'This is the third time I lost a pet': Irresponsible Pet Owner Demands Their Cat’s Rescuer to Fly the Cat Back to Them Because They Cannot Afford It, They Refuse, Plan to Adopt the Cat Instead

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Sep 10, 2024 9:00 AM EDT

Being a pet owner is not always easy financially. We want as many people as possible to adopt, but this is something that they need to know before they do. Forget the emergency vet expenses for your cat's hyper-expensive poops that you have to pay sometimes. You also have to buy your cats fancy trees that they might not use, and you have to buy your cats fancy toys, only for them to choose some random hair band to play with, and you have to buy them expensive food that they will sniff and then sneer at. 

Expenses like that are part of the deal. And if you somehow have the misfortune of losing your cat, and then your cat suddenly appears at someone's house a state away, it is indeed your responsibility to fly out and take your cat back. If you want it back. Which, we're not sure the person in this thread actually did. What do you think?

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  • 01
    r/AmltheA • 6 days ago Brief-Lingonberry359 AITA For not returning a pet to their owner who lives 1000+ miles away?
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359

    The first moment that we read this, we thought that it was pretty obvious that you shouldn't have to fly out to return someone's pet to them. And then… no, there are some situations where that would be warranted. Like if you stole the pet, or if the pet was lent to you for some reason. But not here, not in this story.

  • 02
    I went to a friend's for dinner and found a friendly cat outside his apartment. I decided that if the cat was still there after dinner, I would take him home for a bit - since I wanted to see what having a cat would be like.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359

    Here, the situation is pretty cut and dry, we have to say. it's sad that this person cannot afford the money for the plane tickets to get their cat back, that's true, but there are too many red flags about them to count. So… maybe they shouldn't have the cat back. Just sayin'. 

  • 03
    After 2 hours, he was still there. I noticed he was neutered so I look him to urgent care to see if he had a microchip.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 04
    The cat is a 6 month old male American shorthair They found a microchip, called the owners and left them my contact info via voicemail. They noticed the owner's address was in Virginia. I am in Arkansas (1000+ miles away) That night, I bought some cat stuff and let him stay at my place.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 05
    The next morning, the owner called me and told me: • Cat was stolen 2 months ago, along with all the cat stuff she had for him • She lives in Virginia • "The crazy thing is, this is the third time I lost a pet". (the cat was the 3rd pet that got stolen from her) • "I don't care how long it takes, I just want my cat back"
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 06
    I told her I'd figure smth out, this is what our conversation was word for word: Me: "How do you wanna get the cat back" Her: "I have no idea ur a 4 hr flight away" Me: "If you fly over to <airport>, I can meet you at the airport and hand him over. I don't think I should be the one to fly over"
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 07
    Her: "I don't have any money to fly anywhere. My cat was stolen n takin over state away I don't know how imma b able to do that" Me: "I'm willing to foster it until you have the funds to fly over" Her: "I guess I'm just never going to get my cat back it's whatever"
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 08
    - 2 days later Me: "I'm going to take care of him until Sept 14 If you still cannot afford to fly over, I'm going to leave him at a shelter and will send you their contact"
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 09
    (EDIT: There's great shelters around my area that would be much better for the cat than my apartment. My idea was to hold on to him to give the owner time to make a decision. If she doesn't want him back, then I'll keep him.)
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 10
    Her: "At this point it's whatever yall can have him | don't have the money to just get on the plane And it don't look like nobody's going to give me my cat back So imma just let the police handle" — end of convo --
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 11
    TLDR: I am taking care of a lost cat, but the owner cannot afford to fly over. I don't think I should be going out of my way to return the cat. Her story seems suspicious to me.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 12
    EDIT: I admit that it's dumb for me to bring a cat home “just because”. I've always wanted to have a cat/dog so I just yoinked him without much thought, gonna figure things out as I go. But I obviously didn't want to steal a cat that has an owner so I went to urgent care to check or a microchip.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 13
    The cat was following me around and wouldn't leave me alone, and my friend who lives in the building has never seen the cat before Unfortunately I dont have the full interaction recorded. https://imgur.com/a/02eyLqC He even tried to go inside my friend's apartment with me. When I came out 2 hours later, he was still sitting at the door, so I figured he wanted to go with me.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10400677632
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 15
    Cheezburger Image 10400677888
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 16
    Why I thought he was a stray/abandoned/sick • no collar: if he was an outdoor cat, wouldn't the owner put a collar on him or smth? • untrimmed claws: if he was an indoor cat, wouldn't the claws be trimmed? ⚫ too friendly: I have never met a cat that walks up to ppl and let them touch their belly and paws. So I thought he was sick. Turns out that's just how he is. I asked my friend to keep a look out for lost pet posters in case the cat has a second owner.
    via u/Brief-Lingonberry359
  • 17
    DEEP Deep ValleyDrive • 6d ago VALLEY DRIVE Partassipant [1] NTA - You are not obligated to cover travel to return a cat. If this person wants their cat back, they have to come get it or arrange for its transportation. You've done all that's required of you and for some people the cost of doing something like that isn't worth getting their cat back. Clearly, they are telling you that you can just keep the cat if they're not getting it back (or take it to a shelter), but if they do call the polic
    via u/DeepValleyDrive
  • 18
    Lithogiraffe • 6d ago Enthusiast [5] NTA and all but man, i really wish i knew the story about this lady and why her cats keep getting stolen and at least the one cat ended up 1000+ miles away. thats so weird 774 Reply ...
    via u/Lithogiraffe
  • 19
    Alarming-Iron8366 • 6d ago What sane person would pick up, what appears to be, a stray cat just to see "what having a cat would be like"? There's something very screwy about this story. A 6 month old cat is still a kitten and American Shorthairs can cost from $800 to $1500 or more, depending on the breeder. And now, you're planning to leave him at a shelter? I'm going to go against the majority of posts on here and say YTA! If one single thing about this post is actually true, please do take tha
    via u/Alarming-Iron8366

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