.

Have you managed to get him back? I would tell them you are going to report it to the police if not.

 

[SweetLittleKitty]

Hello! My name is Zach. And this may not be the right place but I am a cat behaviorist and vet tech. Having some trouble just being optimistic. And I am not sure where to look. I have exhausted all options. I can't find anyone that actually knows what to do here. Anyone ever have to go to civil court to recover a cat that was kept for reasons outside of your control by another party? I had a friend foster/board my personal cat due to an emergency revolved around surgeries of family members. They are denying to return the cat. Kind of lost on what that process and not even the dang lawyers seem to know or want to lend a hand even though you can supposedly file yourself. I was rejected by 15 lawyers Because they don't deal with cats. I have 30 pages of vet records, current rabies vaccine on file and tag, current microchip, 4 years of complete receipt information adding up to $8000 and 4 veterinary signatures indicating this is my cat. There is so much information there that it is hard to dispute. But I am stuck because I am autistic and everyone I have asked has carried this concern around this it is just a cat and figure it out yourself attitude. I am about to just give up. I welcome any support, even just a hey the world is not ending. Thank you for being here. I would even appreciate some kind words.

This is a very late response because I am new to this site. I had to file a Civil Law Suit to get my cat back. In California it is called a "Claim and Delivery" law suit (some places call it a Replevin law suit). I did not have to post a bond for my cat, but in some cases you can file the claim and post a bond that will give you custody of your cat pending the law suit. In California, I had to first file a law suit in Civil Court so I could later get an emergency ex parte hearing (during bad weather when she was not providing sufficient shelter or vet treatment for my cat). In my case what happened was a neighbor was apparently trapping feral cats on his property and abandoning them in a middle of nowhere town 25 miles away (I do not have a car, and public transportation does not go there). He apparently trapped my cat and abandoned him in that town. A woman on facebook posted one single ad that ahe was found, and I recognized him and claimed him, but she has ten acres my cat was wandering on and she would do nothing to contain him. She started sending me messages like "why do you want your cat in a cage?" (so I could pick him up!) and "maybe your cat is happy here." She even went so far as to post another ad on FB saying "the cat is claimed and is with its owner" which was a lie. Some friends drove to her house looking for my cat pretending to be from the area and she admitted the cat was still wandering on her property. Anyhow, I filed a law suit, then I had an emergency ex parte hearing on December 14, 2020, the Judge ordered her to contain my cat and I picked him up on December 15, 2020. Let me know if you still need information. I suppose I could actually provide you wil a copy of the law suit so you might be able to replicate it. The State of Michigan has some excellent information on animal law. Animals are considered property, and keeping your property amounts to theft.