Old lady sneakily gives away her neighbor's ‘retired barn cat’ and gets away with it, so family gets back at her by helping her husband in divorce court: ‘So he can be compensated…'

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Apr 8, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

A beloved family's barn cat moved with them to a more suburban neighborhood. Here, there was no longer a barn for this, now-retired barn cat, to roam in. Instead, the neighbors welcomed the 14-year-old feline into their community and welcomed him wandering around their homes. Well, except for one very cranky and entitled neighbor… 

Then, the cat went missing. The family tried to find their beloved pet, putting up posters and asking around. One day, the cranky neighbor's daughter (who is no-contact with her) told her that she saw that her mother had put the cat up for adoption on Facebook Marketplace and gave him away. There was no solid proof other than that text, so the family couldn't do anything about it. After several more grievances, the family had had enough, especially the mother and her "feral" children. "I've been too passive now, and I'm not sure how much is too much or how little is too little," the mom writes. 

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  • Happy family, mom, dad, little boy, and little girl, standing outside in their garden all smiling and holding their pet cat
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
    Happy family, mom, dad, little boy, and little girl, standing outside in their garden all smiling and holding their pet cat

  • Stealing a family's cat and giving it away online is a whole other level of crazy that we will never comprehend. How could anybody think that it is alright to do?? Even if you are upset with someone or just simply do not get along, that does not mean you have the right to do something like that. That is just pure evil! This isn't something like the neighbor took your newspaper off your porch. This is a fur family member being separated. 

    The mother says they are still trying to find their cat. They said they reported the cat stolen, so if he ever gets scanned, they will be alerted. Unfortunately, it has been several months, and they are starting to lose hope. Though the mother says she will be looking for him “forever.”

  • "My neighbor doesn't seem to think theft is a big deal"

    My neighbor is a Karen and I'm just at my wits end about it. I moved here from the country, and I'm not a monster so we brought our 14 year old barn cat with us.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • All the neighbors loved him, we put 'retired barn cat' on his collar. It was cute.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Karen got my number was was texting me upwards of 50 times a day about absolutely nothing, then would get upset when I didnt reply.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • I have kids and a job, but she just sits around all day, I just couldnt keep up, so I stopped responding completely.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Then our cat went missing. I put up flyers and checked the shelters, and finally her daughter (We'll call her Stacey) who is no- contact with Karen got my number and texted me that Karen had given our cat to a stranger on Facebook marketplace claiming he'd have a better life.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • I just don't have proof outside of her daughter texting me that. Her daughter, Stacey, has a son who's the same age as one of my children.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Karen's lovely husband would take his grandson and my daughter to the circus, aquarium, stuff like that every week.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Well, Karen's husband finally left her. Husband would still come by every week with grandson to pick up my child for fun weekend activities, and seeing his car and grandson in my yard made Karen very angry.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Karen started selling an insane amount if things on marketplace, then a 6ft privacy fence was installed literally touching her driveway to separate our properties because the yard between our driveways are mine.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Children were livid that Karen stole their cat and put up a fence. They talked to her husband, who said they could hang a bird feeder and a light on our side so they can enjoy it (they're still married so he is the property owner as well).
    via Former_Bear1729
  • The spite fence went all the way to the road so we couldn't see when leaving our driveway.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • The city came out this morning and let her know it needed to be shortened to 4ft max, then immediately after they left Karen walked onto our property and stole the bird feeder and light.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • I texted her asking for them back (they were $80 so I did want them back), and she said she threw them away in her trash can in her back yard but I was welcome to get them out of her trash.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • I told her id already filed a report that she trespassed and stole from us, so unless she wanted destruction of property added as a charge she needed to return them to the property line.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • She waited a couple hours then texted back that she'd put them there and that she just wants peace...
    via Former_Bear1729
  • When I went to get them, the lantern was busted up like it'd been slammed against something.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • I told her she'd need to pay for it and she said only if I give her the damaged lantern!
    via Former_Bear1729
  • That's such weird behavior. Anyways, now I've bought Shepard hooks to put in my yard near the giant fence to hang the bird feeder and light so my very feral kids aren't trying to wage war on her.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Having a Karen neighbor is horrible and I hate it. I'm not usually one to call the police or be petty, but I think I've been too passive now and I'm not sure how much is too much or how little is too little.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Ps: husband is documenting all the things in their home she's selling (ie. Riding lawnmower, swimming pool, living room set, etc) so he can be compensated in divorce court.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Good for him.
    via Former_Bear1729
  • Tall privacy fence in a sunny yard with trees and shade, suburban neighborhood
    via Unsplash+ (QY Liu)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
    Tall privacy fence in a sunny yard with trees and shade, suburban neighborhood

  • Do you get along with your neighbors? That's the dream, isn't it? Whenever you move, you are not just looking for a perfect living area for you and your family, but also a community with supportive and kind neighbors. Unfortunately, that isn't always what we get. So, what do you do when your life turns into a constant battle with the person living next to you? You can get petty, which seems to be a common choice. Or you could move? I'm not really sure… What would you do?

  • No_Durian_3730 Wait did you not get your cat back?
    via No_Durian_3730
  • OP Former Bear1729 We did not. We're still looking, but its been since October. I'm keeping his flyers replaced, and his posts are updated frequently. He is microchipped as well and flagged as stolen since we have him registered, but no such luck unfortunately. If his microchipped gets scanned, it'll say he was stolen, but I guess no one has taken him to a vet. He's a senior barn cat and would absolutely not go in a litter box, and will rip the doorframe off trying to get outside (we tried when
    via Former_Bear1729
  • FamiliarSearch2693 the cat thing alone is enough to never speak to her again. everything else is just bonus
    via FamiliarSearch2693
  • Shadyhollowfarm58 If your cat was microchipped (my barn cat is) then report it as stolen on PawBoost and the site where the chip is registered. That would totally. me off. I do understand that outdoor cats are not loved by all, and when I move into the city the barn cat will have to be happy with the screened enclosure around the pool. I have two of her offspring so she'll have company. This lady sounds unhinged so if I was you I'd get security cameras set up to cover every foot of your property
    via Shadyhollowfarm58
  • witchymoon69 I'd tell animal control she stole your cat and gave it away.
    via witchymoon69
  • Coyote Litius how many cameras have you installed? You need them. You are under-reacting severely.
    via CoyoteLitius

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neighbors suburban life divorce family family cat mom Cats barn cat
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