‘She has been living with us for about a month now and has deeply bonded with our cat.’: A cat's loving new home is threatened by its ungrateful former owner, who after ditching the cat launches a campaign of harassment and false legal threats

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Sep 26, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

It truly boggles the mind to try and understand the kind of people who think that it is in any way ok to abandon a pet for one reason or another, and then when they are filled with regret, to try to bring that pet back. Because, even if the pet's new owner would be ok with you coming and taking away the cat that they have spent time and money bonding with, the cat itself is conscious enough to understand what you have done to them, and they deserve so much better than having a person who changes their mind about wanting them in their life every few days or weeks.

And that is the moral of this story, which tells the tale of a woman who for one reason or another decided to palm off her cat child while she was out of the country, only to demand the return of the cat upon her return. A request which was denied and led to a series of sour events to transpire. 
 

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  • 01
    A friend (Sam) of a friend (Lily) decided to move to Mexico on a whim and had one adult cat and two kittens at the time, all adopted from the ASPCA.
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 02
    Sam informed Lily that she was leaving for Mexico two days before her flight. Sam was going to give them up to a shelter unless Lily could take them.
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 03
    Lily was unable to take them and reached out to me and my boyfriend who already have one cat. We said we would gladly take the adult cat. The
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  • 04
    other two kittens were rehomed to other people. Sam put the cat on a 5 hour flight to her boyfriends house.
    via yourenot_my_realmum

  • Well, what a wonderful thing for our protagonist to do, to take on a cat child whom you have no information about at the drop of a hat is a true mark of a feline fanatic. This catto is very lucky to have been adopted by such a kind and caring hooman, and to be getting away from someone who would so simply ditch them.

  • 05
    My boyfriend then paid to have the cat driven 5 hours to where we live. She has been living with us for about a month now and has deeply bonded with our cat. We have
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  • 06
    been paying all of her living expenses. Sam just moved back here from Mexico because she got sick there and is
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  • 07
    woman holding a blue cat carrier against a yellow background
    via kues1 via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    claiming that she thought Lily was taking the cat, not my boyfriend and I. Now she is demanding that we give the cat back.
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  • 09
    There was no paperwork exchanged and the cat's papers are still in her name, because she did this all so quickly and was in another
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  • 10
    country, so we didn't have time to have the papers transferred. She has friends texting and harassing me, Lily and my boyfriend.
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  • 11
    She called me this morning to call me a and is claiming that the police are coming to take the cat back tomorrow.
    via yourenot_my_realmum

  • There is no denying that regret will easily eat a hole in your soul, but that does not mean that you need to take your pain and suffering out on other people. No less the people who have been ensuring that the very cat you are remorseful over has had a safe and secure place to live with all the love in the world.

  • 12
    We have texts proving that she knew who was taking the cat and that she willingly sent her to the town we live. She may
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 13
    have gotten confused about who was taking her, but either way she willingly gave the cat up for adoption.
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 14
    What are our rights? Can we not allow the police inside? Is this even a police matter? Can we contact the ASPCA and have the cat put in our name?
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 15
    Thr1l... You just register the cat with the county under your name and pay for the tags.
    via yourenot_my_realmum
  • 16
    kitten being petting in a cardboard box
    via celiafoto via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    That's all the humane society told me to do when I was in a similar situation rescuing a dog from his ·S. a
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  • 18
    Phoe... If you have texts confirming she gave them up, that's all you have to tell any officer that comes by. She
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  • 19
    surrendered the cats without the intent that this was a temporary situation. The
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  • 20
    officer will probably say it's now a civil matter and not ask you to give them up. Get everything transferred into your name NOW, including
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  • 21
    getting them registered with your current town/county. Do you have vet records or anything proving the cats condition when you first got them? This
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  • 22
    will help establish that you believe the previous owner is unfit if this goes to court.
    via yourenot_my_realmum

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harassment month cat campaign threats legal living reddit story cat story cat owners ungrateful false Cats loving bonded pairs home
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