A Cat Owner Has To Decide Whether To Give Back The Cat She Was Asked To Foster Knowing That Her Friend Would Be An Irresponsible Pet Owner

This is not how fostering animals usually work but this lady feels that she has an ethical responsibility towards the cat

Chelsi

• Published in Animal Stories
• September 28, 2022

You have to account for a lot of things when you are planning to own a cat, a dog, or any animal. They require a lot of care, time, attention, and money.

A responsible animal owner will know all of these and adequately prepare for their chosen animal companion long before bringing them home. If you know that you are not ready, you shouldn't really adopt a pet.

You have to make sure that you have researched their breed and their needs before you even think about adopting one. Another part of becoming a pet owner is making sure your home is safe and comfortable for them.

If all of those boxes are checked, then you are ready to become a responsible pet owner. If even one of those criteriums isn't met, then you have to work on preparing them.

Pet ownership is a lot of fun when you know the full scope of your pet's needs. It is also big and can be an expensive responsibility.

If you fail as a pet owner, you run the risk of having your beloved animal taken from you by the authorities. Nobody wants that, especially if you've grown attached to the cat, dog, or animal that you have chosen to care for.

OP may have just saved a cat from an irresponsible owner

OP is a self-proclaimed "crazy cat lady" and when her friend asked her to cat sit a stray she found, OP said yes.

Her former co-worker asked OP to keep the cat for a while because her apartment doesn't allow her to have one. After a few minutes of prodding, OP realized that her friend knew nothing about this stray she chanced upon — she hasn't even brought him to the vet.

When OP told her that she has to book an appointment to get the cat fixed and vaccinated, the friend just answered in confusion. That was a month ago and OP's friend hasn't asked about the cat since.

OP realized that her friend cannot care for this cat well and gave her an ultimatum: show her that she has the money to take the cat to the vet within two weeks or OP will keep the cat herself

OP had to get yelled at by her friend's boyfriend but it seems her friend is coming to her senses and realized that she is not fit to be a responsible cat owner

Could the cat be someone's pet instead of a found stray like OP's friend said?

OP said the kitten was found by the side of the road but they will check at the vet just to be sure

None of the information we've read from OP's story suggests that her friend could be a good cat owner

On the other hand, OP is an experienced cat owner and is more than capable of providing for this additional kitten

An interesting take: OP did nothing wrong morally but she could be legally held accountable for "stealing" her friend's cat

OP says that she's pretty sure they have no paperwork to prove that the cat is theirs

The commenter replied that given the people OP's friends are, this could end badly for her

OP doesn't agree because she believes they don't have the financial capacity to actually sue her

In case they get funny ideas, OP has to cover her bases and save some proof to show her friend won't be a fit cat owner

We don't OP will be reporting her friend to get blacklisted by the shelters. Besides, it's the boyfriend who is a piece of work.

We think the cat feels the same about finding OP

OP replied that she's 100% in charge of paying for everything the cat needs

Let's be honest, a person who is really concerned about the cat they found would have shown more interest than OP's friend

If she was that clueless, she probably would have done something wrong eventually that would be harmful to the cat

It's not really about how her friend feels, it's about what's best for the cat and having OP care for him seems to be the right decision

OP was spot on when she guessed that her friend would be a poor cat owner given their initial interaction

OP would have given her friend the chance to care for the stray she found if she showed any interest in actually taking care of him. She had a month to show OP that she researched cats and is more ready to be a responsible owner but she didn't.

At the end of the day, OP did what she thought was best for the kitten. Let's hope OP's friend learned from this and when she's in a better position, maybe then she can consider having a pet.

Chelsi