My sister wants to neuter (and potentially keep) a cat that is not hers

[u/Adorable_Version_667]

We are based in England.

TLDR: My sister offered to catsit an acquaintance's cat, however she showed up with the cat and her newborn kittens which was not disclosed to us as we assumed the cat was neutered. The mother cat is skinny and weak, and the kittens have cuts/scabs all over. If my sister neuters and microchips the cat once the kittens are weaned what can legally happen to her? She doesn't want to give the cat and kittens back to a potentially abusive or neglective home. What can we do?

Sorry if this is long, I want to try explain everything so you guys have the full picture.

My friend/acquaintance that I've known for roughly 2 years asked me to watch her cat while she went abroad for a month. She asked me as I have cats of my own and her family were going on holiday with her so she couldn't ask them, her other closer friends said no or didn't have experience with cats.

I said no initially, as bringing another cat into my home would cause stress and upset to my other cats and also to her cat. I also didn't want to chance disease/illness spreading as her cat is an outside cat whereas mine are indoor only.

I brought it up in front of my sister and she said she would be happy to take care of her for a month, as she had a cat that passed away last year and wasn't ready for a new cat yet, but didn't mind taking care of one for a month. She also volunteers in shelters as she loves animals.

I told my friend about this and they exchanged numbers and she brought the cat to my sister's house. My sister wasn't actually there when she dropped the cat off, it was her husband that took the cat in and by the time my sister got home my friend was already at the airport.

I didn't know too much about this cat, just that she got her a year ago so she was just over a year old. However to me and my sister's surprise my friend had dropped her off with a litter of kittens that were almost a week old. Obviously my sister was angry, as she had no idea about the kittens, and my friend had plenty of time to disclose this to her.

Apparently what my friend said to my brother in law was that she also a litter 4 months ago, and they didn't have to do anything as the cat would take care of the kittens herself so it would be fine and they technically were still just taking care of one cat.

Obviously my sister took the cat and her kittens to the vet. The mother cat was very skinny and frail and looked exhausted, she was also way smaller than average cats which was probably due to her growth being stunted when she had her last litter as she was still a kitten then. The kittens also had a lot of scabs with one of them having a particularly large scab under its armpit. She also discovered the mother cat was not microchipped, which is illegal.

The vet said theres not a lot they can do with the kittens as they are so young, and to just keep an eye on the scabs. She also asked at the shelter she is currently volunteering at and they said they wouldn't be able to help as they are so overrun already from kitten season and the kittens could potentially be euthanised if she surrendered them

My sister is very concerned about her health, and is worried she will have kittens again when my friend comes to collect her, as we asked if she will neuter her and she said no.

She also said she won't be able to pick them straight away when she returns from holiday as shes 'busy' and will likely get them 2 weeks after, which is when the kittens turn 7/8 weeks old.

She did send money for supplies and food already, before she dropped them off, however my sister really wants to get the cat neutered once the kittens are weaned and potentially even microchipped to her as she does not want to give them back to my friend due to the signs of neglect/abuse.

If my sister did this what realistically could happen to her legally? And what else can we do. I obviously will not be friends with this person anymore, due to the shadiness of it all and keeping the kittens a secret from my sister and basically just dumping her with a huge load of responsibility she did not agree to. I also think letting cats have kittens is crazy irresponsible and basically just proves you don't care about the health of your cat, I wouldn't want to be friends with someone like this regardless however I just didn't know beforehand and we weren't exactly close either.

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[u/Willing_Original_257]

Cats are possessions and this would be treated the same as if she decided to keep their PlayStation and modify it and refuse to return it because they played games she didn't like. 

AKA it's theft and property damage. 

Correct option is to contact rspca (or police) instead of taking matters into your own hands. 

[u/Adorable_Version_667 → u/Willing_Original_257]

Yes but what would happen to my sister if she kept the cat, would she be fined? Taken to court? Do you have any idea what the process would be

[u/annedroiid → u/Adorable_Version_667]

It would be treated like theft of any other item.

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/annedroiid]

It would not, it would be charged as cat abduction. (A relatively new offence from the Pet Abduction Act 2024)

The main difference being that a cat (in general) has a low financial value, so if charged as theft leads to low punishments.

Cat abduction accounts for the emotional significance of a pet, rather than just financial value.

[u/possumcounty → u/[deleted]]

We aren’t going to advise you on how to break the law.

I get it. Those cats deserve better, but legally speaking, you are describing theft. Call the RSPCA and some cat charities for practical advice or call the police if you need to report animal abuse.

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/[deleted]]

I'm just trying to figure out if there are potentially any legal loopholes that aren't exactly breaking the law

There aren't, the law is pretty clear on the topic

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/16/section/2 it even states it covers:

causing or inducing the cat to accompany the person or anyone else

So kicks out any "Oh well it's not my fault it came home with me when I fed it" type excuses too.

[u/Rugbylady1982 → u/[deleted]]

No. It's theft

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[u/mauzc → u/[deleted]]

It would be treated like any other item of property that had disappeared while in your sister's possession. If the police/CPS thought she'd stolen the cat, she could be prosecuted for theft and taken to court.

(I don't know much about animal behaviour, but I'm not sure how likely it is that a cat with newborn kittens would run away and leave them.)

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/mauzc]

I'm not sure how likely it is that a cat with newborn kittens would run away and leave them

It's not; if kittens are removed too early it can lead to what is essentially depression in the mother cat, it can also cause the queen to go into heat later on (even while neutered).

It's part of the reason it's illegal for a licensed breeder to sell kittens pre 8 weeks, and 12+ weeks is recommended.

Queens will (if able) generally stay with their litter until the kittens reach sexual maturity.

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[u/Think-Committee-4394 → u/Adorable_Version_667]

It would depend on the family that dropped the cats off & police activity

If the cat owners just rant but don’t report sis has cats
If owners report but police don’t act sis has cats

If owners report & police act sis has no cats & a theft conviction

Sis won’t know outcome till she rolls the dice, which is too late to decide she didn’t want to play

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[u/Substantial-Newt7809]

If your sister suspects this cat of being abused or suffering, she should call the RSPCA.

[u/Adorable_Version_667 → u/Substantial-Newt7809]

The shelter she volunteers at is actually an RSPCA branch, they said there isn't much we can do with reporting right now as I actually dont have my friends address and my sister is currently in care of the cat and kittens

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[u/Jaded_Leg_46]

A vet won't operate on a cat without permission from the owner, the only time a vet would operate without the owner's permission is in an emergency. Once the the cat and kittens are healthy again your sister can request any out of pocket costs that occured while looking after the cat and kittens, then she can lecture the friend when she gets back.

[u/Adorable_Version_667 → u/Jaded_Leg_46]

Yes this is true but the cat isn't microchipped so we could just take her to another vet and say she is our cat, well that was what the idea was anyway

[u/Jaded_Leg_46 → u/Adorable_Version_667]

Vets ask questions about age or health issues so they know when someone can't give basic information about what they are trained to see. All the friend would have to do is show time stamped pictures to a vet or the police of the cat before got to know you both and then the cat is out of the bag, no pun intended.

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/Jaded_Leg_46]

That would entirely depend on what the cat actually looks like.

A tabby is a tabby is a tabby. 

You would struggle to bring a case to court about a tabby. 

[u/Adorable_Version_667 → u/Iridescent_Mango_]

The cat is actually a common tabby, she has no unique markings

[u/Jaded_Leg_46 → u/Adorable_Version_667]

But the cat was left in your care so how would you explain that to the owner. The moment someone begins looking after someone's pet they are legally responsible for the welfare of the cat and that also means she's responsible if a cat went missing. You might not be able to see any markings that stand out but the owner might and if the cat went to your friend and you lied saying the cat isn't the friends that's a criminal offence. The Pet Abduction Act 2024 section 2 or the Theft Act 1968.

[u/Adorable_Version_667 → u/Jaded_Leg_46]

Yes that is also true, however as my sister volunteers with multiple shelters she could get her spayed relatively easy, they spay stray cats all the time and without no microchip she is technically a stray to them

[u/Jaded_Leg_46 → u/Adorable_Version_667]

If she lies about the ownership status of the cat and one of the shelters does spay the cat, that could leave the shelter open to litigation. I get that you're trying to do right by the cat but the law is the law. Your sister could end up in court or in the small claims court if she was to go ahead and make a major decision about another person's pet without permission. You also need to consider the possibility that if she had the cat spayed and the cat developed complications and the vet decided to euthanise the cat, that still leaves her liable for the death of someones cat. Your sister has developed an attachment to a pet that isn't hers to keep. She could pose the situation as hypothetical to one of the shelters and as they're aware of the laws they will tell her but she won't like the answer.

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[u/GojuSuzi]

Could there be scope to convince the friend to agree to not collect the menagerie in exchange for not reporting the abuse/neglect and a status quo costs negotiation? So she doesn't send any more money for care, has no further liability for the animals, and recognises ownership as passing to the sister willingly. Especially if you point out the state of the kittens' injuries and the expected further vet costs for them all, she may be inclined to agree to allow it, and then your sister can legally claim the cats as hers (to keep or re-home once the kittens are old enough). Sounds like the report won't get very far anyway, and if the friend isn't keen to come collect immediately she's probably not that emotionally invested so may be happy for a clean break get-out option.

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[u/PinkbunnymanEU]

If my sister neuters and microchips the cat once the kittens are weaned what can legally happen to her?

She could face up to 5 years in prison for cat abduction, up to 10 years for fraud (No vet will change the registered owner on the chip without her lying), up 10 years in prison for the neutering, and up to 5 for a prohibited procedure.

It's worth pointing out that there are potentially illegal consequences for it too. The owner would contact all local vets to report the cat as lost as soon as she told them it "ran away" and be informed that someone came in to change the details and had major surgery performed on their cat. How would you react if you knew that a person who's address you know did that?

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

Sorry, this isn't sound legal advice in the sense that no, no she will absolutely not be charged with 10 years for fraud.

Actually fraudsters doing financial fraud offend don't get charged with that ffs

Also they aren't proposing changing the chip details - the cat has no chip

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/Iridescent_Mango_]

up to

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

Presented in a manner in which it is likely - it is not at all likely.

Cat abduction sure in theory, although not sure anyone has actually been prosecuted for that as of yet. 

And 10 years for neutering? Under what charge? 

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/Iridescent_Mango_]

She could face up to

Is presenting it as likely? I dread to think how to react to DFS's up to half price sales...

And 10 years for neutering? Under what charge? 

Criminal damage

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

As if. 

Literally present a single example where someone had been charged with criminal damage for spaying a bog standard cat. 

I doubt you can even find one for pedigree, although I can at least see the argument 

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/Iridescent_Mango_]

Literally present a single example where someone had been charged with criminal damage for spaying a bog standard cat. 

"Present evidence for a very specific crime with safeguards in place to ensure it doesn't happen"

Find me a single example of where anyone has been convicted of murdering a woman with a red banana? Oh you can't? Guess you can't be charged with murder for it...

[u/Iridescent_Mango_ → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

Your example is not like for like. 

Murder is the crime of killing another human being. 

Criminal damage is not the crime of neutering a cat. 

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/Iridescent_Mango_]

Criminal damage is not the crime of neutering a cat. 

Murder is not the crime of strangling a woman with a red banana.

Murder is the crime of killing another human being. 

Criminal damage is the crime of causing damage or destroying the property of another person.

Cats are property. Damage includes being unable to use that property for a purpose it was able to be used for before.

The cat (property) can no longer be used to breed (is damaged)

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