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In the winter time I took in my neighbor's cat.  My neighbor was leaving this poor cat outside for hours upon hours in the freezing cold and rain.  It would scream to go into the house.  I would call it over and pet it and sometimes it would be shaking badly and have it's fur frozen with rain and snow.  We on multiple occasions told the neighbor hey your cat is outside.  My neighbor said that it was peeing around the house.  Finally after about 3-4 hours of 20-30 degree weather I took the cat in my house.  I also noticed that she would act weird too.  She wouldn't come out of the carrier for 2 days and acted like someone has abused her.  She would bite when you would pet her and was shy.  Now after about 3 months I have finally tamed her some.  She still acts weird. My neighbor never once asked about his cat.  I'm so afraid to ask him if I can have his cat because he is arrogent and might take her back just out of spite and I don't want the poor thing to get abused anymore.  My question is I know God doesn't want me to steal but what am I supposed to do?  Doesn't He count what I did as stealing?  Should I talk to my neighbor?  Sorry that this is so long but I really need advice.  Please tell me what you would do.

This is a really hard decision for you to make. i think you did the right thing in taking the cat in. after all abuse is abuse and shouldn't be allowed to happen. even to an animal.

I am not sure what to say about what to do next. I would find this desicion hard too. Guess you could ask your Best Friend for some advice. (Jesus)

Hello Sister Kris,

First, I agree completely with what Sister Sherylc Said.

You do have other options that you probably didn't consider. You and any of your neighbors could have reported the man for cruelty to animals. That is a felony in many states. Maybe you saved the life of this cat and prevented the filing of charges against this man. You could mention this to the man if this matter ever comes up, or you could also seek advice from your local humane society. Regardless, you saved the life of this cat, and that has to be right.

I am familiar with animal control because of 25 years in law enforcement, so please let me share a few more thoughts. 1) It is almost sure to be against the law to allow a cat to run loose where you live;  2) Large numbers of cats roaming free are a huge problem nearly everywhere; 3) It's almost impossible to determine ownership of cats, especially if they aren't licensed and don't wear a collar and tag. Animal Control in my area determines ownership of cats and responsibility for cats by who has been feeding them for the last 6 days. This is because of the large number running loose and the few cat owners who obey the law in caring for their cats. Animal Control must address all the problems caused by so MANY cats running loose. The general procedure is to trap them and put them to sleep if someone doesn't claim or adopt them usually in a time frame of 5 to 10 days. There are FAR TOO MANY to get them all adopted, so massive numbers are put to sleep.

Sister Kris, I hope this helps you with more options, but prayer should still be at the top of the list.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 143:8 NASB  Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.

Hey Kris, sister I think the others have given you great advice. I don't think I have more to add leagally however, I do have a question. Since you didn't mention it does your neighbor know you've had the cat all this time?

Sister Kris,

I agree with what the others here have said. Taking care of this cat in the manner you did could be nothing but right.

Thank you guys for the advice.  The reason I did what I did and didn't get the law involved was because I didn't want him to get in trouble.  I don't want to cause waves with my neighbor.  He can have a strange attitude sometimes and I don't want to have to live next door to someone that I ticked off.  I think that he didn't really want the cat anyway.  To answer a question someone asked, no he doesn't know that I have the cat.  If I tell him I'm afraid that he will take an attitude and take back the cat out of spite and abuse it again, so I won't risk that.  I also know that if I gave this cat to the humaine society she would be put to sleep because of her aggresivness.  She still can be slightly aggressive and I wonder if that will ever go away.   Even though I know what I did was good I felt that it was bad because I kind of feel that I stole this cat from my neighbor.

Thanks for your replies.

I have one little concern. How do you think your neighbour will respond if he somehow finds out that you have his cat? Do you think it will cause even bigger problems than if you told him about it.

Perhaps if you prayed and asked God to give you favour in your neighbours eyes and told him that his cat has been staying with you. I think God is big enough to intervene and then you don't risk causing bad relationships by saying nothing. Just a thought.

this sounds like a  situation i was in a while ago.


i gave the cat the choice to either go out or stay with me, he chose to stay so i felt less guilty as it was the cats choice and not mine in the end.  all i did was show it kindness and provide it with food and a warm and safe place to go to.