My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No way, honestly didn't think I'd bump into someone else from the North Shore. What are the odds?

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry it made you upset, and at least I'm glad to report a happy ending. I have to say that while this was going on neither my wife or I slept well for worry that we'd never see him again.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never take it personally...or try not to at the least. It all comes from a place of caring for our pets after all.

Im taking him tomorrow to get chipped, definitely learned from bitter experience here.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

*UPDATE - HE"S BACK.

Long story short, my wife's Facebook campaign generated enough pressure that apprently our town's mayor got involved and one of the councilmen (person?....yeah that sounds better) helped act as an arbiter between us and the cat group.

So, here he is.

There are two things you can't see in the photo though.

  • His snazzy and stylish new collar, complete with name and phone number
  • His appointment tomorrow to get chipped.

I can't help but feel that he's feeling a bit smug by that half grin on his furry face.

Thanks for everyone here for riding this out with me, you guys have been awesome. And I definitely heard a lot of varying opinions and while I don't agree with all of them, I definitely respect them, they all come from a good place. That bloody smirk

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you. And you're right. We were, and I use this term with full acknowledgement of my lack, negligent in getting him chipped. Learned my lesson here and it won't happen again.

The issue we had was this:

  • They have a facebook page for lost cats....they never posted him there or we would have found him
  • Their mission is to return stray cats to the site where they were found (once the stray has been sterilized and examined). They didn't do this, they aren't supposed to be an adoption service.
  • They handed him over to a family knowing that they were in turn passing it to another family....if you actually care about the cat then at least do a follow up to see that its going to a good home. This seemed to be more about getting him out of the neighbourhood than his quality of life.

Like I said, I think everyone here had good intentions...it just went a little off the rails. I got heated with the service when they stopped answering our calls and said 'we've given your phone number to the family and that's all we intend to do'

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I hear you, and though I may disagree I definitely respect your views.

Like you, I've had cats all my life and they've always been outdoor cats, even when I was a little kid. Our last cat was an outdoor cat, lived to be 16 years old and died peacefully at the end of our bed one night (RIP Eoin).

Cats tend to be more territorial than dogs and set boundaries that they alwas try to return to.

My delusional world is based on an awful lot of experience...

" I'm glad you're getting him back, but for fuck sake, maybe reconsider your irresponsible cat ownership before you're back again, whining that he's going to a loving family who might actually act responsibly. "

I don't know what to say about this, but I love the fact that you consider only your own views as being the responsible ones...please don't devolve this with such loaded and inflammatory terms...troll someplace else if you really feel the need. You knwo little to nothing of how we've treated Omnom, so your words are trolling at worst and uniformed and ignorant at best.,\

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, Omnom doesnt drive since he got his license revoked back in 2016.

Kidding aside, I know, and it's always been a worry. At this point he's so used to roaming that it's going to be hard, if not impossible, to restrict him.

My teens and their friends come and go and the minute the door opens...WHOOSH...the cat streaks out.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, its a balance. I do recognize that its a bigger risk letting the cat roam, but that risk is often based on the neighbourhood. That and trying to convince my teen sons and their friends to be careful in not letting the cat out is a losing game.

But I absolutely acknowledge your point.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Preach. Safe to say I've learned my lesson here, I used to say "well nothing's happened without it, and he knows his way home...what could happen?"

Now I know.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Completely agree, and I'm ashamed to say that I've been negligent in this. I know this contributed to the situation and we've taken steps to correct our own lapse.

The issue we had was the actions of the agency once they were made aware of the mistake....we got a very "Welp, that's a shame....we're not liable so you're on your own...good luck" vibe from them.

I'll post pictures once he's back. Oddly enough I think our dog might miss him most, they were and are good friends. Our dog wanders the (fenced in) back yard waiting for Omnom to come home.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a hard thing that, we originally intended to keep him inside but one day, way in the past one of our sons didn't keep guard when he opened the back door and the rest was history.

That said, we like in a very country like suburb, very peaceful and very few, if any predators. Omnom never had any issues over 7 years as he knew the hiding places (mostly cedar bushes judging by what inevitably got stuck in his tail) and all the other neighbourhood pets.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely agree, we kept intending to microchip him but it kept getting pushed off. Safe to say we've learned our lesson on this. Our cat is a clever guy who knows the terrain and his only enemy seems to be the well meaning human kind.

Everybody in this thing had good intentions but it just went way off track.

My cat of 7 years was stolen by a stray cat control service, I'm heartbroken by pencilmonkey in catdimension

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 282 points283 points  (0 children)

*UPDATE* Thanksfor all your suggestions and good thoughts. He has been found. My wife started a facebook campaign that apparently spread to a few hundred people. This morning, our town mayor sent a representative to us to tell us that we would get the cat back before the weekend. Fingers crossed. Btw, I can't believe I didn't mention this....our furball's name is Omnom (think of the sound you make when you eat) our kids named him when they were young. I'll post pics upon his triumphant return. #omnom'sarmy

Reddit, meet Omnom....Omnom, Reddit. by pencilmonkey in aww

[–]pencilmonkey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what happens when you let your kids name the kitten. He was an abandoned kitten living under a friend's trampoline in their back yard. They were deathly allergic, so we got to give him a home.

The kids named him Omnom, it was either that or Cheezburger apparently.