Neighbor holds lost cat "for ransom", demanding to get rewarded for finding her, then throws the scared feline back outside when the owner can't immediately pay: 'I need her back. She's my baby!'

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jan 21, 2025 9:00 AM EST

Rescuing a cat is an amazing thing. It's selfless. It means putting yourself aside and helping an animal who will never be able to return in the favor in quite the same way. And it's just as amazing - if not more so - to return the lost cat that you rescued to its owners if that's the situation you found yourself in. Sure, it's a little heartbreaking to think that the kitty you were chosen by is not yours for good, but giving it back - putting that owner's heart back together after it got broken when the cat escaped - it's an amazing, praiseworthy thing. 

That's not the case here. Here, after doing the amazing thing of rescuing the lost cat, this person, instead of returning it - instead of doing what was right, demanded money. They demanded a "reward" for finding the lost cat. The owner didn't refuse to pay it, they simply couldn't provide the money right then and there, but again, instead of sympathy and doing the right thing, the neighbor who found the cat simply… threw it back outside. It's a miracle that the kitty found its way back to its owner after all. 

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  • 01

    "Someone held my lost cat for a 'ransom,'… and then released her back outside."

    iMessage Today 2:46 PM Hey i think i have your pet. Im currently omw home so will respond back in a bit. omg! ok, tysm! 3 Yes! i think that's her! is she pretty small? jackie is a smaller cat but she has a prominent little belly, and a very high pitched meow, it's very girly
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  • 02
    Yes! that's definitely her omg! i was soso worried We can meet somewhere open or i bring the pet to you, let me know where is okay with you and when so i can drive there we can meet! i can also go to you, whatever is easier Im on I can drive to you Let me go borrow my neighbors carrier Also is there a reward or something btw cause i had to spend my money on food and toys how much did you spend? I spent about $85 on friskies, wet food, toys and a feeding bowl which ill bring along
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  • 03
    i can't send that much right now, but i can reimburse what you spent + some extra once i get paid on thursday? Got the carrier Imk where im headed i'll be outside! F
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 04
    Awesome the video is of her & my cat haru together last week And my refund? I need an assurance you are actually going to pay me back once i hand over your pet back to you, because you could easily not pay me back and theres nothing i can do or anyone can do because you have proof and can confirm the pet is yours and you didnt ask me to take the animal in or spend my money on it. because Thursday could come and you ghost me like i said, i would have to spend it thursday. i can't do anything now,
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 05
    you have to understand that she's my cat & this was a totally unexpected expense i have every intention of paying you back, but i seriously cannot do it today; i still need her back. she hasn't been away from me since she was adopted. i've been worried sick No way we can do part now and the rest when you are able that way if you end up not refunding me I don't loose all i didn't ask you to spend money on her. i appreciate that you've kept her safe, but you can't hold that against me. again, this
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 06
    you acknowledged she's my cat, she's a road over, and she's been gone a little over a day. if you don't trust me, that's fine. but she's my cat, and if you refuse to give her back you are stealing her. i need her back. shes my baby & she has kitty sisters back home that she loves. Can't we do this when you get paid? no. she's my cat. i need her back. you did a good deed but this is not a good or nice thing to do. it's not good to hold money you spend against me. and it's not fair either. not to
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 07
    + Yesterday 5:04 PM i spoke to the police. they gave me a case number & advised you to call in & give your information as well, so that there is a record of this incident; i literally cannot ghost you with that. but you need to get my cat back, and then i have every right to pay you thursday. Read Yesterday i also want to see any receipts. i will reimburse for the stuff you bought her 1/12 or 1/13. i'm not paying for anything else. ↑
    via Conscious_Document_2

  • This… is one of the most appalling things that we have ever seen, and we have seen a whole lot. Somehow, this person has turned doing something so good and pure into something absolutely evil. Releasing the cat back outside instead of just giving it back… how could doing that even cross this person's mind?

  • 08
    Early Sunday morning my cat, Jackie, escaped the house. She's a tiny white cat, and it was the first time it had snowed in my area in 1000 days- of course. The day after she went missing, I received a text saying that they had found her.. I was so excited, until the refused to give my her back because I didn't have money to "reimburse," them immediately;
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 09
    AFTER liking my message where I clarified when I could pay, & driving to my house. I ended up contacting the police (non emergency) because I was so upset, and they told me to send them the case number & urge them to call & give their information just so that there would be a record of the incident.. guess that scared them, or maybe they realized I wasn't going to pay, but they ignored me and the next morning when I walked my dog, my cat was back outside...
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 10
    they released her back outside, my tiny, fully white kitty, instead of just... giving her back!!! my cat was spooked and ran off, so my anxiety only spiked. I ended up leaving my front door open and locking up all of my other pets. Eventually I came downstairs to find the little one curled up on her favorite kitchen chair. I genuinely never expected that
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 11
    to happen, out of all the bad possibilities | had imagined up. I was so terrified when she got out. I had a cat pass away in September & I've genuinely never been more devastated; to add, she was a stray that wondered into my late uncle's house after he passed away- she's even named after him. I'm still so angry lol. I guess it could've been worse but man.
    via Conscious_Document_2

  • We are so thankful for this update. We read through the whole text exchange without being able to rest easy for a second. For a moment, we thought that the kitty was still out there, lost and scared and confused. It's fate that brought her back to you. Because you deserved her. And because that neighbor should not ever get within 100 miles of her again.

  • 12
    DeepBlueQL Did you post flyers or on social media about losing your cat? Was she wearing a collar? How did they get your number? It's possible they never had your cat at all and just sent pictures of a similar looking cat from the internet in order to convince you they had her. There are so many scammers looking to take advantage of distraught or desperate pet owners.
    via DeepBlueQL
  • 13
    Conscious_Document_2 OP I posted she was missing using paw boost, and all the pets missing in my town go onto a local fb page. My phone number was linked from there. Both the picture and video sent matched her appearance, and the street the claimed to live on is a five minute walk at most. I do think they had her, I don't believe they spent money on her like they claimed; so that aspect is a scam.. I think they just didn't want to deal with the police:/ edit; to add, the street they live on is a
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 14
    DeepBlueQL Could be a scammer, could be you have a terrible human being for a neighbor, most important thing is that she's home safe and sound. Give her an extra pat for me.
    via DeepBlueQL
  • 15
    Conscious_Document_2 OP looks like a have a terrible human being for a neighbor... i checked the time the photo was taken. it was less than 12 hours after she went missing; before they contacted me. and the video was filmed while we were communicating about her dropping Jackie off. such a bummer. & i will! i've been loving on her, much to her discontent.
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 16
    spaghettifiasco That paragraph that starts with "I need an assurance" sounds 100% like scammer talk. It's extremely weird that they call her your "pet" or "the pet/the animal" and not "your cat" or "she/her". I know they had a photo and a video but I'm not totally convinced that they ever had your cat to begin with.
    via spaghettifiasco
  • 17
    Conscious_Document_2 OP i get that, and it's not like it would be better if they never had her, but a lot of the smaller details make me believe that they did have her. the direction they lived, the time stamps of both the photo & video (which were the times they were taken on the persons phone) the time jackie returned home, which was after i told them i had contacted the police & they ignored me, and the direction jackie came back from all lead me to believe that they did have her. i think the
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 18
    Silent Foundation_62 this ped me off so much, a pet is a living thing and they're family, and dumping it outside in the winter bc they didnt get money is absolutely disgusting
    via Silent_Foundation_62
  • 19
    Conscious_Document_2 OP right! I was incredibly upset they refused to return her, but the fact that they dumped her BACK outside was so incredibly ridiculous. we're on a busy street & she's so tiny & visible to predators. it's so obvious they didn't care about her wellbeing :(
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 20
    caitt1999 $85 for friskies? What did he do buy a 30lb bag for one cat?
    via caitt1999
  • 21
    Conscious_Document_2 OP right?? I have 4 cats. one's a senior who gets senior food + wet food. my total monthly is maybe $70. $85 is ridiculous. trying to scam a girl who knows her cat food prices is the dumbest thing they coulda done.
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 22
    swilli1005 So they just let her go back outside? what a fudging
    via swilli1005
  • 23
    Conscious_Document_2 OP right? and she's so little. it drives me crazy; if you're gonna refuse to give her back to me, at least keep her safe. (this is her next to my other cats for scale. she's little little)
    via Conscious_Document_2
  • 24
    frine
    via Conscious_Document_2

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