AITAH for Refusing to Return a Lost Pet | Reddit Stories

a for refusing to return a lost pet. Posted by you/pets theft throw. So over two years ago, a cat appeared in my yard.

He was skinny, skittish, unneutered, and had a serious abscess on his rump, likely from a cat bite wound. I took him to the vet that night and had him treated. The vet estimated he was about 6 months old.

I called the local county shelters to file a found cat report. I also posted on Craigslist, posted his info at local vet offices, and kept an eye out for flyers. He was scanned for a microchip and didn't have one.

At that point, I didn't intend on keeping him and planned to find him a home when he was healthy. After his abscess healed, he was still limping and we discovered his hind leg had been fractured and healed poorly. I spent several thousand to fix it and he just sort of slipped into the family.

To recap, I found a sick cat and spent a good chunk to get him healthy. The cat had no ID and no one responded to my efforts to find the owner. I've now had the cat for almost two and a half years.

Recently, someone contacted me on social media claiming to be the cat's original owner. The cat has distinctive markings, and he has pictures to back this up. They allowed the cat to free Rome and assumed he had been killed when he failed to return home one night.

The owner's daughter was very upset by the loss. He wanted the cat back. I refused on the basis that I've now had the cat longer than the original owner did and his lack of responsibility in searching for the cat or providing a form of ID.

I feel I did my due diligence and I'm now very attached to the kitty in question. I also worry about his future if I did return him. I've been told by the owner and some of his friends that I'm a giant jerk for disappointing the daughter and stealing the cat.

I think they're the jerk for writing their cat off as dead without a search and expecting me to give him up after having him for 2 years. top/relevant comments. Commenter, not the jerk.

I keep it. However, you might want to read through this page. I'm no big city animal lawyer, but did look it up and skim it.

Lost pet law only skimmed, but sounds like the original owner could fight you for it. You'd have a pretty good leg to stand on given the shape the cat was in, your efforts to fix it up, the effort you put in to find the owner originally, and the time frame which might be past the statute of limitations anyways. But no, you're not the jerk.

However, keep in mind that just because the cat was in bad shape and the original owner didn't respond to your search doesn't necessarily mean they were bad owners. It may have been missing for months before you found it, during which time they quit looking and it suffered those injuries. Still, I feel it's your cat now.

Ops response, I was actually giving the owner the benefit of the doubt when I first found the cat, which is why I put effort into trying to find them. I'm in the rescue community and I think we often judge owners way too harshly. Like, I may not approve of letting your cat outside unsupervised, but I'd still rather a cat have an indoor/outdoor home than no home at all.

I once found a little old dog wandering around. She was shaggy and her nails were long and she had bad teeth. Nothing awful, just not ideal.

I took her to the shelter to get scanned for a chip, and they insisted I should turn her in because she was clearly abused. Instead, I walked around the neighborhood and found her owners out searching two streets over. Turns out she was a bit unckempt because she was 16 and had cancer.

So her owners didn't want to stress her with grooming or put her through a risky dental. She was just a little dying old lady spending her last days with her family. I have no doubt that if I had turned her in at the shelter, she would have been dead within an hour, legal or not.

Our local shelters are trash. So yeah, I hear you that even the best pet owner can end up with a missing pet. In my kitty's case, the owner admitted upfront that he'd made no effort to look.

I'd honestly like to offer to let the daughter have some pics or even visit him, but I don't want this guy knowing where I live. I don't think this guy would try to sue, but I do have proof of the attempts to find him, like emails and facts records. So hopefully that would be useful if he did.

Commenter two. Honestly, don't even offer to let the kid visit. It sounds super harsh, but by doing that, it's a way of validating their claims.

If the daughter is upset, it should be because her parents put no effort into finding the cat to begin with. Also, lightly an unethical life pro tip, but if you're in the rescue community, you probably know. Get the cat microchipped.

I work at a shelter and whoever's name is on that chip is the owner, even if they haven't seen the cat in 10 years. Chip the cat. Ops response: Oh, he was chipped the day I decided to stop pretending I was searching for a forever home.

Commenter three, keep the damn cat. The daughter can't be that sad after 2 years. After you put money into fixing that poor guy, he was yours no matter what.

Downboed commenter four. The daughter actually can still be sad. The loss of a pet devastates some people for years, even decades.

I know people otherwise happy who still mourn cats who were taken from them over 60 years ago. The original poster should offer a carefully supervised visitation for the child and the cat. Ops response, I do feel for the daughter.

I don't know her age, but I certainly remember and miss my childhood cats. including a kitten who passed away from genetic heart problems at only a few months old. It doesn't take long for some people to bond with a critter.

Though, I will say this cat in particular is what I would categorize as difficult. When I first took him in, he had serious problems with bite inhibition. He's the type who will accept a few pets and then violently lash out.

He was also terrible with other cats. In my experience, he acts like a cat who was separated from his mother and litter mates too young and missed out on crucial socialization. It took a lot of effort and training to get him to where he is today.

I still can't pet him for more than a few minutes at a time, but now he'll tell me nicely when he's had enough. It also took me almost a full year to fully integrate him in with the other cats, and I still separate him if I have to go out. Point being, this isn't a cat I would personally allow around a kid.

Part of the reason I'm so attached is because he was such a brat and needed so much work on so many levels. Not saying the daughter couldn't have been attached, but I think many people would struggle to bond with a cat who won't sit in laps or accept most interaction. I'd like to offer a visit, but right now I don't think the original owner knows exactly where I live, and I'd rather keep it that way.

I worry he might try to steal the cat. Update one month later. I did not confirm the cat was the same animal since I can't know for sure, but I did say if it was the same cat.

I have now had him for longer than the original potential owner, 6 months versus almost 3 years. Due to this and the fact that he had no tag or chip and the owner never searched for him, I don't feel I have to return him. I have not contacted the man since, but he continues to message me at least once a week and is now threatening to take me to court.

I have not replied. Is this something I need to worry about? Should I look into getting a lawyer?

If he did try to sue for cat custody, would he have a case? Considering the timeline, it's likely the cat's leg was broken while in the care of the owner, and my vet is willing to testify to that. Would that increase the likelihood I would win if he tried to sue?

I'm really not willing to give up this cat. I've paid over 5,000 getting him healthy, but more important than the money is the simple fact that I love the furry little jerk. I don't want him going back to a home that neglected him and let him roam without even the most basic care.

I don't believe the man knows where I live. My social media was pretty locked down as far as personal info in the first place. I don't actually know how he found me, though, and that makes me nervous.

If he continues contacting me, is there anything I can do legally to discourage that? Second update two months later. On advice from the good people here, I blocked further messages.

Yesterday, I got a letter in the mail demanding return of the cat. Previously, they were only contacting me on social media, which did not have my home address or any identifying information. I don't know how they found out where I live, but I'm now very worried they might try to steal the cat.

I have home security, and the cat is indoor only and chipped. I'd like to think the guy wouldn't be dumb enough to break and enter, but clearly he isn't firing on all cylinders to begin with. Should I file a police report?

Can I even do that if they haven't broken any laws? The letter didn't contain any specific threats, just demands. Is there anything I can do legally to discourage further contact?

Could a lawyer do something like a cease and desist letter? I have no idea why this dude wants the cat he wrote off as dead years ago back so damn badly, but Kitty is happy and healthy and sassy and not going anywhere. I don't want to spend my life afraid to run out to the store, though, so any advice would be much appreciated.

Third update, one year later, some LA posters thought it might have been a scam. I was skeptical because they hadn't asked for money, even after things had dragged on for a while. Well, I guess they were playing the long con because I just got my first letter suggesting a few hundred might just assist the owner to move on from their loss.

As a bonus, it was sent on letterhead from a non-existent lawyer's office. If I don't pay the cat fee, they plan to sue. My favorite part is that they don't specify for what exactly.

They're just going to sue. You know, like lawyers do. I'm still kind of worried they might try to steal Kitty and demand a ransom.

Kitty is indoor only, chipped, and rarely left alone. On days I do have to work in office, I've been taking him in with me. But yeah, I'm thinking this is one of the weirder catfishing schemes on record.

I tried to tell Kitty about his custody dispute, but he just yawned in my face and joined his big brothers for a celebratory afternoon nap. Though he did hack up a hairball on my pillow yesterday, paying someone else to take him is starting to look pretty tempting. Fourth update: 5 months later.

You all thought it over. So did I. But no.

Turns out this story really could get weirder. Recap. Years ago, I took in an injured stray cat.

The cat did not have a collar or chip. A good faith attempt was made to locate possible owners. After owning the cat for several years, I began receiving messages on social media from someone claiming to be the original owner.

They demanded I return the cat, and I refused and blocked them. Eventually, they escalated to sending letters to my home on letterhead from a non-existent lawyer's office. The letters demanded I pay hundreds for the privilege of keeping the cat or they would sue for what exactly was unspecified.

At this point, it was clear this was a scam, albeit a bizarre one. Someone on the bullet thread suggested reporting the letters to the local bar association. I ignored the first two, but when they kept arriving, I went ahead and did so.

I assume the bar association took some kind of action because the next letter I received was basically the scammer raging, "How dare you? " This was the first letter that contained an actual threat against my safety. So, to cut this already way too long story short, I filed a police report.

After some additional letters, my cat now has a no contact order. Okay. Okay.

It's in my name, but we all know it's really for the cat. I will say the threats were of the more creative, less actionable sort, but I'm hopeful this will truly put an end to it. This is honestly the single dumbest thing I've ever gone through.

My cat continues not to care. Top/relevant comments commenter. Is anyone else worried that a no contact order won't be enough to stop all of this?

I'm somewhat worried for OP's safety. This dude is seriously dedicated and knows where OP lives. I would still be on edge with a no contact order because that won't stop crazy.

Ops response. Yeah, trust me. I'm mostly making light to mask how thoroughly freaked out I am.

Kitty is never left alone and even comes to work with me. My pen pal is clearly not all that stable. Still, I'm choosing to be hopeful because I haven't received anything since the no contact order happened.

This is my suspicion. It's well known we're a crazy cat family. Even though my social media is locked down, the scammer could be a friend of a friend or somehow heard about our reputation for fostering/adopting critters.

If anyone is going to fork over cash to keep a cat, it would be me. So, the scammer probably saw us as a good target. When the fake lawyer didn't work and the bar association got involved, the scammer got pissed that the scheme failed.

Now that the cops are involved, they'll hopefully realize they've lost and it isn't worth it. The alternative is that they never expected to get money out of it and this entire thing was a bizarre prank. In which again they'll hopefully realize they've gone too far or the dude is just total nutballs.

OP to another commenter. I work in wildlife rehab part-time and as a sales coordinator for a small company. The coordinator work I mostly do from home, but my boss is terrific and doesn't mind the cat coming along when I have to work in office.

At the rehab, he hangs out downstairs in the office. It's actually been great for his socialization. When I first rescued him, he could be very reactive.

I worked with him and got him to the point I could safely handle him, but he was still very much a one-person cat. At the rehab, he's constantly exposed to people who are experienced with much more aggressive animals. A hissing kitty is downright cute compared to a snarling raccoon.

Now, he'll snuggle with anyone and even cuddles with the office dog on occasion. So, in a very weird way, this whole thing has been a positive experience for him. I did at the beginning think it might be a prank, though I can't think of anyone in my life who would do such a thing.

Like, I could maybe imagine a friend sending the very first message. At this point, though, I can't imagine anyone would take it this far and risk getting in trouble for making threats just as a joke. Commenter two, what codor would the bar do about fake lawyer letterhead?

Ops response, I'm not entirely sure. When I spoke to the association, the person I spoke with seemed amused and asked for the letters. They said they would look into it.

From the context of the follow-up rant I received, I assumed they contacted the scammer. I don't believe they did anything more than perhaps tell him to knock it off. He seemed just angry that I reported him at all.

When I filed the police report, I was told the police weren't concerned with a fake letterhead. From what I understand, practicing law without a license is illegal, but just saying you are a lawyer is not. The letters were in a more gray area because they were an attempt to extort money while perhaps not meeting the legal definition of extortion.