I posted a thread about this cat awhile ago under "is it abuse?" for those of you who didn't catch it here's the summary:
Our neighbors have a cat, her name is Mocha. She's probably about 4, she's never had a flea or tick, so I assume she's given frontline or some other anti-tick medicine.
We live in an urban area in an apartment complex, and they leave her out, all the time. She's been left out when hurricanes came though, on nights where it's dipped down into the 40's, left out for days without food or water, when it's pouring rain, in just about any condition she's normally out.
So, we began to let her inside, she's the sweetest thing ever. I don't think she's ever even played with a toy, when I showed her some she didn't know what to do with them at first. She also has an aversion to loud noises, because our neighbors fight almost constantly, so loud that we can hear them through the walls.
Cat's aren't allowed outside in our apartment area, so we tried reporting them and the complex sent out a notice that any animals cats or dogs weren't allowed outside off leashes. But we didn't report them again because we didn't want Mocha to be sent to the pound.
Then we tried talking to the neighbors lightly about it like, "you cat is so wonderful." Or, "Do you ever need us to take care of your cat?" But all they ever say is things like "We're the only ones who could ever love/tolerate that cat."
Okay, so that's the background.
We reached our final straw recently. They went on a two week vacation and left her out the whole time. During rain and cold. With no food or water outside, and one person (who could have been stopping in for Mocha or just to check in on things) stopping by once. But even they didn't leave anything out for her or didn't put her inside.
This cat is so sweet and is so calm and nice and she's outside all of the time. We find her sleeping in the road, in parking spots, covered in dirt, sleeping on air conditioners or on the stairs and we're constantly worried about her safety.
We found a new home for Mocha, someone who'd love a cat like her and who we know and trust to treat her well. Also someone with a large yard in a large residential area, so Mocha can be free to roam without a hundred cars driving by and in parking lots and whatnot.
My problem is this. I try to be an honest person, and not lie whenever possible. But are we stealing this cat from our neighbors? I honestly don't feel that bad, they don't take care of her ever. But legally is this a problem?
Also, if she's microchipped can that be a problem too?
Advice?
Our neighbors have a cat, her name is Mocha. She's probably about 4, she's never had a flea or tick, so I assume she's given frontline or some other anti-tick medicine.
We live in an urban area in an apartment complex, and they leave her out, all the time. She's been left out when hurricanes came though, on nights where it's dipped down into the 40's, left out for days without food or water, when it's pouring rain, in just about any condition she's normally out.
So, we began to let her inside, she's the sweetest thing ever. I don't think she's ever even played with a toy, when I showed her some she didn't know what to do with them at first. She also has an aversion to loud noises, because our neighbors fight almost constantly, so loud that we can hear them through the walls.
Cat's aren't allowed outside in our apartment area, so we tried reporting them and the complex sent out a notice that any animals cats or dogs weren't allowed outside off leashes. But we didn't report them again because we didn't want Mocha to be sent to the pound.
Then we tried talking to the neighbors lightly about it like, "you cat is so wonderful." Or, "Do you ever need us to take care of your cat?" But all they ever say is things like "We're the only ones who could ever love/tolerate that cat."
Okay, so that's the background.
We reached our final straw recently. They went on a two week vacation and left her out the whole time. During rain and cold. With no food or water outside, and one person (who could have been stopping in for Mocha or just to check in on things) stopping by once. But even they didn't leave anything out for her or didn't put her inside.
This cat is so sweet and is so calm and nice and she's outside all of the time. We find her sleeping in the road, in parking spots, covered in dirt, sleeping on air conditioners or on the stairs and we're constantly worried about her safety.
We found a new home for Mocha, someone who'd love a cat like her and who we know and trust to treat her well. Also someone with a large yard in a large residential area, so Mocha can be free to roam without a hundred cars driving by and in parking lots and whatnot.
My problem is this. I try to be an honest person, and not lie whenever possible. But are we stealing this cat from our neighbors? I honestly don't feel that bad, they don't take care of her ever. But legally is this a problem?
Also, if she's microchipped can that be a problem too?
Advice?