Long story short, my roommate gave me her cat a couple months ago. After a dispute over some bills (her dog incurred a large carpet damage bill, that I made her pay for), she is ticked off and is now trying to reclaim my cat by saying she "never gave it" to me, even though she did and the cat's been under my care and possession for months. Unfortunately this was a verbal agreement, there was no contract or payment, and I basically have no idea how to prove that she did in fact give me the cat. Attempts to try to trip her up via text message have failed, she obviously knows what she is doing and is doing it purposely to spite me.
I could easily give the cat back to her, except for the fact that it's been MY pet for half a year, and she treats it like crap. That was why I pursuaded her to give it to me in the first place. She never fed it, cleaned it's litter once in two months (!!!), never pet it/showed it affection, and there were a few other incidents that I would consider abusive. She also had a dog on the premises, and although it was only medium sized and not generally a violent breed, it was still much larger/stronger than the poor cat, and she would urge the dog to "attack" the cat then smile with glee as it attacked and poor kitty went running for her life. The cat obviously didn't understand this, didn't like it, and didn't consider it "play" (especially when the dog would have it by the neck). There were other things besides that (I don't want to write a novel), but something else that concerned me was the fact that she got rid of her last cat (when she decided she didn't want it anymore) by letting it out of her car on the side of the freeway. She literally told me that and alarm bells went off in my head. She is moving soon to a dorm (she's in college) and I know for a fact she can't keep this cat even if I did give it to her, so God only knows what she plans on doing with it. She has some mental issues aside from all of this, and has damaged her own property before for attention, so I honestly do fear that she could hurt the cat for attention, or to purposely try to nurse it back to health (long story behind this, but it is a valid concern of mine and very much justified!). The things she has done to the cat have never been directly physical to the cat, so there never 'evidence' to photograph and whatnot. More of neglect and mistreatment (yelling at it, throwing things at it etc), which obviously can't be proven... All of that stopped once she gave me the cat anyways, mostly because I kept it in my room away from her whenever she was home.
I'm moving across the country in a few days, and am unsure what to do. I literally have no proof that the cat has been mine for months, and she is unrelenting in her quest to "get it back". I am NOT leaving this animal in her care, I love this cat whole heartedly and would not surrender it to her even with a gun to my head. She is psycho and my cat deserves a full and loving life, not to be taken back out of spite and then somehow disposed of when she moves. My question is, if she calls the police or tries to bring any action against me to reclaim the cat, how do I prove she is mine?? I have a bill for vaccines from half a year ago (in my name), as well as cat food/litter/treats/grooming brushes on my grocery bills from the last couple months (I save everything). Is this sufficient to prove that I was the sole caretaker?? On the flip side, I have no idea if the cat is microchipped and whether that is in her name or not, or if she could use older vet bills (since the cat was initially hers) to prove she owned it first. Help!
I could easily give the cat back to her, except for the fact that it's been MY pet for half a year, and she treats it like crap. That was why I pursuaded her to give it to me in the first place. She never fed it, cleaned it's litter once in two months (!!!), never pet it/showed it affection, and there were a few other incidents that I would consider abusive. She also had a dog on the premises, and although it was only medium sized and not generally a violent breed, it was still much larger/stronger than the poor cat, and she would urge the dog to "attack" the cat then smile with glee as it attacked and poor kitty went running for her life. The cat obviously didn't understand this, didn't like it, and didn't consider it "play" (especially when the dog would have it by the neck). There were other things besides that (I don't want to write a novel), but something else that concerned me was the fact that she got rid of her last cat (when she decided she didn't want it anymore) by letting it out of her car on the side of the freeway. She literally told me that and alarm bells went off in my head. She is moving soon to a dorm (she's in college) and I know for a fact she can't keep this cat even if I did give it to her, so God only knows what she plans on doing with it. She has some mental issues aside from all of this, and has damaged her own property before for attention, so I honestly do fear that she could hurt the cat for attention, or to purposely try to nurse it back to health (long story behind this, but it is a valid concern of mine and very much justified!). The things she has done to the cat have never been directly physical to the cat, so there never 'evidence' to photograph and whatnot. More of neglect and mistreatment (yelling at it, throwing things at it etc), which obviously can't be proven... All of that stopped once she gave me the cat anyways, mostly because I kept it in my room away from her whenever she was home.
I'm moving across the country in a few days, and am unsure what to do. I literally have no proof that the cat has been mine for months, and she is unrelenting in her quest to "get it back". I am NOT leaving this animal in her care, I love this cat whole heartedly and would not surrender it to her even with a gun to my head. She is psycho and my cat deserves a full and loving life, not to be taken back out of spite and then somehow disposed of when she moves. My question is, if she calls the police or tries to bring any action against me to reclaim the cat, how do I prove she is mine?? I have a bill for vaccines from half a year ago (in my name), as well as cat food/litter/treats/grooming brushes on my grocery bills from the last couple months (I save everything). Is this sufficient to prove that I was the sole caretaker?? On the flip side, I have no idea if the cat is microchipped and whether that is in her name or not, or if she could use older vet bills (since the cat was initially hers) to prove she owned it first. Help!
Honestly, I'm praying she doesn't have one and that once I leave exroommate just drops it and carries on with her miserable life.
