I'm not sure if this is the right area to post this in, but it was the closest category I could find. I'm basically looking for some opinions. Close to a year ago my father purchased a foreclosed home. My husband and I worked on the house for close to two months prior to my father moving in because the previous owners had done a lot of damage to the place. On top of the damage they appeared to have left their cat behind. This cat hung around the house crying to get in the house. She was very thin, with a broken tooth, clipped whiskers, and worn out paws. The neighbor informed us that the cat belonged to the previous owners and that she had been trying to contact them with no luck for quite some time. My husband and I fed the cat for a few days and kept an eye on her to see if anyone came for her. We also tried to call the number on her collar, but it was disconnected. The house had been vacant for months prior to my father purchasing it, so it appeared that this cat had been roughing it for some time. My heart broke when I realized the cat had been left behind and I decided to take her to the vet and try to find her a new home. I ended up bonding with her very quickly and after a week I decided to keep her. It took a little longer for my other two cats to accept her, but my husband and I worked through the discord until all of our cats reached a happy agreement. She even managed to make friends with one of my other cats and they play together quite often. This afternoon the previous owners decided to knock on my father's door and asked for some misdirected mail. They didn't seem at all concerned about the cat when they had originally spoke to my father they were just very concerned about an invitation to some party. They came back later in the day and asked if my father knew where their cat was because they were told that someone had seen her around the house last July. I'm guessing one of the neighbors must have spoken to them when they were by earlier in the day. Probably the same neighbors that had alerted us to the fact that the cat had been abandoned. My father told me that the wife seemed teary eyed when she asked about the cat the second time she came by. However, he did not tell her what happened to her, but took her number and said he would let her know if he happened to see her.
I am really torn up about this. I love this cat. My husband loves this cat. We have given her a loving home for 11 months. It is very likely that if we had not rescued her that she would have starved to death, or met some other horrible fate. I feel bad that this woman is now upset and seeming to care about her cat, but at the same time I'm very suspicious of her. First it's been 11 months and she never came by looking for the cat previously. Also, If you really loved your cat why would you leave your cat behind at your old house? A friend mentioned that maybe the cat ran away and found her way to her prior home, but then why would she still have a collar with a disconnected phone number on it? Wouldn't a loving owner update her identification information after they moved? I know that the day I brought her home I updated the collar, so that if she got loose she would be found. At that time I was still looking to place her in a new home, but at least even as a stranger I cared enough about her to want to make sure she didn't end up lost on the street. Also, I know some not so nice things about this family. They trashed a house that they had to give up to the bank. I know everybody can fall on hard times, but damaging property speaks volumes to their character. I mean we aren't talking about a little I'm mad at the bank scratch the paint kind of damage, we are talking about thousands of dollars worth of damage. My father's neighbors have all said some not so nice things about how they partied all night long keeping everyone in the neighborhood awake. I also have reason to believe they have been trying to commit some kind of fraud by continuing to use my father's address as their own. Am I obligated to call this woman and tell her that I now own her cat? I'm sorry, but I just can't give my cat away after all this time of loving her. However, at the same time I feel so horribly guilty. I keep wondering if maybe she really loved her and didn't know where to find her all this time and maybe I'm being selfish. Yet, there are just so many red flags that make me not trust this woman. How could I risk letting her have her cat back? What if the next time she left her behind she died? I would never forgive myself. ARGHHHHHHHHH! I'm asking for opinions from all cat lovers out there. What do you think about this situation? What would you do if you were in my shoes?
I am really torn up about this. I love this cat. My husband loves this cat. We have given her a loving home for 11 months. It is very likely that if we had not rescued her that she would have starved to death, or met some other horrible fate. I feel bad that this woman is now upset and seeming to care about her cat, but at the same time I'm very suspicious of her. First it's been 11 months and she never came by looking for the cat previously. Also, If you really loved your cat why would you leave your cat behind at your old house? A friend mentioned that maybe the cat ran away and found her way to her prior home, but then why would she still have a collar with a disconnected phone number on it? Wouldn't a loving owner update her identification information after they moved? I know that the day I brought her home I updated the collar, so that if she got loose she would be found. At that time I was still looking to place her in a new home, but at least even as a stranger I cared enough about her to want to make sure she didn't end up lost on the street. Also, I know some not so nice things about this family. They trashed a house that they had to give up to the bank. I know everybody can fall on hard times, but damaging property speaks volumes to their character. I mean we aren't talking about a little I'm mad at the bank scratch the paint kind of damage, we are talking about thousands of dollars worth of damage. My father's neighbors have all said some not so nice things about how they partied all night long keeping everyone in the neighborhood awake. I also have reason to believe they have been trying to commit some kind of fraud by continuing to use my father's address as their own. Am I obligated to call this woman and tell her that I now own her cat? I'm sorry, but I just can't give my cat away after all this time of loving her. However, at the same time I feel so horribly guilty. I keep wondering if maybe she really loved her and didn't know where to find her all this time and maybe I'm being selfish. Yet, there are just so many red flags that make me not trust this woman. How could I risk letting her have her cat back? What if the next time she left her behind she died? I would never forgive myself. ARGHHHHHHHHH! I'm asking for opinions from all cat lovers out there. What do you think about this situation? What would you do if you were in my shoes?