do we have any rights?

[jrosebud]

about a year ago we started taking care of what we thought was a neighborhood stray.  she looked extremely skinny, so we fed her.  (many of our neighbors thought the same thing and fed her as well.)  when winter came, she slept outside under cars, so we let her into our house so she wouldn't freeze.  since last november, she's been the fifth member of our family, spending half her time in our house and half of it outside, but always close to us.

my daughter loves the cat more than anything in this world (besides her father and me).  tiger was almost always with jessie when she went to sleep and they snuggled every morning when jessie woke up.  they'd race each other to the house whenever we'd return home.  they made each other truly happy.

today a neighbor saw tiger in our front yard and claimed to be her owner.  after one year of not really caring for her or looking for her, they wanted her back.

jessie's devestated.  she cried for three hours before falling asleep tonight.

we've fed, sheltered, and kept the fleas off of tiger for almost a year now.  do we have any legal rights to her at all?

[rlrose328]

I have no idea if you have rights.  I would say you do but I'm no lawyer.  Here I go being rigid again, but if they care so little for the cat to let her roam the neighborhood, I'd say the forfeit the rights to have her.  We have the same issue with a cat that belongs to our neighbors behind us.  The kat is gorgeous, so friendly, no fleas that we can see and it is so skinny, we put out some dry food for her/it.  They call for her, but I think they feed her outside as well.  I'd take her in in a heartbeat but my cats are already unhappy to see her in the yard.

I hope you can keep the cat.  All little girls need a kitty.  :cat:  

[jrosebud]

i did a stupid thing and didn't stop them from taking her over to their house.  

[karadan]

i did a stupid thing and didn't stop them from taking her over to their house.  

The cat will decide who it wants its owners to be.
Go over to their house in a few days. Ask to see it. If it jumps at you, i think you might have a case with your local cat protection league. Not caring about their cat for an entire year is tantamount to abuse. They waived their rights to keep it if they made no attempt to find it when it went missing.

I don't know about your rights but i know how i'd feel if i was in your position. I'd want to speak to them at length. I'd size them up. I'd also check out the condition of their house and the people who live there. Cats run away for a reason. If they have a comfortable place to live with food, they will not want to run away.

[MommaSquid]

i did a stupid thing and didn't stop them from taking her over to their house.   :kitty:

[Whitney]

I would think that unless they can prove the cat is the one they thought they  previously owned, that the cat is yours.  After all, you are the one who can prove you were paying the vet bills.

Since it was an outdoor kitty, I bet it escapes and returns to its real home in a week or two.  Outdoor cats are great at escaping houses.  When you get the cat back at your house, take it to the vet and have one of those chips put in it's neck so ownership is permanently and firmly established.  You should also let the vet know what is going on since they might have some helpful suggestions...I'm sure they'd agree it is your cat too.

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this.  I have had a couple stray cats over the years and I remember being so worried when one of them went missing for a few days...we thought she had been taken in by other people (and she probably had been..but she returned, fatter than ever.

You may need to take this to small claims court...pets are property.  You might have to explain why you let them take it...but other than that it seems like a simple case in your favor.  If you can afford a lawyer it might help,  but I think you should be able to self represent.

[Will]

I would think that unless they can prove the cat is the one they thought they  previously owned, that the cat is yours.  After all, you are the one who can prove you were paying the vet bills.

Bingo.

[quizlixx]

oh no.