Talk

Flip

Join the discussion and meet other Mumsnetters on our free online chat forum.

Chat

Friends cat potentially taken by someone else.

15 replies

Violetpuma · 29/03/2024 07:39

My friend was late in seeing a Facebook post where someone posted a photo of what looks identical to my friend’s cat asking if he belonged to anyone. The post stated the cat was wandering around the shop the last few days which is not too far away from my friend’s house. Someone had posted in the comments stating it was his cat that had been missing for 2 months and collected the cat. My friend’s cat looks identical to the cat posted with distinctive face and body markings and he is a solid boy. Her cat has not come home ever since. He is microchipped.

She messaged the guy asking him if he had picked the cat up and he just said sorry your cat is missing but it he is our cat that has been missing for while and didn’t reply to her question about getting his microchip checked. He told her he lives in another village. After some FB stalking by me I’ve found a photo of his cat and they look nothing like the photos that were posted on FB. Surely after 2 months of being missing they would be low in weight but the photo of the cat shows identical build to my friend’s cat.

She doesn’t want to message the guy again to ask about getting the chip checked and doesn’t know how to word the message without accusing him of taking the wrong cat. Is there anything she can do ? She is devastated.

OP posts:

Report

InTheTimeItTookMeToEatAnEggSandwich · 29/03/2024 07:49

Surely after 2 months of being missing they would be low in weight

Not necessarily. Our friends cat was missing for several months and came back looking like a tank!

If she thinks her cat has been stolen then cats are seen as property of the owner so the police can step in. As it’s microchipped it would be easy to resolve.

“However, if you suspect that someone has hidden your cat in their home, intending to keep it or a witness saw someone place your cat in a vehicle, then you have a legitimate complaint (a prima facie case)^ that a theft has taken place. You do not have to prove that your cat has been stolen, only that the circumstances of its disappearance give you reasonable grounds to suspect it has been stolen. It is a core function of the Police to investigate acts of theft (to investigate your allegation) and they have the power to arrest a person who they suspect has committed theft and can enter a building to make such an arrest. Having made an arrest, the arresting officer then has the power to search for evidence in relation to that particular offence i.e. your missing cat.
In Plain English this means a cat (as defined by The Theft Act 1968) Is property. Therefore it logically follows, that it can be stolen, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.^”
https://thepetdetectives.com/news_and_features/The_Law_on_Stolen_Missing_and_Lost_Cats#:~:text=If%20your%20cat%20is%20lost,a%20theft%20has%20taken%20place.

The Pet Detectives

The Pet Detectives is a company that has established itself as a market leader in the investigation of animal theft and the recovery of stolen and missing cats and dogs throughout the United Kingdom.

https://thepetdetectives.com/news_and_features/The_Law_on_Stolen_Missing_and_Lost_Cats#:~:text=If%20your%20cat%20is%20lost,a%20theft%20has%20taken%20place.