Pay me to take a kitty?

Something strange happened at my local petsmart yesterday. I was picking up food for the kitties and saw a gentleman (maybe in his 50s?) looking at some Science Diet dry and then he picked up a bag. When I was checking out, he came and stood behind me and asked me if I wanted a kitty. I laughed and said I had my hands full with two. And asked him if he had an excess - he said yes. Then he looked at me strangely and said, I'll pay you a $1000 to take the cat.
what??????!!!!!!!! I was shocked - what a weirdo. I was did not know how to respond to that. So i just said....I don't think my kitties would appreciate me adding a $1000 dollar cat in their mix.
Wasn't that strange?

That's crazy!! Sounds very weird and probably illegal to me.

Wow... he must have really had his hands full to offer $1000 dollars! Hopefully the cat finds a home soon.

Wow!!! I mean what if you decided to take the cash and then ditch the cat!?! The guy didn't know you from a hole in the ground!

If he's got that kind of money, he doesn't need to pay people to take cats. Very strange!!!!!!!!

Very strange.

Originally Posted by Kailie

Wow!!! I mean what if you decided to take the cash and then ditch the cat!?! The guy didn't know you from a hole in the ground!

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Y'know what, yeah I didn't think of that. This man sounds 'off' and/or clueless to the evils of the world. Or perhaps he had a strong feeling the OP is a "cat person", but still

I can understand the basic concept. . .it takes money to care for a cat, and a lot of sanctuaries that provide lifetime care (like if the owner dies or something) do require a sizable donation (one place I looked into wanted $3000). So maybe the guy was desperate to find a home for his kitty and didn't want to dump it at a kill shelter. So while the concept is sound, the execution was risky. . .you have no way of knowing whether a stranger at a pet store is going to take proper care of your cat or not.

Or maybe it's his wife's cat and he reallyreally wants it gone. Sounds like something my dad would do .

He totally creeped me out when we had the conversation, though he did not really look like a creepy guy. Later I was feeling that perhaps it's a cat from hell or something but they may be attached. At least they are not abandoning the cat in the countryside. I may have looked like a cat person (of course I am!) being that I was buying tons of canned food and pretty good quality ones at that. He may have thought I have many since I was buying many cans? Who knows what he was thinking. He also possibly thought I was not that motivated by money since I was all dressed up (I had been somewhere else earlier and was stopping at the petstore on my way back). Again, who knows? I am just trying to play devil's advocate here, this I am still trying to make sense of this in my head. This would is full of stange people

Originally Posted by Willowy

Or maybe it's his wife's cat and he reallyreally wants it gone. Sounds like something my dad would do

.

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That actually did cross my mind.
I would think that he would contact a rescue - but then again that will have some red tape involved. He can give the cat to a stranger and give her $1000 and tell the wife the cat ran away

Originally Posted by Calvin&I

That actually did cross my mind.
I would think that he would contact a rescue - but then again that will have some red tape involved. He can give the cat to a stranger and give her $1000 and tell the wife the cat ran away

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Or it was a special needs kitty requiring more than that amount of surgery and/or lifetime care of vet bills. I think I would still have taken the chance !

Originally Posted by elayman

Or it was a special needs kitty requiring more than that amount of surgery and/or lifetime care of vet bills. I think I would still have taken the chance !

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And take the kitty? Would that have been determined by the money offered?

I do have a kitty which has health issues and it's not been easy. I have actually spend over $1000 since I got him if February and have another 500$ test coming up in August - so I am familiar with that. All the more reason why I would not get another cat since I cannot do justice. Plus, not everyone may agree, I just wary of people/ deals like this. Actually across from where we were having this conversation, there is a lovely 3 year old orange cat called Jasper being showcased at petsmart by the rescue who we got Calvin from. Every time I cross Jasper (and there's another black cat called Lexi), my eyes fill with tears - I'd rather take them home over the $1000 kitty.

Originally Posted by Calvin&I

And take the kitty? Would that have been determined by the money offered?

I do have a kitty which has health issues and it's not been easy. I have actually spend over $1000 since I got him if February and have another 500$ test coming up in August - so I am familiar with that. All the more reason why I would not get another cat since I cannot do justice. Plus, not everyone may agree, I just wary of people/ deals like this. Actually across from where we were having this conversation, there is a lovely 3 year old orange cat called Jasper being showcased at petsmart by the rescue who we got Calvin from. Every time I cross Jasper (and there's another black cat called Lexi), my eyes fill with tears - I'd rather take them home over the $1000 kitty.

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Well, he is most likely selling at undervalue so to avoid a scam transaction the scrupulous buyer would require a formal contract with all the terms and conditions fully backed up under law. It isn't the kind of offer I could accept verbally and shake on. But considering who would snatch at it if I didn't....it's a tough call. I just don't know.

Quite possible it was a purebred, come to think of it....

My best guess is that you found an unsocial older man that very much cared for his (quite possibly special needs) cat but had to give it up, that most likely would be put down at shelters... and yes, even many "no kill" shelters do kill for certain reasons.

So he probably figured he could go to Petsmart and just watch and really look for someone that looks like an honest looking cat person. Check out how they are dressed and carry themselves and buy premium food, etc.

That is the craziest thing I have ever heard in regards to someone trying to get rid of a cat. Why wouldn't he just bring it to a shelter/rescue and donate that kind of cash????? I have to wonder if this guy was for real or some kind of psycho on the loose . Bizarre situation for sure. I wonder why he didn't just ask Petsmart to take in the cat.

That is strange.

That is way too strange. Doesn't seem right.

Whew! This is so very sad.
I imagine you were more in shock about the offer than anything - then, later all kinds of things are running through your mind.

Also, these are desperate times, and I'm sure there are those that love their cats but can no longer care for them, and don't want them killed.

This sort of thing could happen to any of us - but because you've given us a heads up, I guess we can be prepared.

Maybe if I'm ever asked, I might just ask for his/her personal information, and tell them I'd think about it. After doing some research, maybe I'd be able to help with a solution - ???

Very sad, very sad.

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

Whew! This is so very sad.
I imagine you were more in shock about the offer than anything - then, later all kinds of things are running through your mind.

Also, these are desperate times, and I'm sure there are those that love their cats but can no longer care for them, and don't want them killed.

This sort of thing could happen to any of us - but because you've given us a heads up, I guess we can be prepared.

Maybe if I'm ever asked, I might just ask for his/her personal information, and tell them I'd think about it. After doing some research, maybe I'd be able to help with a solution - ???

Very sad, very sad.

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I am rarely this taken aback as I was with this incident. I am sure there are better ways of broaching the subject. The way he smiled and said "I'll give you a thousand dollars if you take the cat" did not really come across as someone being concerned about the well being of the cat. He was desperate to get rid of the cat alright. Who knows what the story is but it was quite shocking to me. As others suggested, he could have tried a rescue and given a donation. I feel so sorry for his cat

My first thought was that the cat was in a desperate situation, perhaps being abused, and he wanted to save the kitty from a miserable life.

It's difficult to really know how one would react when actually faced with such a bizarre situation, but I would have wanted to know more, I think. I realize that's easy to say, I don't think 'on my feet' and chances are I would have said something like "huh?".

Well, I'll pray for that mystery kitty anyway.

Sounds like someone in a very desperate situation. Maybe the man had health problems and knew he wouldn't be able to keep his cat much longer. DH's brother (who is not wealthy by any means) offered to pay us to take my niece's cat when she had to move in with in-laws who wouldn't allow a cat at their home. He was going to cover the expenses to fly the cat here from Texas. I never learned exactly how much he intended to pay, as it was a mute point. We were unable to take the cat, though I felt very bad. She went to a "no-kill" shelter and I hope she got adopted by someone loving.