Stupid friend advice needed.

[Aislin]

I have a friend who has made some bad choices. On top of that he has lupus. I was given his spare key because he has lupus and ends up hospitalized often. He lives in a discount apartment. He has a cat. He texted me, "going to the hospital to be admitted, please take care of cat, will call asap." I go to feed the cat the next day. On his bed is a summons to go to court for eviction proceedings. Apparently he decided not to pay his rent. He is on social security for depression and lupus, but apparently decided it wasn't a priority. He his apt. Is trashed. His cat had no food or water and has pissed all over the clothing in his closet. I have no way to help him. I have no idea which hospital he is in, there are like 7 in this city. In 4 days he needs to go to court. He knows this. I am not sure what to do, do I take his cat? It can't live with me, what do I do with it I'd he is evicted? Will his stuff be impounded by his land lord? I can't move it and have no place to put it. Plus it is all covered in cat piss. I am annoyed because I am busy with work and other stuff and now this crap is dropped in my lap. He hasn't called me at all or messaged Any advice?

[mathnerd]

Does your city have a helpline for senior and disabled citizens? Some places have a department similar to Child Protective Services but geared towards the elderly and/or disabled. Sometimes there's no specific department, but it's lumped into something to the effect of "health and human services". Failing that, do you know who his caseworker is for any of the services he receives? I would attempt to contact people in those types of departments to get the ball rolling on getting him some help, as he clearly needs more than he's currently receiving.

[Kittish]

As for the cat, do you know anyone who could keep it for an indeterminate amount of time?

[TheSHAD0W]

You may be able to take the cat to a no-kill shelter; given the circumstances they may be willing to hold the cat without putting it up for adoption for a few days while you try to make other arrangements.

[Aislin]

Tuesday I will stop by and give his landlord a heads up about the cat. I called all the no kill shelters in the area and no one has space. He is already in the care of adult protective services and Cope. I wish he would just call. It pisses me off that he doesn't think things through. He bought new shoes and a fit bit last week and was planning on training for a marathon but he he doesn't clean his apartment, his cat box is overflowing and his cat is upset because it is left alone all the time.

[mathnerd]

I'd call Adult Protective Services and Cope and give them a heads up about the situation. I'm sure they'd rather know sooner rather than later. They might be able to do something before the hearing that wouldn't be possible afterwards. Failure to show up, in most states, is an automatic judgement in favor of the landlord, and that would be difficult to reverse.

Oh, and something I just thought of a second after I hit "post". Do you know for sure that the eviction is for non-payment? I've evicted more than a few tenants who never missed a rent payment due to other lease violations. Failure to take proper care of an animal thus destroying the rental unit is something I've evicted at least four tenants over.

[Aislin]

Based on what I read it was for nonpayment.

[Nunavut Pants]

I called all the no kill shelters in the area and no one has space.

It is full high "kitten season" in the Northern hemisphere, so shelter space will be at a premium for a while. In my area (N. California) we have had a very mild winter, which has led to a bigger and busier kitten season than most years.

[Aislin]

Jerk

So he called today. He seemed offended that I was annoyed that he didn't call. He is in a mental health facility. He seems to been under the delusion that they "can't" evict him because he has rental assistance. I was working out of town, but he wanted me to run over to his apartment and get his eviction paperwork so he could delay the proceedings. Um. No. I told him I was busy and that I can't drop everything and he would have to wait for the end of the day. That was unacceptable. I brought up the fact that his cat was upset and lonely and the fact that he shouldn't have a pet unless he was willing to have a plan in place to care of it beyond telling me to feed his cat. He didn't leave enough cat food, no litter and his apartment is grossly dirty. He was also annoyed I had him on speaker phone. Sorry dude, in the city I am in hands free phone use while driving is the only thing allowed. As soon as he is out I am done. I have a person I take care of full time and a job.

[depechemodefan]

So how's the cat?

I don't know if I'm too late. Maybe you can go to Craiglist and post something about "I have my friends cat, he's getting evicted, can someone take care of the cat until my friend fix his problem." I remember a posting in "volunteers" about someone needing a ride to the vet for his dog. The dog needed a monthly visit, and the guy's car was broken down. So I took the guy to the vet.

[Akasa]

Craigslisting pets is a bad idea. Lots of people who torture animals go after the free animals.

[dendawg]

Lots of people who torture animals go after the free animals.

Not to mention breeder mill people. The best choice for the cat is to see if it can be fostered through an animal shelter.

[Aislin]

Guy made it home and is now crowd funding his eviction fees. They are letting him stay but he has to pay the court cost. Cat is understandably pissed off. He currently is ignoring/avoiding me because he knows I was right about him now having to pay fees for his bone headed mistakes. He claimed they can't evict him and it isn't true and now he is upset.