Neglected animals are hard to ignore, especially when they appear to need immediate help.

But what would you do if rescuing a sickly outdoor cat led to a clash with neighbors claiming it as their own?

Would you second-guess your decision?

Or would you feel justified in taking action?

In the following story, one person finds themselves in this exact scenario and wonders if they were wrong.

Here’s what happened.

AITA for taking a “stray” cat to a rescue

So basically, I have lived in this house for two years.

There are a ton of stray cats around, mostly ferals.

I have been taking kittens to a rescue when they pop up for the entire time, no problem.

There has been a tomcat outside for a long time.

I know him, and I feed all the cats.

He has always been more social than the others, but he is clearly neglected.

I immediately noticed the immense matting in his fur and how underweight he was for his size.

He also has fleas and all that as well, so he’s indistinguishable from the other ferals, just a little friendlier.

The cat needed medical attention because he was very ill.

I see this cat outside every day, at all hours.

Eventually, I can pick him up, and he follows me around all the time.

I was grappling with taking him in and ultimately couldn’t.

However, the rescue I work with tells me they have a space for him.

Excellent. I took him there about two weeks ago.

The day after, they send me the vet report.

He is underweight and dehydrated and has FIV, fleas, and heartworms.

He has rotting teeth that need to be pulled.

He has to be sedated and completely shaved down to get him clean at this point.

The prognosis is not good, basically managing symptoms and hoping he doesn’t die.

But he is with a foster somewhere and comfortable.

Cut to yesterday.

My neighbors came over and told me they’d seen the cat near my house and wanted to know where he was.

I said, “At a rescue.”

The neighbors are upset because it was their cat.

They tell me it’s their cat.

I tell them, “I’m sorry, there was no chip, nothing. The cat is extremely sick and did not look cared for”

(I tried to phrase it nicer but…).

They want to know where it is, but I honestly have no idea.

The interaction got aggressive quickly and ended with them threatening to call the police.

I basically said okay, but no cops showed up.

I didn’t think they would even if they did call (my area sucks).

But I feel a little bad.

In my opinion, they were not taking care of him in an appropriate way.

It hurts me to see animals treated this way, but they claim he’s been theirs “forever,” and he’s “hard to get inside” (which was not my experience).

What does everyone else think?

AITA?

Sure, the people are probably upset, but they should care more about what’s best for the cat.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit feel about this.

They would’ve backpedaled quick!

As this person points out, they could call rescues.

Epic response.

Here’s someone who thinks they did the right thing.

The cat is better off where it’s at.

These people should let it go and never own another animal.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.