Selfish owner tried to legally reclaim her cat from friend who cared for it for 8 months — but one detail in the vet record made the cops switch sides

Five years ago, they took in a cat temporarily while their friend worked on getting their child back and a home.

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(L ) A woman handing over a cat to another woman; (R) A blank vetinary payment form (Representative Cover Source: Getty Images | Photo by (L) kali9 ; (R) glegorly)

When someone asks you to foster their pet, it’s usually meant to be temporary. But when a Reddit user (u/cosmic-kats) friend left her cat with a foster and never came back, things took a dramatic turn. Here’s how a selfish owner learned her lesson after trying to legally reclaim her cat from the friend who had cared for it for five years.

A woman hugging her pet cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Westend61)

According to Newsweek, Reddit user u/cosmic-kats shared an ordeal she had been going through with a friend who had asked her to foster her cat. The post shared on July 17, which was titled "My cat's original [sic] owner just messaged me," revealed that five years ago, they agreed to foster a cat when their friend worked on getting their kid back and finding a house. Assuming it was temporary, the user took the cat in, but the owner never returned, as she left the state. "Well, after her boyfriend kidnapped their kid, she went back to him. They, in turn, moved 10 hours away and left the cat with me," they wrote.

A cat resting on a grey blanket while someone is petting it (Representative Image Source: Pexels Photo by RDNE Stock project) — A cat resting on a grey blanket while someone is petting it. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by RDNE Stock project)

Since then, the foster parent had to get the cat neutered due to spraying and "save his life when he got urinary crystals." However, eight months later, the original owner showed up at the doorstep with cops, demanding her cat be returned. The user smartly presented the vet care bills to prove that they owned the cat. "After paying a few thousand in vet care, I told the cops that the cat was mine, and they agreed due to me having vet bills to prove ownership," they revealed. After the legal issue, the friend reappeared, four years later, "begging to know what happened" to the cat. But the foster guardian lied, stating that the cat had died and blocked her from further contact.

Woman carrying brown tabby cat - Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Engin Akyurt — Woman carrying brown tabby cat. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Engin Akyurt)

The chaos didn't end as the Reddit user received an unexpected text from the original owner's sister months later, who "knew I had the cat and approved." They asked fellow users, "Do I bother to tell the truth? Should I unblock the original [sic] owner and be kind and say the cat's alive and well, and maybe send a photo?" The Reddit user also noted, "I've worked in animal rescue for a decade now, but I've never experienced something like this. What would you all do?"

My cats OG owner just messaged me
byu/cosmic-kats incats

After u/cosmic-kats posted the story, many Reddit users rallied to support the new cat owner. u/ColoradoInNJ commented, "I would probably just ignore the message. She knows you have the cat and approves? Who cares? It's your cat. Responding just keeps this person on the edges of your life longer. That handsome boy is home with you. Who cares what his flaky former owner thinks or says about that?" u/LilNausicca commented, "When she left the cat with you for that amount of time, she legally abandoned the cat. Keep all the vet bills/records, make sure they are microchipped, and ignore all communications to spare yourself the drama and enjoy your precious kitty." u/Xiterok wrote, "You're not the step owner, you're the owner that stepped up."