Question
How can I get back the stray cat? I have dropped the cat at a Queens animal shelter so they will check her up and treat her if she needs the treatment and they told me that you have to follow up with the other animal center in Brooklyn. And I did tell them that I would love to adopt that cat! Also I did follow up with all the updates when it was time to pick her up. They rejected me on my face that you can’t have her I will show you more cats that would be more social. I’m very sad I do not know what to do. I want to get that cat back. I feel so emotionally connected to that cat. We found her in our backyard and we wanted to keep her! But we wanted to get her checked first and instead of giving her back to us they kept her. What can I do?
Answer
Generally when a person relinquishes a stray cat to a shelter, that person does not have any rights to that cat (surrender agreements usually make that clear), although shelters may allow the person who relinquished the cat to adopt after the expiration of the legal hold (stray cats must be held by shelters in NYC to give their possible owners an opportunity to retrieve their missing pets). It then becomes up to the shelter to decide on the cat’s placement. After an animal is rehomed, it becomes very difficult to get an animal returned so if you want to pursue this, contact supervisors at the shelter and/or consult with an attorney immediately who may intervene on your behalf.
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