- Joined
- Sep 23, 2005
- Messages
- 364
- Purraise
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Last Saturday I was doing some volunteer work at my alma mater, a Christian high school about 50 miles and another state away from my home. A cat -- tiny, pitifully thin -- wandered through the room I was in, and I immediately fell in love with her. The school project coordinator told me she'd been hanging around for several days, scrounging for food.
I swept her up in my arms, took her to the vet, had her tested to make sure she didn't have Feline Leukemia or FIV, got her shots and medicine for earmites and had her dewormed, and took her home to my two other cats. She weighed 6.8 pounds and was pregnant, even though she's not any older than 6-9 months.
When I left the vet, my cell phone rang. It was the project coordinator at the school. The woman who lives next door claims the cat is hers and wants her back. I refused, point-blank, because of the cat's condition. I called the woman (the school gave me the number) and her caller ID captured my cell phone number. I told her flatly, unless she had vet bills or other papers to prove she owned the cat, I was keeping her because she was obviously neglected. This woman had the nerve to tell me she'd "rescued" the cat herself, and that this was actually the cat's SECOND pregnancy (at not even nine months old!), though she had lost all the kittens before. Well, duh! She's so skinny it's a wonder she didn't die herself. She's going to be spayed next Friday.
The school is upset with me because they say that morally, the cat belongs to this woman, even though I'm on firm legal ground due to the fact that I never set foot on her property, the cat was running loose in violation of city ordinance and had no collar or tags to prove she had been vaccinated for rabies.
The woman called me and screamed at me for several days. I haven't heard from her since Tuesday, which could mean she's accepted reality and given up. I'm not sure.
I already know, from speaking to the city prosecutor, that criminal charges wouldn't apply in this case. He did say the woman COULD file civil charges, but he doubts that she will -- for one thing, the assertion of ownership would make her liable for the fines and penalties related to violating city ordinances. Plus, I have checked the woman out and she seems to be as white-trashy as they come -- several civil judgments against her, none of which have been satisfied, to the tune of almost $8,000 she owes, not including court costs.
Even though I know this cat is better off with me, I still harbor a small amount of guilt for essentially taking her away from this woman. Should I?
I swept her up in my arms, took her to the vet, had her tested to make sure she didn't have Feline Leukemia or FIV, got her shots and medicine for earmites and had her dewormed, and took her home to my two other cats. She weighed 6.8 pounds and was pregnant, even though she's not any older than 6-9 months.
When I left the vet, my cell phone rang. It was the project coordinator at the school. The woman who lives next door claims the cat is hers and wants her back. I refused, point-blank, because of the cat's condition. I called the woman (the school gave me the number) and her caller ID captured my cell phone number. I told her flatly, unless she had vet bills or other papers to prove she owned the cat, I was keeping her because she was obviously neglected. This woman had the nerve to tell me she'd "rescued" the cat herself, and that this was actually the cat's SECOND pregnancy (at not even nine months old!), though she had lost all the kittens before. Well, duh! She's so skinny it's a wonder she didn't die herself. She's going to be spayed next Friday.
The school is upset with me because they say that morally, the cat belongs to this woman, even though I'm on firm legal ground due to the fact that I never set foot on her property, the cat was running loose in violation of city ordinance and had no collar or tags to prove she had been vaccinated for rabies.
The woman called me and screamed at me for several days. I haven't heard from her since Tuesday, which could mean she's accepted reality and given up. I'm not sure.
I already know, from speaking to the city prosecutor, that criminal charges wouldn't apply in this case. He did say the woman COULD file civil charges, but he doubts that she will -- for one thing, the assertion of ownership would make her liable for the fines and penalties related to violating city ordinances. Plus, I have checked the woman out and she seems to be as white-trashy as they come -- several civil judgments against her, none of which have been satisfied, to the tune of almost $8,000 she owes, not including court costs.
Even though I know this cat is better off with me, I still harbor a small amount of guilt for essentially taking her away from this woman. Should I?