Cat Owner Receives A Demand From Cat’s “Original Owners” To Pay Out “Moral Damage”, Suspects A Scam

Did you know that in ancient Egypt, people worshipped cats so much that they even paid their last respects by making mummies and placing them in special small pyramids? Back then, thousands of years ago, losing or even throwing a cat out of the house was unheard of. Today, alas, things are quite different…

For example, the user u/Pettheftthrow once found a cat while out for a walk – hungry, thin, and injured. A compassionate person picked the animal up, nursed it back to health, and essentially let it live its best life – but, as it turned out years later, this was only the beginning of the whole cat saga…

More info: Reddit

When you find an abandoned cat somewhere in the street, sometimes it can turn into a real cat scam saga – and here’s the proof

Image credits: lookstudio / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The author of the post found a young abandoned cat one day and spent lots of time, effort, and money to cure it

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The author found no reports about a lost cat in the shelters, and the pet wasn’t chipped

Image credits: sarah b / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

So the author took the cat home, and they gradually became best friends with the animal

Image credits: user19739995 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

However, one day, three years later, the author got a message from someone claiming he was the cat’s original owner

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The man attached a pic of a similar kitten, and wrote that his little daughter was very distressed about the loss

Image credits: namii9 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The author refused to give the cat back, so the man demanded some money for “emotional damages”

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The man sent message after message, and even started threatening the author over this, demanding money from them

Image credits: pettheftthrow

So the author just ended up reporting this to the police and asking netizens for advice on whether it was the proper decision

So, the original poster (OP) says they once found a lost cat. Young, skinny, ragged, and apparently injured in a fight with other cats. The author picked up the kitty, spent a considerable amount of time and money on its treatment (it later turned out the cat also had a broken paw), and then kept it.

No, the author first did everything necessary to find the cat’s previous owners. The animal wasn’t microchipped, and there were no missing cat reports at local county shelters. So the original poster, with a clear conscience, kept the cat – especially since they had clearly become friends over this time.

And then, three years later, the story took a completely unexpected turn when the original poster received a message from someone claiming to be the cat’s original owner. According to the letter, the person’s young daughter was particularly distressed by the loss of the cat, so he demanded that the cat be returned.

The author quite reasonably noted that even a photograph of a kitten with similar markings isn’t sufficient proof that it’s the same cat, and that the animal had lived with them for much longer: three years versus six months. So the OP flatly refused to return the cat and asked netizens for advice on the matter.

Image credits: Erik Mclean / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Experts almost unanimously agree that the mere fact that a cat was abandoned, with no chip and no reports, almost certainly means the animal was neglected. For example, this dedicated article on the Animal League website asserts that even the most sincere regrets and desire to return an animal after abandoning it don’t give the right to a return.

“Regrets do not equal rights. If litigated, courts will consider the evidence to determine whether an animal was given away, abandoned, or boarded,” the article states. So the original poster did everything correctly and, by and large, could’ve sued the cat’s former owners in response. For example, this dedicated post on Cats.org.uk strongly recommends this.

People in the comments also fully sided with the original poster, asserting that if the cat was abandoned, the previous owners have definitely lost all rights to the pet. Moreover, according to the responders, the presence of vet bills in the author’s name also speaks in their favor. However, something is definitely wrong with the letter itself, as someone else added as well.

By the way, in an update to the original post, the author explained that this was probably indeed a scam attempt – after all, in subsequent letters, the “previous owners” no longer demanded the cat back, but asked for a couple of hundred dollars for “emotional damages.” So, the OP was completely justified in reporting this to the police. Do you think, our dear readers, they did the right thing?

Most commenters supported the author, claiming that after a pet is abandoned, the previous owners in fact lose their rights to the pet, but this perhaps was just a scam attempt

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