Ive found my cruel neighbors cat......

So, I have a neighbor with three kids, and they live in a pretty gross house. About 6 months ago they got a puppy and they are cruel to it. I saw the daughter beating it brutally in the front yard and im really worried about it. Yesterday i found a cat that ive never seen before in my front yard, and i let it in the house. super friendly little kitten! i didnt know it was hers but i heard her talking to the maillady about her kitten that went missing. (I forgot to say that she and her husband are constantly yelling. we hear them inside our house from in theres!) The family is always fighting over there and the cat spazzed when she heard them. she was scared to death! but i dont want to give her back. they dont know we have her, so that helps. i know that i would feel bad about loosing one of my pets, but this cat was truly panicking. I think it would be cruel to the cat if we gave her back, they can barely afford to keep their house, let alone a cat and a dog. what should i do? were about to move into a new house far away, so.....

What a dilemma! After seeing the way the puppy was treated, I think I would probably keep the kitten and take it with me when I moved. I think I'd also report them for cruelty to animals over the puppy. On the other hand if they actually put up posters and came to my door asking if I'd seen it, I'd wonder if maybe they really did care for the kitten after all and might be responsive to hearing about your concerns. After all, just keeping the kitten is technically stealing. Again a tough one. My ex's neighbor once took in his cat because he wasn't caring for her and my ex was actually grateful but still appreciated knowing what happened to his cat.

I'll be very interested to see what other people think.

well, my neighbors dont like us anyway because our rooster wake them up (as if!) and my daughter went over to their house once, and left asap. she said the house stunk and there was trash everywhere. i dont want the poor kitten stuck in that, and i would take the dog if i could. im an animal lover, with a farm and 30 chickens, 11 cats, including the neighbors, and 2 dogs. both dogs love cats btw. im really having a hard time deciding!!!

Well it sounds like they won't be responsive to your concerns. I'm sorry you're in such a tough spot. The thing is, if you return the kitten to this environment you will worry constantly about it whereas if you keep it in a safe, loving place you will know you've done the right thing for the kitten. It is easy for me to think in terms of your neighbor's rights but I did not see the poor kitten in a state of panic at hearing their voices. Given that, I'd probably keep the kitten, afraid that anything else would be cruel. I wouldn't normally recommend that but this family had a puppy beater among their members and the kitten is terrified of them.

I understand you do have a dilemma here,

Seeing the title, I got to think on an jewish commandment, Im not sure if it is from the Old Testamente in Bible, or from the Talmud.

Anyway,

IF you find a donkey belonging to your neigbour, whom you are unfriendly with, grazing in your field of corn, you shall not try to take revenge on this innocent animal.  You shall lead it back to the neigbours stable.

The donkey is innocent in your conflict, and it misses dearly his own stable and resting place...

im also worried about the puppy. the little girl was beating it for barking at a squirrel, and i was sitting there stunned at how the girl was treating it! i have no proof and i dont want to interfere and make the neighbors mad, but i feel like i should report this. would the aspca or police do anything about it? like i said, my only proof is me, my daughter, her friend, and my mother, but........ im really worried for the dogs safety. im pretty sure it looks healthy, but i havent been over there recently. should i tell someone??

and im not taking revenge on the cat! i love them! im concerned about its saftey! did you even read it? the neighbors kid beat the dog!

I've never been in this position before so don't know what kind of proof the authorities (whoever they might be) would need. It might be that a call would bring them out to your neighbors' door and even if they didn't do anything, that might be enough for them to keep their rotten kid under control. Do the parents know their daughter did this? If they weren't around at the time, it might be better to let them know first before calling anyone. Otherwise, I'd call. How long is it before you move?

weve got about 4 days to move out of our house because weve sold it. i really dont want to meddle but... its really hard. i love animals and i want to help this dog and cat. we never got along with these neighbors anyways...

Four days? Then I would definitely keep the kitten and call the aspca or police or humane society - whoever handles these things. My heart goes out to that poor puppy.

Agreed.

kalicat24 said:

 
and im not taking revenge on the cat! i love them! im concerned about its saftey! did you even read it? the neighbors kid beat the dog!

Click to expand...

Yes, I saw and understood.     Well done of you to care!   

It was just an amusing sympathetic side story I retold.   

Margd said:

Four days? Then I would definitely keep the kitten and call the aspca or police or humane society - whoever handles these things. My heart goes out to that poor puppy.

Click to expand...

Yes, if so, the choice is easy.

I thought, it could be troublesome if the neigbours discovered you TS had their cat as your own.

But they will hardly notice anything in the four days, if you are a little careful.

Also, noticing the appropriate authority they tend to be abusive to animals, wont harm you if you move from there.  While it could be difficult to live with them as neighbour, if they knew or understood YOU rapported to the authority.

Why, the chance is big, its no good milieu for the children in the family either...   Another good reasoen to let someone in charge know.

since were moving, it wont matter if they like us or not!

It's fate that the kitten went to you. Don't return the cat, take her/him with you and give her/him the love she/he deserves. :3

javarashipuny said:

 
It's fate that the kitten went to you. Don't return the cat, take her/him with you and give her/him the love she/he deserves. :3

Click to expand...

Hear, hear!

Yes, I  do believe in such.  Call it fate, call it Gods will.

Well, giving the info we have here, I would certainly keep the kitty. These people sound like the the worst kind of trash to me and I would not even have a conflict of interest here.

Since we're quoting old wisdom, let me give you a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche: Tolerance is only proof of doubt in one's own ideals.
 

Drop the doubt. You know what's best for the kitty so have the courage to do it. And contact somebody about the beating. I am not an expert in law matters but it is my understanding that if you report something that is a matter for the DA (not sure if animal cruelty would be something like that), than it's the DA or the police who are the accuser and you would be the witness, so it's not just statement vs statement, but now its 2:1 so to say.

Again, don't rely on me but try to find an organization that will take the lead and be prepared to give testimony so you don't have to be the driving force.

Since you're moving away anyway, that should be fine then.