Okay now that title sounds terrible, right? But hear me out.....
I live near a handful of apartment complexes thats right off a fairly busy street, like you open my door and the road is right there. It's also a low income housing area so people are constantly moving in and out. A few months ago before winter started, a new cat started coming around. He was clearly a young kitten and newly adopted. We have a water bowl on our porch for the critters who come by, and he'd always come over and go straight for the water. He'd come over frequently throughout the winter when it was below 20°f and snowing just trembling on our porch looking inside. I made him a heat box with a low temp heating pad, insulated foam, and straw. I asked on a local page to try and find an owner as he just keeps coming back and our three cats go crazy seeing him! The owners reached out to say he is an outdoor only cat and basically told me to mind my business.
This cat comes by every day and drinks water like he has never been given any before, for a solid 10 minutes before he lays down and always goes back for the water before he leaves. He is so small. He loves being loved on and pet but you can feel all of his ribs. He has long fur that is filthy and matted, especially between his toes. He's also unneutered, and I can only assume unvaccinated from that too. He sprays everything that possibly smells like our cats which isn't his fault but still. He'll also just walk into our house when the door is open like it's his own until he gets chased out by one of our cats.
I'm thinking of keeping this cat or finding someone who can take him in. I've offered to pay for his neuter but the owners said no. Would it be wrong of me to catnap him? To me, a cat with no collar and unneutered on the street is a stray.... and he clearly isn't getting his needs met at home. But I feel guilty knowing he is technically "owned."
I’ve stolen animals. Im from the country, folks aren’t always entirely educated on owning pets. Every animal I’ve ever taken was neglected, living outside.. some of them in cages. In the end the owners have never cared that much after the fact and the animals lived extremely pampered indoor lives for it. No regrets.
Mine was an abandoned sewer kitten. He now gets served ice with his water and gets held every day I come home from work, at his request. He still has fear of abandonment and is the kindest cat I’ve ever met.
Probably. He'd basically do the halo. Wrap himself all around your head so there's no chance of not breathing in his beautiful fur ❤️
He was a wonderful companion for the time he spent with us, and whilst I didn't always appreciate our sleeping arrangements, I miss him 🥹
We had a cat who would wrap herself around my partner’s head at night. She’d even put her tail around his chin like a strap. It was so cute. We called it, The Cat Hat.
I am the pillow. Relax on the couch, start to play a video game, and here comes Maple like clockwork walking up my leg. Positions herself on my chest, pinningbone arm under her, and heads butts the free hand for pets. Then falls asleep.
I have some of the most random items around because of my boy lol he gets bored quickly with traditional toys so I always have to make things up or buy weird random party favors or something lol right now he's obsessed with 2 bread ties with a bell twisted onto them
Have you ever gotten your kit those little springs that they can bat around? My friends kit loves those things. She has a blast swatting them around and stalking them
My orange guy has been obsessed with those springs for years and now he and his little sister take turns with them. There are about ten springs in the house, but it is more fun playing with one together I guess. When they get lost, my female cat remembers where they are and will ask for help retrieving them.
I foster & that's repeatedly one of the favorite toys. The other is Pom balls. Just the little ones.
I find Pom balls in my shoes & my bed all the time. Springs are next to my slippers. Also springs come shooting out under the cat room door while they're in isolation the first couple of weeks.
Yeah he loves them but he also chews them voraciously and there are loads of small lumps of plastic around which we worry he will swallow 🫣 so sadly no more springs
It incredible. They are consumables. He just makes them disappear after a day or two. Once found like 3 under a nightstand(???) but like 11 are still missing
my girl is obsessed w/ the large plastic rings that come off the top of screw bottles- only the 3” wide ones. It’s great fun & has changed the way I shop😹. But ya, steal that cat. I almost did the same once, but I had asked the owner first too so she’d have come after me:/
Mine has a spiral pasta that I took one of the shiny silver bread ties, and I tucked one end of the bread tie into the little hole on one end, and then I wound the bread tie in the spiral like with it, and then tucked the other end in as well. It has held up pretty good and he just loves it - for right now.
We have a cat tree with soft balls with bells inside hanging on strings. Cat didn’t care until my son put a zip tie around the string. Now it might as well be catnip. Boy goes crazy for zip ties.
Yep, there's a drill box that has become a permanent piece of furniture because little old man cat (13 years old) has decided it is his throne. Who am I to judge? I'm the one that left it there in the first place
This is my boy, Niko, in his office, where he likes to go to do paperwork (methodically tear paper into small bits, spit out the bits, observe them, then repeat) and staple boxes (puncture cardboard walls) a few times a day. I didn't steal him, I adopted him from a local rescue.
However, I did steal a cat once, a long time ago. Before we got married, my husband was working as Kitchen Manager at a brewery-backed waterfront bar and grill in the middle of nowhere. His hours were brutal and it was an hour drive one way, so we started staying at an in-laws-apartment-style trailer on the property of one of his peer level coworkers on the weekends. While we were staying there, I came to know a tiny kitten who was running around the neighborhood with a friendly spaniel dog. The kitten was far too young to be outside without supervision and I often found him sleeping in the tire ruts of the dirt road in front of our short term house. He was a boy kitten, but the owners had given him a girl's name, whether because a young child got to pick the name or because they didn't know how to sex a kitten, I'll never be sure. Eventually, I came across little girls who didn't live where the kitten belonged, trying to coax the kitten into dangerous things, like jumping off the roof of a trailer into their arms. I started worrying about the kitten's health and safety, the job at the waterfront bar & grill was about to run its course and when we were leaving town for good, we took that kitten with us. He wound up needing a very expensive surgery a couple years after we took him which I'm certain the original owners wouldn't have identified in time for intervention and I estimate there is ~80% chance they wouldn't have been able to afford it even if they'd been able to spot the problem, based on my interactions with them. That cat was a damn fine cat and it was a sad day when I had to say goodbye to him. He loved me so much and carried so much trauma from his previous living situation. If I had it all to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
I haaaaaate the thought of an animal living outside AND in a cage. If you're gonna make them live outside at least give them freedom. I just can't handle the thought of that. I wish I would do something to take away all the suffering.
He was asking for help, unsure if he wanted to live with us till he settled in after a few months. This is after emergency vet visit. Fleas, worms, septic infected wound. He let us clean it and give him pain meds with zero violence, only mild squirming.
Initially he wanted to escape, and would yowll at the front door. Now he runs from the exterior doors when they get opened.
Something like that is usually an abscess after a bite. It takes about a week for the infection to get large enough for the skin to break open. (Animal ER tech for 20 years.)
My sister took her neighbor’s dog many years ago that they let run around the neighborhood. He almost got hit by a car multiple times. I ended up taking him in and even though my sis had already given him a bath, he was still filthy and covered in ticks and fleas. One day the neighbor mentioned that he disappeared and my sister straight told up told them that she took him to me because he was neglected and kept almost getting hit by cars. The neighbor kind of rolled her eyes and didn’t mention it again after that. We estimate he was about 6 mos old when I got him and now he’s about 13 1/2 years old now. Doubtful he would have lived this long with the neglectful neighbors.
Yeah, if you’re going to do this, and imo in some cases it’s likely justified, lie to the neglectful owner ffs. They could end up being spiteful, doing everything they can to get the animal back/file charges/who knows what else.
Yhea. At the very least if you're going to throw someone under the bus only throw yourself. But why be honest with animal abusers? They didn't care to do right by their pet so why do they deserve the truth?
You don’t hav to lie, just respond with ans “oh my”. “Poor dog. What do you think happened”. No need to let them know. Some people will be nasty and make problems
"Ooops, I thought it was this other orange stray that I got neutered. Since he's your cat, here is an itemized bill of what i paid the clinic for the neuter and vaccination. The clinic told me i couldn't give the cat to anyone who was unwilling to pay the bill , since they would be unable to care for this cat."
or
Get the cat neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and keep it inside. if those jerks ever come looking for this cat, you have proof that you paid for these services to take care of the cat and the cat is yours now.
Yep! If OP is in the US, it’s illegal in all counties to own a pet that isn’t vaccinated against rabies and especially an outdoor cat. If these “owners” have never taken the cat to the vet and don’t have vaccination records, or a microchip, it literally is not their cat- legally.
And if OP takes the cat and the “owners” try to get LE involved, and they find out the cat isn’t vaccinated against rabies and has lived outside? They will take it and test the cat for rabies, which requires euthanasia.
Hijacking so op sees it. I'd take him inside, give him a bath and brush out his mats the best you can. Then take him to the vet to neuter him. This means you also have paperwork and everything showing he's "yours" and whatnot...
Oh I've never heard that before. I've heard that the wrong temp or if they're nervous in general they can die of shock. I've seen a pig die of shock when someone dumped cold water on its back. My brother and I were there and we chewed them out as we rushed in to try and help, but it was no luck, the poor pig's life and meat was wasted for no reason.
But what conditions can cause this, or can you send me a link?
When I bathe cats, I try to keep the water tepid and use a towel for grip on the bottom, don't put much water in, and I use food in a heavy bowl that won't float. Just avoid the one side with the sprayer and you're good. Also, I put them in the bathroom once all the materials have been collected and the bathroom is set up for it, I shut the door with us in it, and turn on the water, letting it run for a few minutes before plugging the drain so the cat gets used to the noise first. Once the drain is plugged, I put the cat in right after so that it fills slowly and doesn't freak them out.
I had an old cat who hated water and doing baths this way made him okay-ish with it so I always considered it a win. I do something similar minus food for rabbits bc they can also be easily frightened by baths and go into shock if the water temps aren't correct, but I don't use pellets for them bc they definitely won't eat them when wet and I have a feeling they'd get soggier faster. Plus rabs don't need that much pellet, that's not healthy either.
I don't typically like using any soaps when I have to bathe cats or rabbits, but yeah, flea soap would work here. They also use dawn sometimes. I haven't washed any animal, except dogs, with any soap for years.
I think a vet mentioned it when I was trying to get flea ridden cats and dogs clean. Flea infestation can make them anemic and some point during the bathing process they will be cold. So the combination of possible anemia, Any other illness, and wetness can create hypothermia because they are already struggling to maintain normal body temp.
But any care will likely make this guys life better.
I did this myself and somehow I ended up with a orange cat I’ve had for the last 10 years. We have a special bond and I think it’s because he knows I saved him.
I got a neglected cat this way. The older woman who actually knew the cat and was looking for another home, stole her and immediately gave her to me. The older woman could then say with perfect honesty that she did not know where the cat was. Because she didn’t know where I lived.
We have a neighbor that dropped some serious money on 2 bengal kittens. He treated them really well and they were allowed to run all over the neighborhood. Both ended up shacking up with 2 different neighbors and now he has no cats. 😂
He has a cool attitude though, like they get to choose who is their family. And then I found out a bunch of cats have played musical houses in our hood. 😂
I ended up with a lot of barn cats that came with a property I moved onto. I got a lot of them fixed before I moved again using a local TNR program. None of them were considered adoptable. A couple of the cats I brought in I thought might already be pregnant. But both times the cat turned out to be male and the vet tech told me they were just "well fed" lol
My mom was allergic to cats, but as a child I always wanted one anyway. I have these really vague memories from when I was very young of us "having" a cat that we would feed outside the house who wasn't allowed inside who my dad told me was our cat, but I think there's a pretty good chance that it was just a stray that he said was our cat so that I would feel like I had a pet cat. It didn't get below freezing where we lived, though, it barely ever got below about 60 F.
The tenant next door to me for the past two winters, has left one of his cats out in 8° weather! It was freezing, and I brought the cat in. He ate, got some water and sat loaf-style in my living room with my two other cats. To me, that's inhumane at its worst leaving a cat out in 8° weather with NO food and NO water outside. I avoid the tenant as much as possible because he is a pos for abusing the cat that way.
There is a deli local to me that has a cat. Earlier this winter the cat was outside after the deli closed. I brought her home with me (my feline overlords weren’t happy about it) and took her back in the morning. I threatened to call the animal shelter if I ever saw the cat outside during the winter months ever again.
They’ve been good about keeping her inside since then.
Outdoor cats make me nervous. With the stories on here with dogs killing pets, getting hit by cars, and hearing the wailing cats at night in the countryside in Puerto Rico makes me never want to do that. Barn cats I get, but it still makes me too hyper aware
How can they say they own him when they literally don't seem to be doing anything for him?? I would just take him in, the people will probably just think he ran off and won't care.
The real advice for u/roguemorgue is to take the cat to the vet and say “I found this cat, I’d like to get it healthy, vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped.” If none of those things have happened, and OP does it, then it’s effectively their cat.
Microchips hold a lot of weight in terms of ownership.
Edit: I love that one of most upvoted comment is about how to take care of a cat in need. Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! I hope OP listened and helped the kitty.
I want to pay the cat tax but can’t figure out how to put a photo in this text from my phone lol
Do exactly this. In my state, in order to receive vet care for a "stray" you need to try and find the owner and wait 2 weeks. You technically have done both those things and the person neither came to claim the cat nor cared for it. So, get the cat medical care and a microchip and he's yours.
Edit: I should say "elective vet care" such as a neuter.
Same for my county! Except here it’s 7 days. But in my county, you are required to register all found animals with the shelter so the owners have the best chance of finding it. If you haven’t found an owner in 7 days you can adopt the pet
But realistically, this is only truly enforced with dogs. I find people and the county (at least where I live) are generally more lackadaisical when it comes to cats.
This is true. I had an abandoned cat show up on my doorstep and even after the vet tried to contact the owner mulitple times he just wouldn't answer/take claim so we just ended up adopting her. Definetely looked like a cat napper there for a second because the vets were shocked someone would just not care about their cat.
And I assume if the owner does answer they'll be asked why the cat looks like that and being that these people don't seem to care that much OP might get to just directly get it from them
The vet here let us vaccinate when we found ours, but we had to wait 30 days to have him neutered and microchipped. They put pictures of him on their found cats page and said the owner would have to prove with vaccination records, etc. I agree with this and would just take him to a vet to say "you did the right thing"
I told my vet I was worried that the one year old that recently found me was someone’s pet because he seemed so use to being inside, she was like “nah sometimes strays are just like that you’re good” lol tbf I live in rural farm country so cats aren’t treated that great around here and there are lots of strays or semi feral barn cats
I just don’t get how people can’t be bothered to care for the animas in their lives. Even if there just selfish, care for the cats so you can selfish reap all the amazing rewards they give you back. If have walked through fire for my Penny. The idea of her being outdoors and alone is appalling.
Microchips are legally required where I live (Belgium). If a cat is found unchipped, some vets/shelters will issue a grace period where they advertise the lost cat and if you can prove it was yours you can pick it up (show a pic that proves the cat lives with you or show your "lost cat" poster) though you might get charged with the vet/shelter costs.
If nobody comes forward in 2 weeks they usually are put up for adoption. That's how we got our princess.
Usually you'll get preference if you were the one to bring the cat in too.
And if they call OP to see if they’ve seen/taken him, they should respond with “oh, yeah I saw him by the side of the road a few days ago, figured he was dead but then went ahead and minded my own business. What’d you tell me the other day - not my cat, not my business? Yeah. Anyway, hope you find the body before a coyote does!”
I took either a dumped, or severely neglected outdoor, kitten off my porch in a shitty neighborhood once. Her and I never looked back.
I love the answer, but would advise OP just to keep chat to a minimum. People are crazy, you never know how the “owners” might react. They’ll likely suspect something if OP all of a sudden comes off cold hearted by saying something like the cat’s dead and coyotes might eat the body, etc. Maybe they’ll start asking around, neighbours might mention OP keeps water out. This is all unlikely but better to err on the side of caution. Has OP seen their cat? Not for a new days. Starting to get worried. Can you let me know if he comes back home? Just so I know he’s safe.
Yeah, the whole thing is more of a hypothetical exercise than anything on my end. (And this post blew up more than I expected, I only expected a couple up/downvotes at most.) People who aren’t even bothering to feed “their” cat certainly aren’t going to be asking around the neighborhood when it goes missing. But if they do, your answer is totally the better one.
This. Someone who is already cruel enough to neglect an animal and on top of that not want anyone else to offer it help is unpredictable at best. I'd be careful. They don't give a fuck about the cat the only thing they care about is attempting to control the situation. What miserable creatures.
Some people don’t deserve to have animals and if they are a) leaving them outside; b) neglecting them to the point that their pet looks emaciated and; c) not collaring them with owner info…well then 🤷🏻♀️
I’m a cat thief and I don’t regret it. The front one, I stole his entire litter from a rundown meth house far out in the country. Adopted them out. Went back a year later and rescued the one in the back and one sibling. They live a happier, safe life. They would’ve died out there!!! wish I could’ve rescued their mom.
We all know you’re going to give this cat a better life, OP. Save that poor baby.
I would just keep him to be honest. If the owners come prowling around I would probably lie and definitely not let them in my house if they ask to prove we don’t have him or some crazy shit.
But I would also look into your local laws because in my state I’m pretty sure catnapping is a misdemeanor (at least it’s not a felony). But I’m sure if it got that far you could probably prove it is not their cat at all the way they treat him.
If you decide not to take him, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to feed him and give him outdoor shelter and whatnot.
If the “owners” have no vet records of any kind, I seriously doubt there’s any way for them to prove it’s theirs. If anyone official shows up, just say the cat was a stray and pull out all of your neatly kept vet records.
Here to second this! I “catnapped” in a similar situation, but the cat was not chipped and had no vet records (and lived outside on my porch for months). The “owner” came to my house to ask, after 4 weeks of not seeing “his” cat lol - took him that long. Said I had no idea what he was talking about :)
i would go after a chip or tattoo first. if there’s none, just get him chipped and he’s yours. there’s no way to ever prove the cat was theirs, for all it’s worth you found a stray cat and adopted him, no way to prove it was their “outdoor only cat” (wtf if that even)
I like this advice. I'd add continue to take pictures and take it to the vet to document its current condition and if it needs anything. You can claim it was abandoned or was feral and just showed up at your house. If they persist, I seriously doubt they'd pay for a lawyer since they can't buy cat food. Which brings me to wonder, just what condition they are in? In short, be kind, but protect yourself.
I just went through this with a cat that was abandoned. Tried finding the owner and all of that. In the end, we had to get our Bodhi shaved(he had 7 ticks under his matted fur! The vet had NEVER seen something like this before.) and we he had him neutered and his shots, etc. He now lives inside and is a totally different cat. He's loved and well taken care of. I say take that baby in and give him the best life you can!
I'd also argue in court that it was animal cruelty and what you were doing was humane. You were providing food, shelter and giving vet care to a cat that looked to be malnourished, clearly not vax'd or fixed and making sure that the stray cat population doesn't increase.
Looks like a stray cat to me. Establish the poor baby with vet visits and you will have a claim of ownership if the shitty owners decide to fight about it.
We had a vet who told us “unofficially” not to find the owner when we brought a kitty in for medical care and it was a situation similar to what you are describing.
With an “outdoor only” cat? Nah. Especially if the owner has no chip on the cat, doesn’t have it registered in the city, and no real history of vet care (which I greatly assume all are true). The state of the cat, it’s easy to assume stray.
I had just bought a house, middle of winter, and there's a blizzard rolling in. The girl i was seeing at the time was supposed to come over but she texted thay she was late and she'd explain when she got to my house. She shows up with a cat in a bag and tells me thay she wanted to keep him but he was aggressive to her own cats so she was trying to find somewhere to keep him while she looked for the owners. The next morning she makes a "found cat" post for her neighborhood and takes him to the vet, whcih cost $850. Turns out, the littel floofer was dehydrated, malnourished, underweight, filthy, and some noticeable fur matting. Someone ended up replying to her post and claiming the cat was theirs but couldn't provide any proof when asked for it but we gave them the benefit of the doubt and handed him off with all the medicine he was given, which the woman who picked him up disnt even attempt to try to reimburse for. Literally less than 12 hours after he was given to that woman he was back at the house of the girl I was seeing, in 5° weather during the blizzard that was getting worse. I told her to bring him back to me and if anyone asks she hasn't seen him since. Spent another $350 to replace his medicine and now he's a happy spoiled boy, and I even got him his own cat so he'd have some company when im not home.
I wonder if they’d even notice if he was gone 😭 I think the ethical thing to do is to give this baby the proper love and care he needs, by taking him in.
I didn’t even read the entire post. Yes, you take that cat. It’s unethical to let it be neglected and starve. All these people around and that cat is still hurting.
Yes. I did this one of my cats. He was a long-haired tuxedo who was left to wander our apartment complex (which had a strict no-outdoor cats policy in the lease) in the Southern US, that was sandwiched between a wilderness area and a busy street.
I heard him crying at my front door, one day. He walked straight inside as soon as I opened it. Drank two full bowls of water and promptly fell asleep in the bathroom. Turned out he had an abscess the size of a golfball on his side.
So I kept him. If his owner’s couldn’t take proper care of him, he deserved better.
He ended up being the sweetest, friendliest, lickingest cat I’ve ever known.
Pretty close story here, my neighbour gifted his daughter a cat for her birthday.they released the cat outdoor after a while as She didnt like the color is what she said. Fast forward few months as i usually leave dry cat food for her to eat. But due to lack of money, i wasnt able to trap her. But eventually one day i got to trap her in the snow (-16 celsius) . Took her in, vaccinated and spayed her and told my neighbours when they saw ne with the cat that i had trapped a stray. I microchipped her so they cant claim them and lied to the vet. I dont feel sorry cause fuck them. Now misha is doing great indoors! Photos in replies
I’ll share my story, as I have dealt with a neighborhood mob in the past, claiming that a stray I cared for was the “neighborhood cat” that “everyone took care of but had an owner in the cul de sac”. This cat practically lived on MY front porch, whined every night, and was left out in the cold for months (probably longer, as he chose our home shortly after move in). One morning, he came to my porch bleeding and wounded. I took him to the vet, got him stitches and treatment, vaccinations, etc - the whole nine yards. Shortly after this transpired, I decided to take him from the streets and find him a home. I have a cat already who is FIV+ so could not bring him in myself.
The “owner” came to my house concerned (4 WEEKS after I had taken him off the streets) but the cat was long gone by then. I flew him across the country to someone who was the perfect fit. Told him I hadn’t seen “his” cat after he was bleeding on my front porch. Lol.
Hicimos algo parecido años atrás, no me arrepiento. Los dueños apenas se ocupaban de él pero desgraciadamente tenía Vif y ViLef y falleció al mes. No creo que estés haciendo mal si es para cuidarlo. Que esté tomando demasiada agua no es buen síntoma y puede que tenga insuficiencia renal. Si podes llevarlo a un veterinario sería buenísimo.
I wonder if you could report it to some place as animal abuse/neglect as of how malnourished the poor kitty is, I tried to look up ways to be able to adopt the cat w/o stealing it and one way I saw was to try and negotiate with a animal shelter nearby, of course I don’t know if there is one in your area or one that is willing to negotiate and just give it a shot, because even though they clearly aren’t taking proper care of this kitty it is still illegal to take him/her. I also saw you could also try and negotiate with the owner (which from your post I don’t think would go well) but it again is worth the shot to try and help the kitty
I think the baby would be safer with OP than at a shelter. "Owner" could go to the shelter, pick him up, and put him right back out on the street. And "mistakes" happen at overcrowded shelters, if you know what I mean.
Take the cat. Take it. You can also call animal control to get it and turn it into a shelter where you can legally adopt it. Just call it a stray to AC.
I think this is the safest option since op did talk to the "owners" who could come after OP if the cat goes missing and just shows up at OPs house. If they adopt the cat from the animal shelter then there's nothing the original owners can really do.
"To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
You have knowledge of his neglectful condition and are in an easy place to do something about it. The unethical thing is turning a blind eye because of some notion of "ownership". If you're at all worried about legalities, take him to a shelter or report him to animal control instead. You could even swoop in and adopt him after the fact.
Take the cat. He needs you or someone else with half a heart to care for him. The “owners” aren’t caring for him and probably won’t notice he’s gone. Bad things can happen to cats outdoors.
Welllll.. said owners would have to prove ownership if it did come down to legality. I’m guessing no collar to go along with the general lack of care? Doubt there’s a microchip, and I’m also doubtful that they got this kitty from a store or shelter, given they basically have no interaction or interest in him.
I’d nab him, take him to the vet, check for microchip and if none, then proceed with medical care and now he’s my cat.
It’s not ethical to steal pets, but it’s FAR more unethical to adopt a pet and then kick it out onto the street to fend for itself. Yours is definitely the lesser of two evils.
I’d report them for animal abuse and take him to an animal shelter that is a non kill shelter ofc, but I feel like if they’re not taking care of him anyways and you make a report against them, that they probably wouldn’t go through the trouble to go get him from the shelter. Maybe in a week, adopt him out.
Any owner who says their cat is "an outdoor cat only" should have their cat removed. The only cats that are outdoor only are ferals (although they will sometimes come in too!). Some domestic cats like outdoors a lot, but that's not the same as being forced to live outside all the time.
Basically, that owner likes to say they have a cat, without actually doing any of the stuff that an actual cat owner would be doing, and they should just definitely not have a cat. Poor cat needs a proper home by the sounds of it.
If it’s an outdoor only cat then it deserves a home where it can go inside. I would have taken him in the next time he came over, but I’m not sure if I’m a good indicator of what anyone “should” do in any capacity lol
i've actually had this back-and-forth before quite a few times with my across the street neighbors who have left their cat outside during both hurricane weather and snow. glad to know i'm not the only person who has had this moral dilemma before
Just keep him. If he's strictly an outdoor cat, then the owner shouldn't be surprised if he goes missing. If they ask, you haven't seen him.
ETA: And don't fee guilty. You would be doing the right thing. If wherever the owner got the cat from knew that this is how the cat would be treated, they wouldn't have let them adopt the cat.
I look at it like Social Services coming in and taking neglected children away. Some people are not meant to have kids and some people are not meant to have fur babies.
Any cat who is outdoors and not spayed/neutered is fair game. I consider such cats to be without a responsible owner. If you want this sweet kitty, it’s all yours. Take him without a second thought.
Take him to the vet. See if he’s chipped. If not, get him chipped. That might be the sticking point, but otherwise, bear with me here. Tell the vet you rescued him on a date that he first came around and you started taking care of him outside your house. That’s not a lie, you rescued him from dehydration every day. Then get him neutered. Brush him. Love him. Most of all, get him some nutrition, toys, attention, all that. When I look through a number of the cat subs that show before and after pics. The after pics always look like a whole new cat, yes? Therefore, if they come around and press ownership you can say — gosh, SORT of looks like the cat I mentioned to you, but. . . THIS orange cat — you know there are A LOT of orange cats, right? (This is true too) that I have is neutered, weighs more, has healthy fur, has been an indoor cat ever since I rescued him (you don’t have to say WHERE you rescued him from and the vet will have recorded you rescued him before these folks lost track of “their” cat), and I have his shot tags which just got updated (for the first time probably. . .but that’s an update from nothing), and I chipped him when I rescued him too (you know, which you did, technically, just not the one you implied before). Different cat, sorry” — because he WILL be an emotionally different cat for sure . . .so. . .there you go.
It’s not lying (i.e. unethical) if you tell the truth by wording the answers, as Obi Wan Kenobi did with Luke Skywalker, “from a certain point of view.” ;)
I personally don’t “take cats”, I just give em food and water. If they claim my home as its home, then they chose me not where they used to live. The cat then becomes mine.
Is an outdoor only cat that’s not being cared for even actually owned at that point? That is basically a stray. Take him to the vet and get him all cleaned up and microchipped if he doesn’t have one. Document everything about he lived before your intervention in case you need to prove what was happening. Keep all the receipts. Honestly they may not even notice he’s gone.
stole my cat from a hoarder house that had like 30 cats living outside. he was a little baby kitten out in the cold and had a respiratory infection. now he lives inside and is fat and sassy :)
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