What if my cat isn't MY cat?
October 30, 2011 12:07 PM   Subscribe

I recently adopted a seemingly abandoned cat. We took her to get spayed yesterday, but someone else had gotten there first ...

The Grey Lady, aka Lady Jane Grey, is a gorgeous one to two-year-old silver pointed tabby. In the last few weeks since I brought her into the house, we've had her looked over by a vet, treated for fleas, vaccinated, checked for a chip, chipped, and ... spayed.

Except when we took her to the ASPCA mobile clinic yesterday for the spaying, they found a surgical scar when they shaved her.

This confirms my theory that she was either lost or abandoned. And I have a hard time imagining someone going to the trouble of getting a cat spayed and then abandoning her.

I'm starting to wonder if she's lost.

Lady Jane was hanging out on our stoop for at least a month before I took her in, I have not seen any "lost cat" signs, and I asked around the block to see if anyone knew from whence she came. I also left a description and my contact info at the local grooming and pet supply shops. Have I done all that I need to do to ensure she is not a lost kitty? If not, what else do I need to do? Do I need to print up "Is this your cat?" posters?

Note that we're in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, a stray-heavy area where lots of folks do, unfortunately, abandon animals. And we're so accustomed to seeing stray, abandoned, feral, and outdoor/indoor cats around here that it would be very easy for a lost cat to go unnoticed for months. She could also easily have wandered over from Clinton Hill or escaped from Williamsburg, and there are so many people in this borough I don't imagine there will ever be any way to know for certain that I haven't gone and stolen someone's beloved grey lady.

If you belonged to a cat, and you lost her, how much work would you want her adoptive parents to do to ensure they weren't catnappers? At what point should I feel comfortable that no one is going to show up on my doorstep and be all, "Give me my cat back!" in a tragic Rudy Huxtable-esque confrontation?
posted by brina to Pets & Animals (36 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
In the bay area feral cats are caught and spayed or neutered and then released to cut back on the feral population.
And if she was hanging out on your steps for a month she wanted to be with you. That's how cats roll.
posted by gally99 at 12:15 PM on October 30, 2011 [3 favorites]


Best answer: "And I have a hard time imagining someone going to the trouble of getting a cat spayed and then abandoning her."

They may have gotten her spayed around 6-8 months, while she was still in cute kitten phase. You'd be surprised at the number of idiots who just release cats outside when they no longer want them (and rabbits, and gerbils, and hedgehogs, etc...) imagining that they can magically fend for themselves.

Put a description up on Craigslist - no photos, make any supposed owners provide their own photo proof. Enter her info into PetFBI, and check the other lost pet sites (Home Again, yada yada). Put some flyers up around your neighborhood, including vet offices in the vicinity. That's pretty much all you can do, and it's a long shot. I suspect that Lady Jane is yours for keeps!
posted by HopperFan at 12:16 PM on October 30, 2011 [7 favorites]


And I have a hard time imagining someone going to the trouble of getting a cat spayed and then abandoning her.

You'd be surprised. One of my current shelter dogs is 9, is neutered, was clearly very well taken care of, and obviously spooned in bed with his human every night. Who would spoon in a bed with a dog for 9 years and then dump him off at a shelter? It could happen for a lot of reasons. In my experience, many times, an elderly person will die and then their children and grandchildren will drop the pet at a shelter or abandon it outside. That's just one scenario, there are so many.

At what point should I feel comfortable that no one is going to show up on my doorstep and be all, "Give me my cat back!" in a tragic Rudy Huxtable-esque confrontation?

If I were you, I would keep my eyes peeled for lost cat signs, and also call around to the shelters and/or animal control to see if anyone has made a lost cat report.

If you really can't sleep at night, I would put found cat signs up in the subways -- not walk around and put them on posts, which seems much more inefficient.
posted by cairdeas at 12:18 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yeah, many large cities have spay-/neuter-and-release programs for feral cats, so it's not necessarily true that she had an owner. And being spayed but not chipped, if she was an outdoor girl with owners, is also a little incongruent. Maybe post up a few flyers if your heart says it's the right thing to do, but if another month passes and you still have a grey lady, then I think she's your grey lady.
posted by so_gracefully at 12:22 PM on October 30, 2011 [4 favorites]


The stray cats around here are captured, spayed, and set free all of the time. There are at least a dozen living around my house. My roommate adopted one soon after I moved in...

They did the same in Virginia, so it's not unusual here in the South.

I think you've done what you should, but I would still keep my eyes peeled for "lost cat" posters.
posted by patheral at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2011


I think you've done all you could and she's yours. I wouldn't put up "found" flyers in your neighborhood since you haven't seen any "lost" flyers. It would suck to have to give her back to some people who lost her and didn't bother to put up flyers.

I don't think the fact that she's spayed should worry you all that much. I rescued a bodega cat that had been put out on the street while the bodega was being renovated. She had also been spayed, and seemed well-cared for. But the assholes just dumped her outside when it wasn't convenient to adequately care for her.
posted by Mavri at 12:25 PM on October 30, 2011 [2 favorites]


Best answer: "This confirms my theory that she was either lost or abandoned. And I have a hard time imagining someone going to the trouble of getting a cat spayed and then abandoning her."

I had a cat (who died not long ago) who had been owned as an all-indoor family pet for at least six years by a family that neutered him, kept him up to date on vaccines, did over a thousand dollars of dental work on him, and when they moved, just abandoned him at the old house, declawed and locked outside the house, to mew piteously while trying desperately to get back in. He lost an eye and part of his tail in the outdoor adventure before a neighbor managed to catch him and take him to the shelter. There are people who suck. (Also I'm told they had kids -- who the fuck abandons their kids' pet?)

He lived a long and happy rest of his years with us, terrified of doors to the outside and quite comfortable as far from them as possible. Our other cat only had one eye too so at least they were even and could have fair stare-downs.

"Have I done all that I need to do to ensure she is not a lost kitty? If not, what else do I need to do? Do I need to print up "Is this your cat?" posters?"

Have the shelter scan her for a microchip and make sure the cat has been described to the shelter; where I am, all lost pet reports are centralized at the county shelter (even though there are other shelters in the area) and all found pet reports are centralized there too. If you've talked to the shelter and scanned for a microchip, I think you've done what's required; Craigslist and petshops and all is above and beyond.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:27 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


(Oh, I see you had the chip checked. I looked at the question THREE TIMES for that and still missd it. I think you've done all that needs doing.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:28 PM on October 30, 2011


First of all, Lady Jane is gorgeous. Secondly, I thought my idea was unique when my Mom recently adopted a stray grey tabby female kitten recently and named her Lady Jane Grey at my suggestion (she'd been calling her "Little Grey Lady" while feeding her outside before officially adopting her). Thirdly, I'd suggest alerting nearby human societies/animal shelters that you've found this cat, give a description, and leave a contact number. If she is in fact a missing pet, most folks immediately contact local shelters when searching for their fur babies.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:29 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: I have no real insight on the moral question, but most of the big spay-and-neuter groups for strays will also eartip or notch the cats (so that they don't have to catch the same cats over and over). Since her ears are pristine, it's more likely that she was spayed by a private individual.
posted by anaelith at 12:30 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Animal control in NYC doesn't do trap, neuter, and return (TNR) due to lack of funding. TNR is done by volunteers and non-profits, and they ear-tip (cut off the tip of the left ear) cats while they're under for the surgery so future TNR folks will know kitty has been done. If she's not ear-tipped, I doubt she was spayed as part of a TNR program.
posted by Mavri at 12:31 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


I personally have helped to take two feral cats in to get fixed/shots and released them back into the population; this was in the Bronx but I'm sure there are others doing this in Brooklyn.

My cat (or rather the cat who sleeps on my head and likes to wake me up at 5:30am) was found abandoned and already spayed. She was not feral.

If she's been around for more than a month, then I wouldn't concern yourself too much with trying to find her original owner.

on preview: do check for ear tips/holes in the ear.
posted by sciencegeek at 12:33 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Well, she's not feral if you can pick her up, hold her, etc. So the options are lost or abandoned. I would go ahead an put up a few flyers in outlying areas (no photos, ask any caller to describe the kitty), report her to the pound, and check for a microchip (definitely) to ease your mind.

how much work would you want her adoptive parents to do to ensure they weren't catnappers?

If you are asking me personally, I would want you to move heaven and earth. Having a lost dog or cat out in the world and not knowing what happened to it would be torture. If I had to explain the loss to a child, it would be even worse. Then again, I would have flyered and craigslisted the heck out of a 10 mile radius, and I am not someone who abandons animals.

When I was a kid we moved cross country. I was too young to remember what happened to Cleo, but I do remember she didn't come with us, and it wasn't explained why. For years I would fantasize that she was working her way across the country to be with us, and she would show up on our doorstep any day. It sucked.
posted by Vaike at 12:35 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: I'd also call around to animal shelters/vet clinics to see if anybody has reported a lost cat. If my cat went missing, I know I'd hope that the people who found him would do the same thing, so we'd at least have a chance at getting him back!
posted by anaximander at 12:40 PM on October 30, 2011 [3 favorites]


I rescued a very thin stray cat who turned out to have stitches left in her belly from spaying. The vet took them out and she was fine (and is still here with me), and I never found her owners. In this case I doubt it was abandonment, but random things do happen, cats freak out and bolt, owners get sick or die unexpectedly – who knows. I just felt like it was a bonus, getting a terrific cat and not even having to pay for the operation.
posted by zadcat at 12:46 PM on October 30, 2011


We adopted a great (and already-fixed) cat who'd been dropped off at the shelter. The previous owner's reason? She was too vicious. When in reality she is the sweetest possible cat who has done nothing but love us madly since the second we adopted her. Some people will do anything to be rid of a pet.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:46 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: brina: "This confirms my theory that she was either lost or abandoned. And I have a hard time imagining someone going to the trouble of getting a cat spayed and then abandoning her."

A friend of mine recently lost his cat in Brooklyn (not the one you found, don't worry). Nothing malicious or extraordinary, he just got out while some work was being done by going through/over a series of obstacles that by all rights should have kept him at least in the yard. But, things happen.

I don't recall if he was microchipped, but he did contact all the local shelters and agencies, so that's about the level of due diligence I'd expect on your part if you were going to take this cat in.
posted by mkultra at 12:49 PM on October 30, 2011


Response by poster: I cut this part out of the question because I thought maybe I was overdoing it: Lady Jane is exceptionally well-trained and socialized. I mean, she does try to get really close to me when I'm eating, so maybe her last human fed her table scraps. But she knows how to play ball. (Literally. She is better at playing ball than I am.)

And, as mentioned by Mavri, my neighborhood definitely hasn't got a TNR program.

I didn't know about PetFBI (which appears to be Ohio-only?) or Home Again (though now I look I realize that's the service that chipped Lady Jane yesterday), so that kind of information is super-helpful. If there are any Brooklyn or NYC-specific find-your-pet services that I should check in with, I'd love suggestions.

Thanks!
posted by brina at 12:53 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: Have I done all that I need to do to ensure she is not a lost kitty?

Not really, no. It's great that you're willing to take this cat into your life. But you haven't done a couple of basic things you should do before claiming it. You should immediately check through Craigslist's Lost & Found section, and put a "found cat" listing up yourself (maybe without a photo, as HopperFan suggests, although I used one when when I found a dog recently). Many folks use Craigslist as a more efficient alternative to flyering, and at the very least check there regularly. Also, many local shelters have online lost pet reporting (here's one near me). That would absolutely be one of the first places the cat's family would go to look for her, and you should be making it easy for them to find her if she's lost.

I'd say if you haven't put up a lost cat ad on your local Craigslist, didn't search the last month's posts there, and didn't contact any local shelters about making a found pet report so the family would see it when they checked, you still have a couple of relatively basic things to do before you can rest easy and claim the cat as your own.
posted by mediareport at 12:56 PM on October 30, 2011 [3 favorites]


I don't know how much this applies to the city but my Grandmother takes care of a bunch of strays in her small (200 people) town. A lot of city folk who don't want cats anymore drive them up there and abandon them. She provides food & some shelter to them, and most of them stay around for a number of years (She is of the old 'cats should catch mice mentality, so she sees nothing wrong with having cats romping around the local fields hunting). Some of the more human friendly ones have eventually moved into her house and become full-time pets. So yes, people will suddenly abandon cats mid-life.

She also got a dog when a local family was forced to move and could only take 1 dog with them- They managed to give one to a local family, but no one would take the other one as it was older, though still very puppyish and in perfect health. She adopted it as that it wouldn't be put down, and her dog had just passed on anyway, but yeah, horrible things can happen to pets when the owners have no choice.
posted by Canageek at 1:02 PM on October 30, 2011


"But she knows how to play ball."

My black cat, Spider Kipling, knows how to play ball (forehand swat like tennis), and he knows how to fetch. He already knew how to do this on his own - we got him when he was eight weeks old - he actually had to train *us* how to play fetch.

Kipling's favorite game : brings paper wad, drops next to human. Blinks. If no response, drops in lap. Blinks. If no response, paw on leg. Small squawk sound of urgency. Human finally throws paper wad. Cat fetches, drops next to human again. Blinks. Repeat all above.
posted by HopperFan at 1:22 PM on October 30, 2011 [6 favorites]


Best answer: One thought: I know that Bed-Stuy has been hit particularly hard by the housing collapse. It's very possible that she was abandoned when her owner's (or owner's landlords) were foreclosed on. :(

Anyway, I really think you are free to have a clear conscience about this. You waited a month, you've checked around, the cat was getting less and less healthy. Maybe do some of the things suggested in this thread if it will ease your mind. But as I see it, the alternative right now is for the cat to continue to live on the streets as winter hits, getting sicker and sicker and, honestly, probably dying. You are definitely doing the right thing.
posted by lunasol at 1:36 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Make that "when her owners ..." not "owner's." Edit window, please!
posted by lunasol at 1:37 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: Double, maybe even triple check for chips, and I think you\'re done. You also need to know how you will respond if you (for example) craiglist a lost cat notice and someone claims to be the owner. Set a level of proof you can live with (photos, chip # if relevant, circumstances) beforehand, so that if it does happen you can reassure yourself she's gone back to the right owner and leave it at that.

FWIW, I think you've done about enough once you've flier-ed the area and hit craigslist. You've looked after her. A responsible owner chips their cat.
posted by cromagnon at 1:46 PM on October 30, 2011


I would check with the pound, look on Craigslist for lost cat ads, check the paper, and see if there are any posters up with her picture. Beyond that, don't post an ad for her and don't look for an owner. Anyone that can't be bothered to try to find their cat within a month isn't worthy of having a cat. Those who care move heaven and earth to cover all bases to find a lost pet. I've seen so many cats just dumped by people that move, or decide their new SO is allergic, or get tired of cleaning litter boxes, etc. that I have NO sympathy for them.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:56 PM on October 30, 2011


We have a second-hand cat that was spayed, *declawed* and abandoned. (For sure. My mom's tenants moved out of the house and left her outside. ) She's very, very sweet, too. I can't imagine someone not loving her enough to at least take her to a shelter.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 1:59 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: I think you've done about enough once you've flier-ed the area and hit craigslist.

*And* contacted a couple of local shelters to report a found animal. I think some folks don't realize how many shelters now offer online "found/lost pet" reporting, but it's one of the first places folks who'd lost a pet would go, and should be above flyering on any list of things to do when you find a lost animal.
posted by mediareport at 2:03 PM on October 30, 2011


I volunteered at an animal shelter. I have zero problem imagining people would abandon a healthy, friendly, neutered cat. I would check for lost cat signs and on craigslist and inform the shelter, but honestly, it's sadly likely that she was abandoned and I think you're in the clear. (When my cat was lost for a month, she was trapped under a patio and the second the door was opened she was back at my place -- if the cat was wandering free and didn't have a broken leg, she had no home to get back to.)
posted by jeather at 2:03 PM on October 30, 2011


Response by poster: Have looked at recent lost/found pet ads. Just posted a Craigslist ad, a listing on petamberalert.com, and will call 311 again tomorrow when the lines clear up a bit more post-storm. Thanks for the tips on that front.

She has been checked for a chip twice -- and the second time, she had one injected.

Follow-up: Is it reasonable to ask for financial reimbursement for medical costs if someone claims her? What burden of proof is it appropriate for me to set?
posted by brina at 2:04 PM on October 30, 2011


Best answer: They should be able to tell you if she was spayed or not, if she is declawed or not, her age, her eye colour, her sex, and provide you with a photo of the cat before they see her. (Assuming, of course, that you don't provide this information in your found ads.) If she has any unusual markings, they should be able to tell you about them, or that she has none, but in general I wouldn't expect them to be able to effectively descibe her temperament.
posted by jeather at 2:14 PM on October 30, 2011 [2 favorites]


As someone who has lost pets (for good, sadly), and someone who is currently irrationally terrified that her current cat will some day get out and get lost, thank you for being so very diligent in trying to find the owner. That said, if I were said owner and my cat was lost, I would do everything under the sun to get the cat back - if you haven't seen a flyer, a post on the internet, know someone who knows something, or had any bites in calling kennels, then all odds are on this cat being abandoned, not lost.

This kind of thing makes me so sad. My current little monster was a stray, too - and still in cute-kitten phase - and even two years later, I still look at him and try to figure out how anyone could have left him or let him slip away. Their loss is my gain, but the fact that he was ever abandoned still twists my heart. I'm glad Lady Jane is with you - and you're right, she is beautiful!
posted by AthenaPolias at 4:40 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


http://www.nycferalcat.org/
posted by blaneyphoto at 4:59 PM on October 30, 2011


this is might be an unpopular opinion, but i feel like animals are just as entitled their freedom as people are. however: in urban environments they need to be watched over because a lot of people see animals' feelings as less important than their own, and treat them like property.

having said that: she chose you. i'd let her stay where she's happy. she's tough enough to make it on her own, but she's satisfied around you, and you're clearly wanting to teat her well.

ultimately i think it doesn't matter how she got outside; she decided for a solid month that you were trustworthy enough to stay with. i'd honor that.
posted by patricking at 6:56 PM on October 30, 2011 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Follow-up: Is it reasonable to ask for financial reimbursement for medical costs if someone claims her?

Yes, absolutely.
posted by mediareport at 8:43 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: You may not get it, but it's certainly reasonable to ask.
posted by mediareport at 8:45 PM on October 30, 2011


One of my current shelter dogs is 9, is neutered, was clearly very well taken care of, and obviously spooned in bed with his human every night. Who would spoon in a bed with a dog for 9 years and then dump him off at a shelter?

Similarly, one of my dogs, a pug, had an owner who apparently paid for him to have eye surgery but later abandoned him at a kill shelter. What's worse is that the owner had been in contact with the local pug rescue organization, they had agreed to take him, but order dropped him at the kill shelter anyway, and pug rescue got him only because they had contacts at the shelter.

So, don't assume that an owner's paying for a medical procedure means they won't abandon a pet.
posted by jayder at 9:51 PM on October 30, 2011


« Older No symptoms of menopause   |   Is China Valves Technology a legitimate company? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.