Please Someone Help Me!

Bless your hearts!!

Kieka said:

Police give information based on what you say. If you start with, "it's his cat" and end with "we'd take it". That would be considered theft, because cats are property. But if in accordance with proof of ownership laws in your county you have ownership then the police wouldn't do anything. That's why it is so important to figure out what constitutes proof of ownership in your county.

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My county is Maricopa. I’m currently looking into this right now but I’m having a hard time finding ownership of property.

Hi Riakouz,

I private messaged you back but never heard anything from you. I wanted to be sure you saw my response so I'm posting it here:

I live with a circuit court judge, not in AZ but in FL, and he told me flat out that if he were in your shoes you he'd take the cat. The odds that law enforcement will contact you if your father-in-law did indeed call them are very slim, especially if you move out of state. If they did, all you'd have to say is that you were the cat's sole source of care while you lived with your father-in-law and that you have vet receipts in your name. If they say anything about your father-in-law owning the cat prior to your coming to live with him, your response should be that you didn't think anyone owned the cat, that the cat was a stray, and that your father-in-law didn't even like the cat and merely tolerated it.

I REALLY hope that you take that poor cat with you! Your all he has in this whole world and you know that your father-in-law is not going to take care of him.

Riakouz said:

I’m not calling CPS on them as that would ruin the whole family because of how far stuff goes into detail that I really don’t want to blaster out. But as far as maintaining a relationship with him, that bridge already collapsed a long time ago.

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I hope you’ll reconsider calling the authorities. The kids and animals that will continue to be abused after you leave may very well depend on it.

I agree with talkingpeanut! You're all those animals and children have. Your're really their only hope and your actions can save them from so much pain and suffering.

I would just risk it and take the cat. If you have been paying for him it is most likely yours by law anyways. He's an abusive you-know-what!

~ Reading these posts makes me wish there was a 'Go Fund Me' account for people in this situation ... ´

JamesCalifornia said:

~ Reading these posts makes me wish there was a 'Go Fund Me' account for people in this situation ... ´

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Not me. This person is brand new and we're hearing one side of a story.

Truth is, they could probably just take the cat and not get in any legal trouble for it. But if all the rest is true, taking the cat isn't going to solve the bigger picture of what's happening in the family, it might even make it worse.

m3rma1d said:

Not me. This person is brand new and we're hearing one side of a story.

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~ Yup - good point .

Riakouz said:

This is him literally right now because he s always with us.(sorry for the mess we’re moving)

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Rescue the cat. Tell him the cat ran away. Or call the animal abuse police after you video tape the behavior. Justice for animals!
Sorry if that didn't make sense. I didn't read the whole post.

See if you can take the cat to a friends house in the middle of the night, then act like the cat ran away. Have the cat out of the house for the next few days before thanksgiving, that way he cannot prove anything or that you were involved in anyway!

Dont let the fear of the cops stop you from saving the cat. Video record him mistreating the kids and the animals. You will have proof that you were looking for the best interest in the animals and the family and you will have physical proof. Please dont leave the family and do nothing. Please, please take the cat and call the police on him.

Norachan said:

Take the cat to the same vet that did the vaccinations and get him micro chipped in your name, then take him with you.

The police aren't going to chase a cat to another state if he's registered in your name.

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Actually if he has no proof of ownership of any kind they won't even file a report. Animals that are valuable have papers. "Tamed" feral cats or ones that you got free are not considered to have any value, monetarily speaking and authorities have better things to do than to keep track animals with no value, much less track them down in another state. Shoplifting a pack of gum from a store would be considered to be more of a crime.

To everyone, thank you for time time and consideration. As of right now we are not taking the cat as it would be a serious problem her mom would have to deal with and the other cats are already losing us and the kids that we don’t feel like we can take him but don’t worry the other kids will be here for him and we’re going to be flying back soon to visit them and him and eventually he might be ours but rn this is are only course of action we can do. Thank you all.

We understand, and thank you for letting us know. You're a terrific person, and hopefully in the future things will work out in the most positive manner possible.
All the best to you and your fiancée as you begin, and I hope that the stress of that person doesn't follow you too much - you deserve your lives to be a bit more free of that sort of thing.
Don't be a stranger

You can call the police and child protection services anonymously and report abuse of children and animals and make it clear it's him and not the mom if that's the situation. You can say the mom is threatened and afraid to get out. The other kids can talk to school counselors and they're legally required to file reports too.
If you anonymously report to the police, animal control and child protection services the abuse you witnessed and that he kicks the cat and whatever else he does they have to go investigate. He should be arrested. The mom could go to a domestic violence shelter, hopefully with the kids, some allow pets and he wouldn't be able to find them.

All she has to do is report the abuse and she's afraid to escape and he'd at least be arrested which would give her time to take the kids and animals and go to a domestic violence center. If they couldn't take the animals, rescues might be able to temporarily foster the animals until they get somewhere where they can have them again.
You could get the cat so it's one less animal for them to have to worry about.
That's the safest thing to do for everyone rather than living in constant fear and danger for the mom, kids and animals. They all need to escape and be somewhere safe and he needs to be arrested and away from them all.

Other minor children can't be expected to look out for and protect animals as well as themselves against a violent and abusive grown man. They're being retraumatozed and endangered every minute they're all there.
If you're an adult and know of abuse firsthand, the only responsible thing to do is call the police, animal control and child protection services, anonymously or not and protect the children and animals who can't protect themselves. Especially if the mom is in danger or unable to protect them herself.

I really don't want to get into a debate, but I do have to say that in all likelihood, he will not be arrested from a report of abuse or neglect. Unless they walk in and something is going on right that moment, or mom and the children all corroborate exactly what is reported, they can't do a whole lot of anything in terms of arresting him. Some states don't even recognize domestic violence as a maltreatment to children. And honestly, mom leaving the house with the kids for a shelter isn't always ideal or safe for her or the children. Leaving a relationship where there is violence, power and control, is the most dangerous time for a woman. This is typically when women are hurt or killed by their partners. If mom is interested in help there are confidential hotlines, both state and national, where she can speak with an advocate about what would be best and safest for her family. They can help her safety plan. I am by no means discouraging anyone from reporting abuse or trying to give advice. In most states, everyone is a mandated reporter, meaning that you are supposed to report abuse or neglect if you are aware. But the systems aren't perfect. Don't get me wrong, there must be something in place to protect children and help women (and men, all victims of violence), but just some food for thought about what some people go through when they struggle about making a report, and whether or not they should or want to.

Also, not all shelters accommodate animals, and that is also a great fear and concern for a lot of survivors as some abusers are also abusive to animals or may hurt or kill them to get at her.

Domestic violence shelters keep their locations confidential so that the abusers can't find their victims. Some shelters or safe houses do allow pets and some don't. That is why I mentioned animal rescues can and do take pets on dangerous situations and temporarily foster them until the family is in a safe situation that can take them again.
I'm not trying to debate either, just give out information for this family's safety. Staying in their current situation doesn't sound safe.
No one online should speculate about what the police might do as we don't know what's going on in the home.
Nor should anyone who does know the extent of the abuse be discouraged from reporting it, anonymously or not.

ans5181 said:

Also, not all shelters accommodate animals, and that is also a great fear and concern for a lot of survivors as some abusers are also abusive to animals or may hurt or kill them to get at her.

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Exactly why the animals need to taken out of there ASAP!!! And the police o protective services needs to be notified to investigate. The children and mother most likely need protection too. The animals should at least go to a no kill rescue temporarily.