CS denizens, I urgently need your help. (Animal/Shelter/Law people esp. Useful)

[Eireann]

Marlowe, I suggest (if you go the lawsuit route) suing these two personally. Not suing the shelter - for all you and we know, the shelter may be entirely unaware of what is going on. A personal suit won't hurt the shelter's funds, or it shouldn't. I'm sure your lawyer friends can advise you on that.

[Marlowe]

Marlowe, I suggest (if you go the lawsuit route) suing these two personally. Not suing the shelter - for all you and we know, the shelter may be entirely unaware of what is going on. A personal suit won't hurt the shelter's funds, or it shouldn't. I'm sure your lawyer friends can advise you on that.

They ARE the shelter. It's like a two-man-show they run out of their house because they don't think "typical" shelters have animals' best interests at heart - you know, what with all those vaccinations and neuterings and non-homeopathic meds...

I miss my cats so much

[Eireann]

Then they have no business running a shelter, and if they don't believe in neutering/spaying animals or giving them medicine, I think the authorities will be very interested in their operation.

[Sapphire Silk]

When I tried to stop them, they threatened to call Environmental Health, tell them I lived in filth (lies) and get my other kitties taken away too. Since one of my kitties is, to put it bluntly, pretty seriously retarded and very clingy, I couldn't risk this - I think he would literally pine away and die without me.

Oh, the hell no. You get my kitty out of my house over my dead body.

Or at least, with a warrant. This does not sound right at all.

My response to these fuckers would have been, "Call them! But you are not taking my cats anywhere over 2 pizza boxes."

Normally I'm all for unholy vengeance, but no matter how furious and hurt you are, please don't sue them. Not for their sakes...they're sorry wastes of skin and they wronged you horribly...but for the sake of the animals under their care who might suffer or be put down if the funds go into paying a suit instead of caring for them.

That's not enough reason not to sue. These people are doing the wrong thing; there has to be recourse or they are above the law.

[Pixilated]

They don't believe in vaccinations and neutering?? They sound more like animal hoarders than a genuine shelter. I'm amazed they haven't had a massive epidemic of ... well, anything ... yet.

Good that you are trying negotiations before launching a lawsuit. I hope it works!

[Marlowe]

Frankly, I would not have let them in the door in the first place to touch the cats in the first place.

You see, I didn't know that was what they were going to do, or, until I researched them, that they weren't a real shelter. If I'd had any idea, I would never have let them in.

We were just making conversation, telling cat stories, and the woman was like "hey that cat is adorable mind if I hold her?" and since she LOVES being held I said fine... and then as soon as they were in the couple's arms, they announced they were taking them

In retrospect there are so many things I wish I'd done but at the time I just froze up... I wound up chasing them outside and then collapsing on my driveway sobbing and hyperventilating and screaming for a good ten minutes until my neighbour helped me inside.

Until it happens... you just don't know how you'll react. And I let my poor fur babies down.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Normally I'm all for unholy vengeance, but no matter how furious and hurt you are, please don't sue them. Not for their sakes...they're sorry wastes of skin and they wronged you horribly...but for the sake of the animals under their care who might suffer or be put down if the funds go into paying a suit instead of caring for them.

This isn't a shelter; it's a couple of whackaloons raising animals in a very irresponsible way and thinking they get to impose their methods on the people who adopt their animals.

OP knows who these people are and where they live. Call the cops now if you haven't already. Not only to get your cats back, but to bust up this scam of an operation.

[bhskittykatt]

Call the cops and your lawyer friends. These people are definitely not legit. They need to be shut down ASAP.

I hope you get your kitties back in the end.

[fma_fanatic]

So in other words, they sweet talked their way in and stole them? And you're not calling the police why?

Call them now. No more waffling. They stole your pets. It can't be any clearer than that. Theft is theft is theft.

[Chromatix]

We were just making conversation, telling cat stories, and the woman was like "hey that cat is adorable mind if I hold her?" and since she LOVES being held I said fine... and then as soon as they were in the couple's arms, they announced they were taking them.

I think they've used that tactic before - and more than once - with other people. It sounds just too much like a modus operandi to me. The pizza boxes were just a flimsy excuse.

Call your lawyer friends. Now. Faster. Also call the police and make the report.

[taxguykarl]

IPF's right. That is not a shelter. Give them an option: Return your cats or you blow the whistle.

[Jester]

I see you having three options.

1. Let it go and move on with your life. From what you've said, this is not a real option.

2. Have a large burly friend go intimidate them into giving back your cats. Not technically legal, but what they did was pretty much the same, so fuck em.

3. Call the cops and your lawyer friends, and take immediate legal action against them.

I'm going go assume that by the time you've read this, you've already retrieved your cats via #2, or have already made the requisite calls to get the ball rolling on #3.

[Pimento]

Really it's been so long now. Option 1 might be the only one left. Honestly they might have passed them on to someone else

[Jester]

That doesn't leave option 3 off the table or out of the question. True, she may end up not getting her cats back, but at least she'd be able to prevent these fucktrumpets from doing the same thing to someone else.

[fireheart]

That doesn't leave option 3 off the table or out of the question. True, she may end up not getting her cats back, but at least she'd be able to prevent these fucktrumpets from doing the same thing to someone else.

Agreed.


To set up a shelter like that would take time and money to do so, so that they can get hold of their "marks" off the street. I'd also imagine that they would've set themselves up somehow to "look" official. (Not sure whether it's law or not that the cats need to be microchipped/desexed if they're in shelters? I know that cats down here are desexed/microchipped)

If they have several animals, it would take time for them to move everything away.