Pet Owner Relinquishes Rights to Cat

Many times I think that the cats that come into my yard are stray due to their matted fur and they are usually hungry or thirsty. If the cat meows and is friendly and spends the entire day and night in my yard. I assume that it may be an indoor/outdoor cat, a neglected cat or that the pet owner has moved away.

What happens if you know of a pet owner who isn't being responsible and Do you know the cat needs care? Do you call animal control and report the neglect or do you visit with the person to find out if they still want the cat? 

Sometimes they aren't intentionally irresponsible as maybe they are sick, maybe there is a reason for the lack of care, and maybe they would prefer to relinquish their rights to the cat. Many times pet owners who never let their cats indoors and provide no outdoor shelter for the cat do not want the cat anymore and are eager to surrender their rights to someone who likes and wants to adopt the cat.

A cat that pet owner didn't want 

A few weeks ago my neighbor's cat decided to live in my yard. If would spend the entire day in my garden, drinking from the pond, hunting grasshoppers and salamanders and I found that it was sleeping in my dogs house at night. As soon as the dog was brought inside the cat went into the house in the kennel. The cat did not go home and I knew that it was at one time a housecat and needed to be cared for especially since my area has coyotes and other animals that would enjoy a cat snack.

Since I knew the woman who owned the cat I did go to visit with her. She told me to release the cat that it was outdoors now because she was ill and could not take care of it anymore.

I told her that the coyote was in the neighborhood at night and that it really was not safe for a housecat to be outdoors. But the neighbor was stern saying that the cat is not coming in here. She went on to say that the cat was too much trouble, always wanting to sit on her lap and that the cat kicked the litter all over the place.

I learned that the cat in question was approximately 15 years old and was not spayed and was taken to the veterinarian for vaccines when it was a kitten, but other than that no routine vaccines, wormer, or veterinarian care for approximately 14 years. Clearly, the cat was neglected and my neighbor was not being a responsible pet owner so I offered to adopt the cat if she would relinquish her rights of owning the cat to me. 

She was glad to do that but I didn’t take her word for it. I went home and printed out a cat surrender of ownership where the pet owner relinquished her rights. We both signed and dated the document and we both had a copy of the agreement.

 So now I have a 15-year-old cat that will be going to the veterinarian for a spay, vaccines, and wellness check-ups. If the cat is healthy with no serious health concerns I will then seek adopters in my neighborhood.

***If you love cats then you want to view my cat-designed products. Many products were created from the photographs of feral and stray cats that we care for. ***