Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To have released this cat

64 replies

idonethisthing · 29/05/2025 20:44

I did something on the spur of the moment and now I’m wondering if I was in fact wrong to do what I did.

I went round to the house of a family on my street the other day to let them know that their dog had escaped and was running maniacally towards the woods. Someone in the household then wandered off to find the errant dog.
i was then talking to the woman of the household on the doorstep when she said ‘guess what’s in there?’ and pointed to her downstairs loo (Our houses are identikit new builds so i know exactly what the room looks like. It’s 1.5 meters by 1 meter with a loo and a sink only. Tiled floor) Then she said she’s got a stray cat in there. I asked what cat and she described a local very distinctive cat and said he’d been in there for four days and she was going to take him to the vets.
When she went back inside I waited and then opened the front door quietly and unlocked the loo and released the cat. Was I wrong? I feel bad, but I can’t see on our local Facebook groups that she made any attempt to find the owners of this cat and four days locked in the little loo seems rather cruel to me. Was I wrong? If the cat needed help then there are people you can call. There’s no need to wait four days if you have the animals best interests at heart, surely? You don’t just go around picking up random cats that you think need help and then shoving them in a cupboard until you get round to it.
I’ve got a strong feeling she knows it was me because you had to physically unlock to toilet door from the outside so it didn’t happen accidentally. I’m hoping she confronts me soon so I can stop stressing about it!

OP posts:
Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride · 30/05/2025 06:16

Do you know who owns him? I’d be giving them (and all other pet owners that she’s got form)

ChocolateGanache · 30/05/2025 06:14

She does sound nuts op. Yanbu.

MuffinsAreJustCakesAtBreakfast · 30/05/2025 06:08

I really really don't like cats so consider this unbiased..!

Locking an animal in captivity in a small loo/cupboard is cruel.

You did the right thing.

EleanorReally · 30/05/2025 06:06

can you message his owner?

Zanatdy · 30/05/2025 06:02

100% the right thing. Why do people do this? Someone would be missing that cat.

BlueEyedBogWitch · 30/05/2025 04:21

Good on you.

Weaponofchoice · 30/05/2025 04:13

She sounds bonkers

EnjoyingTheArmoire · 30/05/2025 04:02

idonethisthing · 29/05/2025 22:01

Yes she said that he’s matted and in pain and bleeding as a result. He isn’t! I’ve stroked him many times. I think he’s a Maine Coon cross, he’s gorgeous. And his coat is luxurious. When I let him out I gave him a quick once over and he’s good!

When our Maine Coon used to go out he used to attract all the local nutters who decided he needed rehoming for various (bullshit) reasons.

You absolutely did the right thing.

XWKD · 30/05/2025 03:49

Crunchymum · 29/05/2025 20:50

So you broke into your neighbours house to release a cat?

Which was the right thing to do.

NattyTurtle59 · 30/05/2025 03:40

Well done OP.

WingingItSince1973 · 30/05/2025 00:41

You did the right thing. Two weeks ago our cat went missing for 2 days. He was in a shed down the road from us having been chased in there by the owners dog and they locked him in there thinking he was someone else’s cat! Fortunately we had put posters of him in lampposts near this house and their neighbours phoned to say the people had a cat locked in their shed! When we went round to see it was our boy. Two days in their shed with no food or water. We were so distressed looking for him and posting signs up and facebook posts. We walked local streets for two days solid and all the time he was in that flipping shed! He now has a tracker on him but I’m cross the people kept him for two days with no mention to anyone just the people they thought he belonged to. So you did the right thing. The cat will find its way home hopefully xx

hereismydog · 30/05/2025 00:24

You saw nothing, you don’t know about any cats. In fact, you were out for lunch with me at the time the cat disappeared so it couldn’t possibly be anything to do with you, could it?!

Good on you.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 30/05/2025 00:09

What did you do with the cat when you let it out? Where did it go? Did you at least take it away from her property so she was less likely to find it again?

TheSlantedOwl · 30/05/2025 00:05

YANBU.

urbanbuddha · 29/05/2025 23:58

I bet the cat thinks you did the right thing.

ButteredRadish · 29/05/2025 23:53

@idonethisthingWell bloody done, OP! 👏🏻
I’d also try to work out who his owners are and warn them in case she does it again.
I cannot stand these people who think a cat wandering around is automatically ‘lost’ or a stray. Do they not understand the concept of cats or what?! 🐈‍⬛ 🐈

CinnamonBuns67 · 29/05/2025 23:51

Yanbu I think you did the right thing. I'd be reporting what she's doing to rspca and I'd be telling locals to be vigilant about their cats. Glad I keep mine indoors to avoid nutters like that.

ButteredRadish · 29/05/2025 23:47

Crunchymum · 29/05/2025 20:50

So you broke into your neighbours house to release a cat?

🙄🙄🙄 Really, Crunchy? Ffs!

TatteredAndTorn · 29/05/2025 23:31

Well done you. Wtf does that? Keep an eye on her. I’d find out who the Maine coon’s owner was and let then know in case she does it again! I’d also let as many people know as I could locally in case any other pets go missing.

OCDmama · 29/05/2025 22:29

The only thing YBU about was not confronting the woman.

IsoscelesSandwich · 29/05/2025 22:26

You did the right thing. Neighbour sounds batshit. If she ever does ask you about it I hope you tell her that she was being cruel.

idonethisthing · 29/05/2025 22:01

lljkk · 29/05/2025 21:35

wwwaiiittt... she kidnapped someone else's cat?
Or is cat a 'known' local stray?
'Stray' cats often have regular homes, but parking that possibility for now.

Did she say why she intended to take it to the vet?

Edited

Yes she said that he’s matted and in pain and bleeding as a result. He isn’t! I’ve stroked him many times. I think he’s a Maine Coon cross, he’s gorgeous. And his coat is luxurious. When I let him out I gave him a quick once over and he’s good!

OP posts:
idonethisthing · 29/05/2025 21:47

This cat is a beautiful long haired local cat that enjoys an outdoor lifestyle. There has never been any indication that he’s a stray and he looks well fed and is friendly.

Shes just decided she likes the look of him and has taken him off the streets and shut him in her downstairs loo. I have no idea why you’d do that without first trying to find his owners, getting a vet involved…..and anyway, who is there right mind thinks their tiny bog is a better environment for a cat for four days then being outside and free to roam or return home as they wish. She’s nuts IMO.

OP posts:
lljkk · 29/05/2025 21:35

wwwaiiittt... she kidnapped someone else's cat?
Or is cat a 'known' local stray?
'Stray' cats often have regular homes, but parking that possibility for now.

Did she say why she intended to take it to the vet?

Els1e · 29/05/2025 21:27

You absolutely did the right thing. The cat will sort itself out and choose it's home (or might just next meal and warm place to sleep) 🐈

Swipe left for the next trending thread