Advice Sought: My Cat and My Crazy Cat Lady Quandary.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I live in a little street that has its fair assortment of strange people. One of them is the Crazy Cat Lady (NOT our own SDMB one I hasten to add!!)

CCL is about 45 (I think) but dresses and behaves like a much older person. She’s very much your stereotypical eccentric cat nutter…lives in a run-down house with a pile of cats. Now that is nothing to get too upset about, except one of them is MY cat!!

Back story: We were lumbered with a little stray about a year or so ago: a mangy, skinny, black and white bag of bones, fleas and worms. We called him ‘Muck’ because of his crusty, weeping eyes.

Anyway, after a couple of weeks of TLC, Muck started to put on a bit of weight and turned into a sweet (if somewhat aggro) little kitten. Playful and cheeky, he became the house-cat, and to my delight he was a non-miaower…a most agreeable animal.

When he was around 5 months old, Muck went missing. I had not had a chance to get him neutered, so I figured he was out on the prowl for a sheila, and would return when he’d ‘had his hoggin’s’ (so to speak) whereapon, I would immediately deliver him to the vet to get his nuts removed.

Muck didn’t come home. Turned out Muck had been abducted by the CCL who, instead of coming to tell me that she had our cat, decided to keep silent about it until one day the kids saw him in the window of her house!! Her excuse was that he was wandering in the wee hours and that I was an irresponsible cat-owner for allowing such behaviour. Actually, I get up most mornings at around 5.00 am and had let the cat out at that particular time. I was furious, but decided to let it slide mainly because I’m of the opinion that cats live where they want to live. If Muck wanted to come home, he would (if she ever let him out that is).

And of course he did come home (it’s only six houses away, so he didn’t need to be a feline Einstein to figure out the directions). And he comes ‘home’ every morning at about 5.00 am and hangs-out here for the whole day, then goes back to CCL’s house to get fed and sleep. It’s great!! I get to enjoy Muck (who she has renamed Patch :rolleyes: ) without any of the responsibilities of cat-parent-hood. She had him neutered AND registered, and in my opinion, I get the best of everything.

Except now I noticed that her house is up for sale. So that means that CCL is moving (if she can find someone who can tolerate the smell that must permeate her house from all the cats that live there…even the part-time ones). And THAT means that she probably intends to take Muck/Patch with her. And I’m NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT.

What I need some opinions about is whether I would be justified in re-abducting Muck when the time comes for her to move. He is here all of his waking hours, and I sort-of like having him around. As far as cats go, he’s an acceptable one! (you may have picked that I’m not really a cat-person, but there are some cats that I tolerate better than others…Muck is one of them).

So, the basic points are:
Muck was our cat.
She stole him.
She feeds/provides vet care for him.
He ‘lives’ here (at least all of his waking hours).
She’s moving.
I don’t want him to move too.
Do you think it’s OK for me to ‘keep’ him contained until she has gone, thus re-establishing my ‘ownership’ and hopefully a long-life of cat-hair adhering to my clothes.

Looking forward to your responses (provided I’m in the right forum of course…couldn’t decide whether it should be MPSIMS or GQ or perhaps even the Pit). The dart landed here.

2

Well, by allowing her to continue providing food, shelter, and vet care for him, you’ve pretty much tacitly agreed that she’s his new owner. If you didn’t want her to keep him, you should have clarified all this when you first found out she had him.

You can try to keep him with you, but don’t be surprised if she comes around demanding her cat back. If she does, I’m afraid you won’t have a legal leg to stand on; all his vet records are in her name, as well as his registry (I’m guessing you mean a license or ID microchip?), and he eats and sleeps at her house. She may not pursue it that far, but you never know.

3

I would just like to add: AHAHAHA.

4

I gotta go with CCL on this one. Uh, our CCL, not your CCL. I mean, she’s your CCL, too, but…hell, you get it. Don’t you?

Anyway, you really don’t have much of a leg up in this situation. She paid the vet bills and had his registration done, so by all definition she “owns” Mutch. Do you think if you asked her she would “give” him to you? Moving all of those cats can’t be an easy/pleasant task, and maybe she’d be glad to be rid of one.

Probably not, but maybe.

Good luck!

5

I guess something to consider is that cats get used to a neighbourhood, and may not take kindly to being moved- they may try to find their way back to their old neighbourhood.

This may be an argument in your favour with your neighbour.

6

I think your only chance to keep the cat is to throw yourself on her mercy., tell yourself you have seen the error of your ways. promise to keep Patch in the house at all times (and use her name, not hers) and offer to pay the vet bills. Tell her that you are waking up in the middle of the night heatstricken thinking of not being able to pet Patch. Tell her that you just can’t stand the idea of never seeing your good buddy Patch again, and surely she can understand what is going on in your heart. Tell her you were never a cate person before and just didn’t get it about cats, but Patch has changed all that and that you’ll never forgive yourself if your own foolishness means you never get to see him again.

7

I agree with the other folks here, I think Patch ceased to be your cat once she paid all the vet bills. I would offer to pay her back…I think Patch would be better off with someone who only has 1 cat anyhoo.
I’m a little confused as to her justification for cat-napping him though, if she lets him outside as well.

8

Good advice, Manda Jo.

I’ll add how it is quite possible that your city may have laws about possessing large quantities of animals without a breeder’s license. You may want to politely point out to her that you’d like to take back your pet (reimbursing her expenses, of course) so as to make it easier for her to avoid difficulties with your local authorities or those she may encounter at her new location.

PS: “Had his hoggin’s,” what a hoot! Another fine Strine slango for Zenster to use.

9

I actually disagree with other folks. Sure, it’d be decent on your part to offer to pay vet bills (require, of course, that she show you receipts), but people with a hoard of cats are, in my professional experience, often very scary. Animal shelters often have to take in dozens and dozens of cats from people that start off collecting them out of a self-righteous sense that they’re helping the cats, but quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals they end up with. Your cat is in a dangerous position if it moves with her: it may end up kept in a tiny cage all its life, using a litterbox that never (and I mean never) gets cleaned, starving to death, and so on.

I’d recommend getting your cat back from her and providing it proper care yourself. She may not turn into a pathological collector, but I don’t think it’s worth the risk.

Daniel