Judge orders cat thieves to compensate owner for loss
Owner paid $1,000 for feline in 2021
Even though she filed the statement of claim seeking compensation for the property taken from her, the owner has consistently indicated she would withdraw it if the defendants helped her find her cat. They’ve been unmoved by her plea.
CORNER BROOK — A west coast woman was awarded $1,428 in a civil case involving her stolen cat in provincial court in Corner Brook earlier this week.
The owner bought the cat from a cat breeder for $1,000 in July 2021. There was a written contract, and the owner received a certificate from the International Cat Association.
The cat lived with the owner for one year, until the two defendants in the civil case entered her home in July 2022 and took the cat without her consent. They have said they felt the cat was not properly cared for.
The defendants claimed the owner’s former partner, to whom they have a family connection, consented to them removing the cat and to doing what they deemed appropriate with it.
But Judge Wayne Gorman pointed out in his written decision released on Feb. 27 that the man had no propriety interest in the cat.
The defendants gave the cat to a shelter, which either sold it or gave it to someone else.
“All this occurred without (the owner’s) consent,” wrote Gorman.
The defendants claimed the shelter is no longer in business and they don’t know where the cat is, although it was noted they have received messages that the cat is doing well.
The owner’s former partner told the breeder that he knew where the cat is, but would only tell the breeder if they promised not to tell the owner. The breeder refused to be part of the underhanded and cruel conduct, wrote Gorman.
The owner has asked the defendants to tell her where her cat is so she can take steps to get it back, but the two women have refused to help her.
Even though she filed the statement of claim seeking compensation for the property taken from her, the owner has consistently indicated she would withdraw it if the defendants helped her find her cat. They’ve been unmoved by her plea.
In his decision, Gorman said the issue he had to determine was whether the defendants must compensate the owner for their theft of the cat.
With animals being considered property, Gorman said, the question in the case is who bought the cat from the breeder.
The answer is obviously the owner, he said.
“He was her property. The defendants had no lawful right to remove (the cat) from her possession. If they felt (the cat) was being mistreated, they could have contacted the police or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.”
Gorman said the defendants must compensate the owner for her loss.
He ordered that they pay her $1,000 for the loss of the cat, $100 for the cost of filing the statement of claim, $28 for the service fee and $300 in costs, for a total of $1,428.