Moved to a new house 18 months ago. Noticed a teeny cat always roaming the estate, with very patchy fur. Really small, like a year-old kitten.
One day I threw stale bread out for the birds and the little cat leapt on it and just wolfed it down. I gave it some chicken and stroked it. Noticed it had awful scabs all over its back, fur falling out, bald spots everywhere. Found out it lived at our next-door neighbours' house, so went over there, said hello, and said I'd noticed its cat had scabs. They said, oh it's a "minor skin condition" and they had a cream for it, but it would never stay still long enough for it to be applied. I said it kept coming to my house and they didn't mind.
I'm sure it's not relevant, but NDN is a council-owned house, with a horrifically overgrown garden, and junk (doors, chairs, crap) all along our shared passageway.
A month passed and cat was coming in to my house every day and sleeping ALL day. I went over to NDN again and said I really thought she ought to go to the vet. They said they couldn't afford it. I was feeding the cat everyday at this point.
I then rang CPL and they said the fur/scabs might just be flea allergy. The cat seemed to go downhill, so we took her to the vet. She needed antibiotics, flea treatment. £70, which we paid for. I also got them to check she'd been microchipped. She had, but the address was not the NDN, it was in a different nearby town. (The NDN had said they'd got the cat from a friend.) They also said it wasn't a kitten, but about 5 years old.
By this point (3 months), we'd all fallen in love with the cat, so we just unofficially adopted it. All her fur grew back, scabs vanished, fur all thick and luxurious. She got playful, more trusting, and now just spends all her time here. We have an unlocked cat flap and don't force her to stay here.
This has been going on for the past 18 months and at NO POINT did the NDN come over, speak to us, or mention the cat.
We got the vet to contact the owners on the microchip, but the phone numbers were out of date (work number, owner had left the company; mobile number, doesn't work) and they can't be contacted.
Anyway. Last night the NDN were blaring music at 2.30am and DH went over to ask them to turn it down. A bloke we'd never seen before answered the door and, when he found out who DH was, said, "You stole our cat. No we are not going to turn the music down, in fact, when I see you again I'm going to fuck you up, you and your skank wife."
DH didn't take this very well and they ended up squaring up to each other. I don't know the exact conversation, but DH said the bloke was hammered.
I woke up determined to go over and sort out the cat thing once and for all, but "I will fuck you up" keeps ring in my head and now I think, fuck it. Fuck them. They neglected their cat until it was malnourished, starving, scabby, bleeding and covered in fleas, so they don't deserve it. And they're not even the owners on the microchip!
What should I do?