Woman brings stray cat to a clinic to be put down, turns out the cat belongs to the veterinarian, the vet rescues the cat, then the neighbor demands he pay her $330 in vet bills: 'I intend to call [the police]'

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 25, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

We think that every cat owner knows that… despite what people say, cats are not easy. It takes time to learn their behavior, their patterns, and along the way, you make mistakes. We have certainly made mistakes in the past. One moment, everything is fine, and the next moment, your cat has run away. It happens, and it's heartbreaking, and thankfully, we are among the happy ones who got to reunite with their cats after it happened. We learned our lesson, and we are very, very sure that this veterinarian has learned their lesson too, in a bunch of ways. 

Vets can make mistakes too. Because their human. And we cannot be too mad at this vet for their cat running away because we've been there, and we know how quickly it can happen. We can only say that we are infinitely happy that they got to reunite, and that, beyond that, we are thankful that you got this cat away from the neighbor who essentially stole it. 

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  • 01
    picture of a scary cat with a black background
    via Unsplash / Iosif Chiriluta - iosifch

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
     

  • 02

    "(New Zealand) Would love any advice on the theft and attempted destruction of my cat."

    Hi there! I recognize it is not likely I will find people well-versed in New Zealand law, but I appreciate any input into the situation.
    via ta1089197
  • 03
    It's been a rough couple of days. I work at a veterinary clinic and we had a client book in a wild cat to be euthanased. She said it lived under her porch for years and now bothered her cat/sprayed in her home. She said she'd had it for two nights at that point and hadn't fed it or given it water. We advised her to feed it and also to do a quick door-knock of her immediate neighbors/post it on the popular local facebook page to make sure it didn't belong to anyone. She refused to do any of these
    via ta1089197
  • 04
    She brought the cat in the next morning, reiterated it had been kept in the tiny travel cage (that was wrapped in a garbage bag with 72 hours worth of ur ne and f ces in there) for three days, that she hadn't given it food/water and that she had not and would not attempt to find an owner.
    via ta1089197
  • 05
    She signed it over to be put to sleep. We advised her we would be checking for a microchip, notifying the SPCA and checking the SPCA databases and our databases of lost cats as we are ethically and legally required to. She flipped out. She said she didn't want the cat to be returned to an owner if it had one. Said she brought it here on the understanding it would be euthanased. She asked to have the cat back because, 'i would have just DEALT TO IT myself if I'd known you wouldn't just k ll it'.
    via ta1089197
  • 06
    Lo and behold she is my neighbour and this is my cat I've been on the cusp of making a missing cat post about. She is absolutely soaked in her own p ss and sh t and visibly and audibly in distress. I have only lived on that street for not quite a year, my cat is a neutered female that does not spray and there is no way this is the cat that has been living under her porch with abscesses for years.
    via ta1089197
  • 07
    I am very grateful I just happened to work in the right place to get my cat back and thank god for microchips. I have been in touch with the SPCA who are interviewing me and my coworkers some time today and have advised me to contact the police as soon as possible. I intend to call them once they're open today, but can anyone maybe clue me in on how this process will go? Is it likely she will face any punishment? I am nervous that this is something they're going to laugh at me about or that noth
    via ta1089197
  • 08
    picture of a cat laying its head on a piece of wood
    via Unsplash/ Hans Ott

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
     

  • The level of anger we would have felt would have been beyond our control. Forget the fact that instead of looking for a shelter, a person to adopt the cat, a decent home for the cat, this person went to try to end it, the fact that they could not even give the cat a little food and water is despicable. 

  • 09

    "Follow up questions..."

    So the SPCA is still investigating and they have been nothing but a true source of kindness and calm, thankfully. They're possibly leaning more towards a formal warning than prosecution which is ever-so- slightly disappointing, but I recognize they are a self-funded organisation and they can only do what they can do.
    via ta1089197
  • 10
    The woman that took my cat has emailed me saying her cat has an abscess and I should pay for the vet bills. She is annoyed I went to the SPCA rather than 'talk to her about why it happened' and if I choose not to reply to her she is going to assume I have no interest in resolving the issues between our cats (correct) there will be 'personal issues' between us (this ship has long, long, long sailed) going forward.
    via ta1089197
  • 11
    I know she did tell the SPCA officer that she had zero proof Friday did anything to her cat, she has shown previously that she has clearly mixed up my cat with a stray black cat she's had issues with for years and my cat is almost exclusively inside, excluding the night she was trapped.
    via ta1089197
  • 12
    I replied to her and told her effectively to pound sand, albeit politely, but is there anything she can realistically do about this situation? Or my general refusal to engage her at all for the most part? Considering her behavior and attitude I am mildly concerned about this 'personal issues' comment. Can I make anyone aware of that? If I happened to go public with what happened once the SPCA investigation is over, could she do anything?
    via ta1089197
  • 13
    Thank you again for any help you can provide, I really appreciate the input and support from the last thread also.
    via ta1089197
  • 14
    picture of a cat sitting on top of a staircase shadowed with a dark sky background
    via Unsplash / Rafael Garcin - nimbus_vulpis

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
     

  • We one hundred percent understand the attitude, and we're not mad at you for giving it. We hope that this person paid a significant price for what they did in the end, because that is exactly the kind of person and the kind of actions that deserve it. 

  • 15

    "UPDATE..."

    So here we are a little over a week later. I am getting the last of my statements for the SPCA and they are nearly sorted.
    via ta1089197
  • 16
    I had answered two belligerent phone calls from them at work and refused to answer two more. Since the phone call harassment was no longer working, they emailed my work and said if I did not answer we would have 'personal issues' going forward, how dare I contact the SPCA, that their cat had an abscess they assume was from my cat and I need to pay for their $330 vet bill thanks.
    via ta1089197
  • 17
    I emailed back with a pretty direct email that their actions constituted cruelty, I wouldn't be answering any further phone calls especially at work and that I would not be paying the vet bill. Friday morning I check my email and the partner had sent me a rambling, ab sive email. I ab se my dog, I'm a sh t vet tech, how dare I call the SPCA, of course it was my cat, he's taking me to small claims court because what other choice does he have?
    via ta1089197
  • 18
    He said he knows he doesn't have much of a chance at winning but it's about the principle. I reply that the SPCA is doing their due diligence, that my pets are well cared for and that they are not to contact me any further. I have since blocked both of their email addresses.
    via ta1089197
  • 19
    I got to work Friday morning and discovered they had lodged a formal complaint to my workplace and asked to have a sit-down meeting with my manager about 'what I consider to be a very serious situation for me and my family'. One of my managers called and p much said they have to look into it, but by all accounts it would appear everything I've done at work has been within policy. This job means everything to me and I'm pretty _ annoyed they've taken a personal issue and forced it upon my workpla
    via ta1089197
  • 20
    I also spoke with two local cat charities who both knew of the feral cat colonies in the vacant property literally directly behind their house and in the house to the left of them that's full of discarded vehicles. One of them had spent months and months before I moved there and early on trying to catch a large, black tomcat with abscesses all around it's neck but had never managed to get him.
    via ta1089197
  • 21
    They advised them within hours of having caught my cat by mistake that they either needed to take care of it or take it to the vet ASAP, as did the council who I spoke to on Friday. They found these people extremely difficult also. I have attained statements from both of them outlining this, so that's a comforting addition.
    via ta1089197
  • 22
    I am doing my best not to be as vindictive and malicious as they are. I happen to know their house is unpermitted and has numerous code violations and by god my council-calling finger is itchy but I am not going to be as shi y as they are. I have alerted my friends at the local newspaper to keep an ear out for me because I don't doubt that when this complaint and small claims court fails them they will probably double down on the crazy. I am also preparing myself internally for them to complain
    via ta1089197
  • 23
    All in all this has been an extraordinarily exhausting two weeks. I am hopeful I can make an update shortly that outlines this entire thing being over.
    via ta1089197

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cat neighbors interesting veterinarian happy ending story vet Cats lost
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