# To the ferret felcher who stole my cats\*! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 1, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106 "2004-02-01T23:42:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![altiod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@altiod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/altiod)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/1 "2004-02-01T23:42:27Z")
You ungrateful, vindictive, leech! Why did I ever do something nice for you!? I had to move last year, and I was unable to find a place that would allow my two cats. So, I decided to sublet my old dirt-cheap apartment at a cheaper rate than I pay in exchange for cat sitting. A friend of friend knew someone that needed a place and had an accompanying sob story. I talked with the guy’s father (the kid is in college) and he told me that his son would care for the cats and then proceeded to bargain me down to half of the rent that I pay for the place. Fine, I was happy that he had a reference and that I could help him out temporarily. Then, he pays me late EVERY MONTH for nearly a year. He doesn’t let the maintenance guys in the apartment. He trashes the place. Some way to say thanks, huh. Finally, I decide enough is enough and that he has to go. I find someone I know to move in. Once again, to be nice I give him sixty days notice (I only owe him thirty) and offer to help him move. I walk into my apartment today and the cats were gone. No note, no phone call, just gone. I left messages with the kid, the father and everyone else they know. I call repeatedly, and finally get the father on the phone. He says that nobody was there to take care of the cats so he took them to “a” shelter. YOUR SON WAS TAKING CARE OF THE CATS AS OF YESTERDAY and I came into the place with a new tenant/cat-sitter today. If the cats were not cared for it was your son not caring for them. This is utter bull shit, these people are angry that I kicked him out and they take it out on my cats. I called every shelter in the city and I found them, 30 miles away. Now, I have to get a friend to drive me out there. (I found somebody, and got many offers to do bodily harm to this kid.\*\*) AAARRRGGGH! Thank og I found them! Now, I have to pay for the shots (that they already had) boarding, etc. Hopefully, the police will arrest this kid and I am seeking legal advice. (Here and elsewhere) May this kid never need a favor from anyone I know, ever. \*cat felcher was too close to home for a title \*\*I have the cats back, so no need for leg breaking… not that it is a good idea anyway ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/2 "2004-02-01T23:57:47Z")
Thank goodness you found them! When I worked in the animal shelter we had a similar situation occur, but not as happy as an ending, the dogs owner did not find out where the dog sitter had taken the animal until it was too late, he had been put down. Very sad all around, the sitter lied and said it was her dog when she brought him in. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/3 "2004-02-02T00:13:55Z")
What a despicable excuse for a human being. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/4 "2004-02-02T01:22:28Z")
Uggghhhhh! I hope that when the local stray cats find this asswipe, they put him in an anonymous dumpster somewhere! Seriously, what a fuckwit. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/5 "2004-02-02T01:27:42Z")
Hope this kid winds up living in Ulthar. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/6 "2004-02-02T06:45:26Z")
Holy SHIT!!! Lock him a room with those killer cats you see in horror movies. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/7 "2004-02-02T15:31:32Z")
Talk to the shelter and find out how the animal was surrendered. If it was brought in as a stray, they should’ve been asked if they knew who the owner was; if they didn’t tell the shelter who the owner was, they may have committed fraud. If they claimed THEY were the owner bringing the animal in, then they may have committed fraud. If they told the shelter who the owner was, and the shelter didn’t contact you, the shelter may be negligent. Your options may be limited in that case, however. If they lied to the shelter and signed their names to the lie (i.e., if they had to fill out and sign a form when bringing the animal in), see if you can get a copy of that form; if the shelter is run as a government or quasigovernment body, the Freedom of Information Act probably entitles you to a copy of the form. (It does at our shelter). Were I you, I’d call the police and tell them what happened; if necessary, call county commissioners, city council, etc. and be a squeaky wheel. At the very least, you should be able to demand that the father pay all your fees associated with recovering the cats from the shelter. Obviously, IANAL; I do work for a shelter, however, and I can tell you that we despise people who lie to us about the circumstances of an animal they’re bringing in. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/8 "2004-02-02T21:08:46Z")
Forget police and government officials. In the grand scheme of things, some putz misappropriating a couple of cats isn’t a big deal and isn’t likely to be pursued as a crime. Instead, once you know the details from the shelter, get all your paperwork in order from the very beginning of this misbegotten adventure. Then march yourself down to the courthouse and file a small claims case against the son (and father, if you have on-paper proof that he was involved in any way with the shelter escapade) for failure to properly care for the cats for as many days as you were allowing him to live in your apartment and the cats werent’ there, for any and all fees you incurred due to his late payment of rent and for all legitimate expenses (including mileage for your driver at the current tax rate and monies lost for time off of work) incurred when getting the cats from the shelter. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/9 "2004-02-02T21:36:25Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > Forget police and government officials. In the grand scheme of things, some putz misappropriating a couple of cats isn’t a big deal and isn’t likely to be pursued as a crime. The point of contacting police and commissioners is to establish a paper trail: if you can get a police report, it’ll really help put pressure on the cat-stealer, even if the cops don’t haul him off to jail. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![DaPearl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DaPearl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaPearl)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/10 "2004-02-03T04:47:27Z")
> [@altiod](#): > > \*\*I have the cats back, so no need for leg breaking… not that it is a good idea anyway I’m not an angry or violent person, but as a cat lover this thought would be constantly streaming through my head if someone pulled this shit on me and my cats. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/11 "2004-02-03T21:41:56Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > The point of contacting police and commissioners is to establish a paper trail: if you can get a police report, it’ll really help put pressure on the cat-stealer, even if the cops don’t haul him off to jail. > > Daniel Yes, definitely file a police report. If you end up doing a lawsuit or anything like that, it will help your case to show that it bothered you enough to contact the police. (IANAL, but you probably knew that 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![altiod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@altiod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/altiod)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/12 "2004-02-04T00:38:48Z")
Thanks everybody, I am picking up the kitties tomorrow. The shelter is going to give me all the paperwork the kid signed. Yes, he did claim that the cats were his on the forms. Unfortunately, he claimed that the “last owner” abused them. So, I had to go to the SPCA and get the adoption papers to prove that they belong to me. This is an awful lot of trouble just to “abuse” some cats, huh. Once I get the papers, I will file a police report. The good news is that it happened in the same district where I know a few cops. I think the chances that he gets arrested are pretty good. 🙂 (First smiley I’ve ever used!) I will be very happy to see them tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/13 "2016-10-21T20:26:01Z")
I know it’s a long shot, since **altiod** last logged in in 2007, but in case they’re still subscribed to this thread, can we have an update? I’d love to know whether the kid or his father ever got arrested or sued. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/14 "2016-10-21T20:36:54Z")
altiod won’t be back. His cats ate him. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/15 "2016-10-22T03:35:17Z")
FTR, what sort of pussy cats do you have? Housecats are larger than ferrets and will eat them alive. Were your cats awake? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-ferret-felcher-who-stole-my-cats/227106/16 "2016-10-22T03:55:25Z")
Years ago, we took our neighbors cat to a rescue after they moved out without and left them there without food, water, or anything else. (We had no idea if they were coming back or not). Like a WEEK after we did this, they came back looking for them, and after calling around for them, we could hear them saying, “oh well, guess they ran off”. :rolleyes: Obviously the OP was different.