Cat owners 'mad' at neighbour after she gives away their pet to animal control

A woman who gave her neighbours cat to animal control after they went away on holiday has questioned whether she made the right choice.

In a post to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole?" forum, the woman detailed the scenario and the different things that ultimately led her to make the call.

"Six days ago, my neighbours packed up their trailer, closed the blinds on their house and left behind their unneutered male cat," she said.

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After three days, she noted how the "previously unsocial cat became vocal and approachable with us (neighbours over the fence.)"

As a self-described "cat friendly person," the woman know the neighbours had left and that the cat was outside 24/7, and so went to check on the kitty.

"After day three, I checked the backyard of neighbours. Food and water available.. cat no longer had a collar," she wrote and gave feedback as to what the cat's condition was like for each day.

Day four: filthy water and no food. Day five: I left a note “we’re concerned, phone #, please contact us, I’m going to call animal services," and by day six there was no food and dirty water so the woman decided to take action.

"...so I pulled the plug, fed cat, called animal control and surrendered cat."

The woman wants to know if she went too far by calling animal control after her neighbours left their cat outside 24/7 iStockphoto by Getty Images

"He’s lovely sweet, purring loving attention. Was very conflicted about sending him off to the pound, but I already have two female indoor cats that would not tolerate him," she wrote.

Upon the neighbours finally returning home after five nights away, they were "mad" at the woman surrendering their cat to animal control.

"I felt my actions came out of concern for an abandoned pet without necessities of life, but now I’m second guessing myself," she said, as she felt five days was too long to leave the cat this way.

She added how her neighbour is mad about the impoundment fee and wants me to pay it, which I’m willing to do," before asking "AITA?"

After sharing her cat dilemma, many people quickly took to the comments section to reasure the woman that she is not the a**hole in this situation.

One person said: "NTA. They left their pet alone for DAYS.

"If they wanted to keep the cat, they should've been responsible pet owners and provided care for their pet - like contacting you and asking you to feed the cat and check on him each day while they're away. They're irresponsible pet owners and the cat deserves better."

"NTA- They could have asked a neighbor to give it fresh food and water," another person said.

Someone else added: "NTA - that’s a poor helpless cat and they should not have left them there alone."

"NTA. Neighbor was a jerk," a fourth person commented.

"Leaving a cat outside with no food or fresh water for days is a great way to lose a kitty. As long neighbors cat was not in danger of being put down, then you did the absolute right thing.

In an updated, the woman thanked everyone for their responses and added: "I will wait and see if he has the nerve to try to bill me $45, or if he will have a change of heart and become a better pet owner."

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