Cat custody battle
Location: Ohio
Hello! Might be a bit of a long post to explain the situation.
About a year ago, i found a cat in rough shape outside of my apartment. He was extremely dirty, covered in open wounds and scabs from fleas, and earmites. I love cats and had been wanting a cat so i took him in. I didn’t even take him really, he waltzed right into the door. I gave him a flea bath, and then made him a vet appointment. At the vet appointment, they scanned for a chip (he didn’t have one), and gave him vaccines and medicine for fleas worms etc. Officially my cat!! Over the past year, i have taken amazing care of him. He truly is my soulmate. He has insurance (after i realized how expensive just that first appointment was), two cat trees, hundreds of toys, i even make homemade cat treats with super clean ingredients. I cannot stress enough how much i love this cat. He’s having a birthday party soon!!
Anyway, last night my friend posted just a cute little pic of me and him (the cat) together. A random girl replied saying he is her cat she lost a year ago. She sent pictures, and he is pretty clearly the same cat. She said he seemed depressed inside so she let him outside for “just a week”. The thing is, he was not microchipped, and was in a very dingy state. The wounds from the fleas could not have been caused in just a week, same with the sheer amount of mites in his ears. When he came in he ate an insane amount of food, like he was starving.
I told her about how i found him and she did not seem to care, only wanted him back. I responded by saying she practically abandoned him, leaving him outside with no flea prevention, no food, and no microchip. She does not seem to have any vet records for him over the 4 years that she owned him previously. She responded by threatening legal action and saying she is going to make a report.
I was obviously concerned because he’s my baby! I immediately went to the police department to see if there was anything i should/could do. They essentially said i could not do anything unless she does, but it doesn’t seem like she has much of a case. I am now just worried sick. He’s my baby and i could not imagine life without him. I found him in such a rough time in my life and he has helped me so much. I’m basically asking, does she have a case ? Is there anything i should prepare for ? I’m getting him chipped soon, i didn’t previously because he is terrified of going outside and runs when the door opens, so thought there was no point because im obviously never putting him outside. I have all of his vet records as well as his insurance policy. Any advice would be amazing and help ease my cat mom mind.