Q: My mother took my cat while I was in jail without my permission and gave him to her friend can I get him back?
When I went to jail for 9 months my daughter was to get my 9 yr old cat and keep him till I got out. My mom got him before she could and gave him to her friend telling that friend she could keep the cat. That friend knows me and also knows it was my cat, neither of them would tell my daughter or I where the cat was, as luck would have it I needed a place to stay 4 months after being released from jail and came to live with that friend and found my cat. Ive lived here over a year and am moving in 2 weeks, I want to take my cat. My mom and her friend say they will call the cops because I abandoned the cat and it's no longer mine, since she had him to the vet to be declawed . They did this all without my knowledge and permission and I feel like they stole him from me. Do I still own him? Can I legally take him when I move?
A:
Here is the problem, you are a parolee of some sort, if they report you, and can get the officers to take the case seriously (which won't be easy), you could end up getting violated for taking the cat. That means you could end up in jail if they call the police on you. You could always sue in small claims court and try to get a judge to care (which won't be easy), but pets are seen as property. The most you could get is a small amount of money or whatever a judge deems the cat to be worth. That also would mean that you could establish ownership and that the cat wasn't abandoned.
You are in a tough position. It's tough to lose a pet. This may end up just being more collateral damage from your conviction. It's tough to say whether its worth the time and energy to get the cat back the legal way.
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