Woman thought she’d found friend’s lost cat but had stolen another

SCOTLAND: This is a story with a twist about a microchipped, female cat who was missing for a year and who was found in a disused cinema. She was rescued by the RSPCA who had to obtain the cinema owner’s assistance to access the inside of the boarded up building. The cat (whose name I understand is ‘Lentil’) was in reasonably good health thankfully. She was just a bit starved.

Lentil rescued and safe. Photo: probably a screenshot from a video as the quality is poor by RSPCA.

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

It is another story of a lost cat which baffles me because Lentil was living a tough life by choice when she could have been at home, fed and warm. There must be something happening that we are not aware of. Perhaps she simply got lost although I don’t think the cinema is that far from her home and cats are good at navigating. It seems to be a free choice. Many lost cats are found close to their guardians’ homes. It makes you wonder what the motivation is for these cats to abandon warmth and food for the urban jungle and uncertainty.

But there is a twist to this story that needs to be told. When Lentil’s owner, Sophie Johnson asked for help in finding her cat on Facebook her friend Lauren Faulkner with Charlie Allan decided to help. They found a cat and in great jubilation told Sophie of their great success. Sophie began shaking in disbelief. It sounds like she is a good cat caretaker which reinforces my difficulties in understanding why her cat went missing.

The cat rescuers had their captured cat in their car but before they could drive away a neighbour approached them to say that the cat had an ‘owner’. They were accused of trying to steal someone’s cat. The owner posted on Facebook:

Someone just tried to steal our Railey Ragdoll cat. Luckily thanks to our wonderful neighbours it was prevented. We are aware of a missing cat who looks a little like ours and we are sorry for the owner’s loss but turning up to someone’s home and trying to steal an animal is an appalling and cowardly act.

There lies a problem! Beware the overeager friend who really wants to help to find your cat. You have to make sure they have a clear picture of what your cat looks like. In the UK as we know by now, almost all domestic cats are inside/outside cats. You are likely to bump into someone’s cat and not the one you are searching for.

P.S. The report in the Mirror newspaper is confused about the cat’s name hence my caution. The reporter called the ‘Sophie’ but it seems that they were confusing the cat’s name with that of her human guardian.

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