Taking Another Cat Owners Cat Without Permission

[Mari333]

I've been reading several stories where some indoor/outdoor cats are roaming to neighbors and a neighbor is thinking of keeping the cat because they decided they're happier with them. We have strictly indoor cats, my SIL has 4 indoor/outdoor cats, their cats visit their neighbors and their neighbors cats visit them. Nobody ever considers keeping another cat owners cat unless there was definite proof of abuse. Some people wrote saying it serves them right for letting their cats outdoors in the first place. Thoughts on this?

 

[Furballsmom]

I personally think that, as you mention, unless the situation is dire and the cat is in real danger of starving or other harm, it is likely better to leave well enough alone. But, every situation is different, and there's probably no real way to make a "blanket" judgement.

 

[DreamerRose]

Sometimes, people don't realize the cat belongs to someone else and think it's a stray.

 

[Mari333]

Exactly but after reading over a dozen stories like this over time it's based on "speculation" that the cat isn't happy with their owners and even being bullied but without proof. Or they're trying to save the cat from being an outdoor cat which they disagree with. They begin to fancy the cat and want it as their own. If they're letting them in and feeding them and doting on them sure friendly cats will come back for visits but I don't think they're yours to keep knowing it's your neighbors cat.

 

[DreamerRose]

That's not a good idea at all. The cat could be in a lot of danger from crossing the street or running into dogs.

 

[FelisCatus]

There was this one cat near my workplace who kept being scooped up by my coworkers or people living in the area and taking them to get scanned. Each time they were returned to the person at the address on the microchip. But all of this could have been avoided if they put a collar on them that says “I have a home” or something.

This went on for over a year. Sometimes I would see a “found” ad on Kijiji and guess what... it was the same cat. After I changed jobs I didn’t follow up aymore.

Lesson: put a damn collar on your cat if you will let them out, or people/animal control will think they are a stray and got out.

*not sure if you guys have Kijiji in the States, but it’s basically a Craigslist.

 

[FelisCatus]

Actually to add to that... make sure they are microchipped on top of wearing a collar so you can prove they live with you.

 

[Kieka]

Lesson: put a damn collar on your cat if you will let them out, or people/animal control will think they are a stray and got out.

I have indoor/outdoor cats and my boy is a master at escaping from his collar. His current record is 6 months without removing his collar with the shortest time before he managed to take it off was 15 minutes. I have tried every breakaway collar on the market and Beastie Bands. I've probably spend close to $200 a year on collars. I get tired of replacing them and stop for a while then a month or three later try again. I actually have a new breakaway to try at home right now. He, and the other two, are microchipped as well as a backup. But I don't trust the shelters to scan it and check the system properly.

M Mari333 I agree with you. The whole indoor versus outdoor is highly controversial. People who are for indoor only tend to think of those of us who let our cats outdoor as neglectful. It hurts sometimes and it's not just TCS. I see it on my Next door neighborhood message board too of people assuming letting your cat out means they mean less to you. I've had someone tell me I "deserve" the pain of seeing my cat hurt for being allowed outside. I also see the people saying if they found a cat outside it must be abused and unwanted. My cats are friendly with some neighbors simply because they like them and without it menaing they don't like our home.

I keep my cats in at night and we have a catio they can access if they must go outside at night. My crew is well trained to come when called and I talk to my neighbors so they know the cats have a home. I see a cat only vet at the slightest sign of a problem and keep up on vaccines. My cats can enter the house at any time through a microchip access cat door that locks at night. My crew has their own instagram page too. I am aware of the risks but there are benefits too. There is a risk every time a child walks out the door too but we don't trap our children in the house.

If someone chooses to be indoor only, I respect it. If someone chooses to be indoor/outdoor, I respect it. If someone chooses outdoor only (as long as they have a shelter and take the cat to the vet when needed), I respect it. It would be nice if people respected each other's choices and didn't assume the worst.

 

[Willowy]

One of my mom's cats goes out, and won't wear a collar. There must be 10 of the dang things hidden in her secret collar disposal area, I swear. And, well, the reason she goes out is that she won't stay in. So if anyone takes her home I don't think she'll stay in their house either, lol. We always say that it would be a Ransom of Red Chief situation if anyone took her.

But also, to some extent a cat decides where he/she lives. If that cat decided to go live with a neighbor, I don't think there's much we could say about it, unless they were holding her against her will (which. . .well, they wouldn't do that for long. She's an opinionated cat).

So if someone had their neighbor's cat come decide to live with them, sometimes there's not a lot anybody can do about it. The cat decides.

 

[Kieka]

But also, to some extent a cat decides where he/she lives. If that cat decided to go live with a neighbor, I don't think there's much we could say about it, unless they were holding her against her will (which. . .well, they wouldn't do that for long. She's an opinionated cat).

So if someone had their neighbor's cat come decide to live with them, sometimes there's not a lot anybody can do about it. The cat decides.

I've asked my neighbors not to let my cats in their homes. I don't want an angry neighbor coming over telling me my cat scratched their furniture or sprayed their house. I also would, and have, freak out if the cats were late coming in because they got trapped in another house (Link once was missing for four days, he broke his leg and it took that long for him to make his way home). I also ask that they don't feed them because they have a poultry allergy (well Fury cant do chicken or shellfish while Link can't do turkey or duck). It works out. My neighbors get the pest control benefit and seeing the pretty kitties without having to pay the pretty penny for their care.

 

[Mari333]

I have indoor/outdoor cats and my boy is a master at escaping from his collar. His current record is 6 months without removing his collar with the shortest time before he managed to take it off was 15 minutes. I have tried every breakaway collar on the market and Beastie Bands. I've probably spend close to $200 a year on collars. I get tired of replacing them and stop for a while then a month or three later try again. I actually have a new breakaway to try at home right now. He, and the other two, are microchipped as well as a backup. But I don't trust the shelters to scan it and check the system properly.

M Mari333 I agree with you. The whole indoor versus outdoor is highly controversial. People who are for indoor only tend to think of those of us who let our cats outdoor as neglectful. It hurts sometimes and it's not just TCS. I see it on my Next door neighborhood message board too of people assuming letting your cat out means they mean less to you. I've had someone tell me I "deserve" the pain of seeing my cat hurt for being allowed outside. I also see the people saying if they found a cat outside it must be abused and unwanted. My cats are friendly with some neighbors simply because they like them and without it menaing they don't like our home.

I keep my cats in at night and we have a catio they can access if they must go outside at night. My crew is well trained to come when called and I talk to my neighbors so they know the cats have a home. I see a cat only vet at the slightest sign of a problem and keep up on vaccines. My cats can enter the house at any time through a microchip access cat door that locks at night. My crew has their own instagram page too. I am aware of the risks but there are benefits too. There is a risk every time a child walks out the door too but we don't trap our children in the house.

If someone chooses to be indoor only, I respect it. If someone chooses to be indoor/outdoor, I respect it. If someone chooses outdoor only (as long as they have a shelter and take the cat to the vet when needed), I respect it. It would be nice if people respected each other's choices and didn't assume the worst.

Personally we have indoor cats but I'd hate if one of ours escaped and our neighbors knew it was ours and decide to keep him. I do a lot of gardening and we got to know quite a few of our neighbors who admired our corner and some who came inside our home and saw our cats. They doted over them. Our cats are indoors because we're on a busy street, also we signed a contract to keep our ragdoll indoors. I don't think the controversy over an outdoor cat gives someone license to take it upon themselves to save a cat. Or through mere speculation that the cat is coming around all the time hence he doesn't like his home.. Frankly I didn't know this indoor/outdoor cat thing was so controversial until I went to cat forums. I gather things are different these days. I'd hope that consideration would be put into place, location, personality of the cat etc. to determine if you let your cats indoor/outdoors or not. Regardless of our circumstances we'd probably still keep them inside but my family members had cats over the decades and in abundance all indoor/outdoor who lived long fulfilling lives.

 

[Willowy]

It is technically illegal to keep someone else's cat. Here's where it gets tricky: it's kind of hard to prove ownership without a lot of pictures, vet records, or a microchip. So if someone cares about their cat, they can almost certainly prove ownership. If someone doesn't really care about their cat, they probably won't be able to.

And so then you get down to the gray areas. What if the cat is neglected? What if the cat needs vet care and they can't/won't get the cat to a vet? What if they're threatening to kill the cat? What if you know that all their cats "disappear" at a certain age? In that case it's best if you can go talk to them and offer to take the cat off their hands. But some people are stubborn/nasty and would rather kill the cat then give it away. So I can't say that it's ALWAYS bad to take a cat that doesn't belong to you. There are circumstances.

 

[Kieka]

I can't say that it's ALWAYS bad to take a cat that doesn't belong to you. There are circumstances

I wouldn't disagree. But I would caution to not assume without talking to the owner about the situation.

 

[FelisCatus]

I wouldn't disagree. But I would caution to not assume without talking to the owner about the situation.

I wonder what happened to the person looking for advice on saving an abused cat from their alcoholic neighbour a few days ago....

Sucks when people don’t follow up.

 

[Willowy]

I wouldn't disagree. But I would caution to not assume without talking to the owner about the situation.

Yeah. . .but then they know it's you who took the cat. And if they're an abusive sort. . .yikes. But, yes, you'd want to be VERY sure that what you're doing is morally correct.

 

[trashlyn]

wanted to comment on this because i think this happened to me. i just want to start by saying, i wanted my cat to be an inside only cat, but it wasn’t up to me. he’s an indoor/outdoor cat.

-we live in a small ass town, and my cat is a purebred manx. he is the only cat i’ve ever seen around here without a tail. he looks majestic. very large, very furry, bright green eyes, stub tail, extra long whiskers. my point is, you can definitely tell that cat isn’t a stray

-you can tell he’s well fed and well cares for

-he had not one, but two collars on. a flea collar, and another collar that had a tag with his name, my name, my boyfriend’s name, both of our phone numbers and our address on it.

one day he comes home and the collar with the tag is missing, but the flea collar was still there. i couldn’t afford a new collar and tag so i hoped it just fell off or something. but now he’s been gone for a month. he’s never been gone this long. he went missing around christmas time. i feel like somebody took him in and kept him as a christmas gift.

get your own damn cat. the only time i would take in a cat is if it was skinny, or otherwise sickly looking. you can absolutely tell if a cat has a home. strays done have flea collars. strays don’t look well groomed.

and if you take a cat, the very least you can do is post it online and see if anyone claims it.

i agree that there are a lot of risks in having an outdoor cat, and it’s definitely not worth it. but it wasn’t my decision. almost a year ago, i got this cat tattooed on my arm. i love this cat. i just hope he’s safe. and i hope whatever dumbass took him, loves him.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Willowy]

Have you checked with the local shelters and Animal Control? There are Facebook pages too. If you don't make an effort to find him that will hurt your case if you figure out who took him and try to get him back.

Which reminds me, the legal way to take someone else's cat is to take them to the shelter as a stray, with first dibs on adopting them. That way their owner can claim them if they want to, and if they don't, the adoption is fully legal.

 

[jcat]

Which reminds me, the legal way to take someone else's cat is to take them to the shelter as a stray, with first dibs on adopting them. That way their owner can claim them if they want to, and if they don't, the adoption is fully legal.

That depends on where you live. Here, strays are generally kept at shelters 2 -6 weeks before they can be put up for adoption, and by law owners still have 6 months from the day of intake to reclaim their pet. We have to inform the adopters that the adoption is initially "conditional". There aren't any "kill shelters".

It's very tricky if the pet isn't microchipped and registered. Too many people think indoor/outdoor cats are strays and won't go ask people in the neighborhood whether they know where the cat belongs or post photos on neighborhood Facebook pages and ask the local shelter to do so on their site and Facebook. They don't stop to think that if they only see the cat at a certain time of day or night, it looks healthy and is well-nourished, it's probably got a home.

 

[kittyluv387]

We did take in a neighbor’s cat with permission. She used to be indoor only but she started showing up outside. Super friendly. But in her case she was well fed but starting to get pushed out of her owners’s life. She would scratch and meow at their door. One time she was out in the cold so she cuddled on my lap when I was wearing sweats. Neighbor had a new husband and a German Shepherd mix in a small 1bdr apartment. I suspect she had gotten pregnant or something. When we moved we decided to text her to ask for her cat and she thought we were a godsend. She was planning on dropping her off at the shelter if she couldn’t find her a home. So it just depends.

Also sometimes the right thing isn’t the legal thing since some people are actually cruel to their pets.