"AITA for stealing a cat?"
It’s a rainy night, it’s been raining for a few days now, I was taking my dog for a walk and i heard nonstop meowing. I approached to make sure the cat wasn’t hurt, he wasn’t which was a relief. I give him some love and attention he is a very sweet cat without a leash, I walk away and he stays following me.
Little dude follows me all the way home, I took him in because he’s a tuxedo cat and it’s late and raining, i don’t want him to get sick or worse get ran over. I post in my neighborhood community a little “is he anyone’s?” shout out with a couple pictures attached.
I already have two other cats and I don’t know what this cat has on don’t have on him so i keep him in my bathroom with a litter box some food(he was really hungry he finished the bowl) and some water with a blanket for sleep.
Morning comes I start getting a few replies from the post, one says “good luck finding him a rescue none of them are taking cats rn” another says “me and my husband have been wanting a cat for a while, if you don’t find his owner we will gadly take him” and the other one says “me and my husband go for walks and sometimes different cats will follow us around and eventually go home.
We suspect he is from this address from the neighbor community that leaves their garage open so their cats can come and go. I would try reaching out to them.” (This is not exactly how those comments were worded i summarized them so it could all fit on the post). So here’s how I'm torn in which decision to make.
I don’t want to return him to that house because where we live there’s A LOT of deadly diseases for cats from ticks and all, most places will not let you adopt if you plan on keeping the cat “indoor/outdoor," it’s been storming for days and they still let their cats out and about, little guy was a hill and a block away from home meowing like crazy.
I don’t believe that’s a good environment for any cat to be in, it is bad “parenting." I want to contact the nice couple who have been wanting a cat and lie saying I didn’t find their owner so that they can have him because I know he would be taken care of. AITA for not trying to contact the possible original owners?
Here's what people had to say to OP:
ComputerCrafty4781 said:
NTA. You posted that you found a cat, including pictures. No owners came forward or even made any effort to find the cat. (If they even noticed it was missing.) No missing signs? No social media pleas? No knocking door to door? Therefore, no owner was found. Rehome with your best judgement.
Keith-Steve-Howard said:
NTA. Why is everyone assuming the home in question is the home of the cat? They said they suspect it belongs to a neighbor because they have other cats. That doesn't mean it's their cat, this is just a guess based on what another neighbor posted online. This cat is just as likely to be a stray.
genderantagonist said:
NTA. cats should never be outdoors, both for their health + safety and the environment, as they are the leading killer of native birds in horrific numbers. imo you lose the rights to any pet you abuse, and outdoors cats are absolutely animal abuse/neglect.
idk1089 said:
YTA, legally you can’t just take a cat without a reasonable search first, as that is stealing “property”. Take the cat to the vet and have him scanned for a microchip. If there’s no microchip then there’s nothing tying him to anyone, if there is one then you specifically know where he came from and you can contact the owners.
If he’s not microchipped and you make other efforts to look for his owners (which would include contacting that house to see) and you still don’t find owners, then you can rehome him.
thereisonlyoneme said:
YTA. Our cats are indoor only. Like you, I feel strongly that cats should not live outdoors. That said, we all have our opinions and I am sure there are people who disagree with how I care for my pets. Should they have the right to take my pets from me?
Street-Length9871 said:
YTA - not your cat, and not your call. Your opinion on this is valid, but so are the opinion's of people who believe cats should be allowed outside. There are ways to protect cats from ticks and fleas, just because the cat ate a bowl of food does not mean the cat is starved, and most importantly again, it is not your cat.
You have it locked in a bathroom, so sure it is happier that way, or would be happier in a kill shelter. Contact the potential owner. You are not the keeper of how they feel about their cat.