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Help! I Thought My Cat Was A Stray...
- Thread starter VioletB&HoneyBee
- Start Date
I've been looking through California laws on the matter. According to what I understand, you are to take the animal to a shelter within 48 hours of finding it. (you can adopt after the waiting period). However, since you didn't, but you did check for a chip and you called animal control, my personal opinion (and it's only my opinion) is that the kitty is yours.
This lady may not be the owner, and if she is, she shouldn't be.
BTW, tabbies look alike. If they were fighting, they probably aren't related. Most siblings share food.
This lady may not be the owner, and if she is, she shouldn't be.
BTW, tabbies look alike. If they were fighting, they probably aren't related. Most siblings share food.
Wow, we don't have any laws like that in the Pittsburgh area. We only have a few shelters and they are almost always full, and they often turn away cats, especially in the situation where a stray cat has a willing caregiver. I am very thankful that anyone can take in any stray cat without bureaucratic red tape, which isn't in the best interest of the cat (why put it through 48 hours of being caged in a very stressful environment, and why should the rescuer have to pay an adoption fee?) It seems the laws are so varied from city to city that I again suggest that if one has questions, it's best to call the local police to explain the situation and seek guidance. I don't feel this is necessary in the case of rescuing a cat in dire need who isn't being properly cared for, but others may feel differently. I'm glad the issue is resolved and you are at peace with keeping your new little buddy!
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Congrats on your official new family member! You made the right choice.
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Where I live at least it's actually a better option to turn a stray in to a rescue or shelter and then adopt once it's taken care of. The adoption fee is far less than taking the animal to a vet and getting it examined, vaccinated, fixed, etc.
Then again I live in a rural area and there are a lot of rescues and shelters, there's something like 6 within a 45 minute drive.
My local Humane Society will do spay/neuter/vaccination/microchip/ Frontline package for strays for 30 dollars, and you can set an appointment on the phone. You don't have to surrender the cat to the shelter and adopt it. I think that is best for the cat.
I found a dog last year and turned her in to the HS because I thought I was having surgery and couldn't handle another animal, especially a pup. When I found out I wasn't having surgery I tried to adopt her and they wouldn't let me. They said if I had wanted her, I should have just kept her and not turned her in. Even though they knew why I did.
I agree. Non-neutered, no microchip, no collar with a tag, and roaming outside in the winter.
don't forget you cannot advertise you have a cat. someone might turn you in to the complex
what is the name of the cat?
I can't believe some one on THIS site would return an obviously unloved, uncared for animal to it's abuser! Outside on a below freezing night amounts to abuse. The cat even ventured into a strange apartment it was so stressed. If your concious bothers you, inform the neighbor you are caring for a cat that almost froze and tell them the amount you spent and see what they say. Someone like that will not pay out of gratitude to get the cat back. Children are removed from situations like that, and so should animals.They were not even concerned enough to report the cat missing.That is abandonment.
In this community if a cat strays into a neighbors property they have the right to shoot/trap it. In that premise, any cat that continually strays onto my property is neutered/spayed. I have neutered several neighborhood cats and NOONE has complained or most likely even noticed! I have a twelve year old tom that has never been caught and never neutered, he is blind in one eye, has both ears half torn off, has had more abscesses and horrible gaping wounds then I can count and is now suffering from bad teeth. He is too smart to be caught and and too wild to care. He could be a poster boy for why you should spay and neuter!
In this community if a cat strays into a neighbors property they have the right to shoot/trap it. In that premise, any cat that continually strays onto my property is neutered/spayed. I have neutered several neighborhood cats and NOONE has complained or most likely even noticed! I have a twelve year old tom that has never been caught and never neutered, he is blind in one eye, has both ears half torn off, has had more abscesses and horrible gaping wounds then I can count and is now suffering from bad teeth. He is too smart to be caught and and too wild to care. He could be a poster boy for why you should spay and neuter!
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Unfortunately, in some states, it is the LAW. In AZ and CA (and probably others) you must make a reasonable effort to find the owner, or it is punishable by law.
I know when I found the pup, living on the border of two counties, I had to notify animal control, both county sheriff's office, shelters in both counties, check for microchip. I also put her on the lost and found page (FB) for the area instead of putting up flyers. I even drove around to my neighbors to see if she was theirs. This is a reasonable effort.
If I had not done at least part of these things, and decided to keep her, I would have been in violation of the law in Arizona.
You know what though, it is a city ordinance passed here that feral animals, and cats were specifically listed, cannot be fed or cared for in this city. NOOONE that I know that is an animal lover and has outside cats stopped caring for those who need it. If I get arrested I have A lawyer and know people at the newspaper, I would enjoy the fuss it would raise. Laws can be changed. I even sprung a city trap that they were issuing to trap and kill cats with, with no regard to whether they were someone's pet, and hung a big sign on it saying " Trap, Neuter, and Release please, quit killing innocent cats!"
AND it is a FELONY to abuse ANY cat in all 50 US States.
Not just Cats, unless I'm remembering wrong it's any domestic animal.
We just had a man, his wife and their son convicted of animal cruelty and of animal abandonment charges, and so far the husband, the main abuser, has got 30 months of PROBATION. They found literally DOZENS of dead cattle and dozens more cattle, donkeys, horses and various other animals starving and injured and literally at deaths door at his farm. Google it "man, wife and son convicted of abusing animals in nebraska" It breaks my heart to see these monsters get probation instead of jail time. Until this stops the abuse will continue......
Agree 100% and can't bear to read it,
di and bob
-- and yes, until the public rises up and insists this (and other) law(s) is enforced, we will continue to backslide into what my ex referred to as "the primordial ooze."- Joined
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You hit the nail on the head. The operative phrase is 'enforce the laws'. Unless and until that happens, we will get more of the same.Agree 100% and can't bear to read it,
Absolutely. So I yell at everyone every time the opportunity presents. The "justice" system in this country is a bitter joke.
