'Somehow, I found my cat and got him back': Step-father dumps 12-year-old senior deaf cat 6 miles away from home during freezing night, for "getting on the counter", the mother takes his side, and the daughter refuses to forgive

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Feb 9, 2026 10:00 AM EST

When you see red flags in how people treat your cats, do not ignore them.

We would like to think that we, as cat owners, have a very good eye for people who we want around our cats and people who we really don't want around them. You can tell very quickly who understands cats and who doesn't. It's in the way they move, the way they approach a cat, the way they talk about cats. There are people who will baby-talk at your cat behind your back to try to get the cat to like them, and then, there are people who will neglect your cat when they are supposed to be taking care of it when you're away.

People who mistreat cats are the worst kind in our opinion. Cats are innocent. Indoor cats are also clueless and would have no chance of surviving outside on their own. And senior cats, who have been housecats their entire lives, who trust humans and believe that we have their best interests at heart, they are the most innocent. Someone who is willing to hurt a cat like that is someone who should never ever be around cats in their whole lives.

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"[Am I wrong] for refusing to forgive my mother for dumping my cat"

via Unsplash / Noah Moquin - citrusthetoad

Picture of a frowning white cat with green eyes.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Unsplash / Noah Moquin - citrusthetoad

Picture of a cute white cat sleeping on a couch.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
There is no way in which any of this is acceptable. Bad people. You are surrounded by them. And we are sorry to hear that you can't leave, that you don't have that option yet, but we would start looking right now at any other options that you can find. Messing with the cat like this indicates such a lack of care for any other living being. Selfish, disgusting, unnecessary. We hope that you and your cat could get out of there as soon as possible. And we also hope, for your mom's sake, that she will find a way out of this mess that she is living as well.
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via Tiny_War5975
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via Baudica
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via Unavoidable-Mango
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via robinthenurse
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via Unavoidable-Mango
This is a start, and we are glad that you were at least able to come up with this. We would ask you to consider the following: As heartbreaking as it might be, we would possibly look for a place to leave the cat for a while. And we don't say this lightheartedly, since we know how difficult it is for a cat to move around. But this is clearly not a safe place for him, and it's enough for you to leave the lock open once for something like this to potentially happen again.
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via Unsplash / Noah Moquin - citrusthetoad

Picture of a cute and tired white cat lying on its side.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via Objective-Pound2185
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via robinthenurse
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via Ok_Childhood_9774