Court dispute over missing cat 13/10/11
A row over a missing cat has resulted in a Stornoway teenager being sued by an island woman who found and cared for the wandering feline.
Della Macdonald, who looked after the roaming feline for six months after SSPCA forgot to pick it up, has launched legal action against its original owner.
Mrs Macdonald wants Stornoway Sheriff Court to declare her the pet’s rightful keeper so she can take him back home.
Alternatively she is seeking financial compensation for caring for the animal plus
a sum -
Nicola Dempster bought the cat at a Stornoway pet shop in September last year and had him inoculated at the local vet. She named him Smudge and she was very upset when he went missing in March.
She reported him missing to the SSPCA but the body apparently never realised he was the same cat found about a mile away in a garden in Manor Park.
Della Macdonald took him in and notified the SSPCA who agreed she could temporarily look after him for a fortnight. But they forgot all about the animal and never returned for it.
Mrs Macdonald called the cat Oscar and, it is understood, spent about £150 on neutering and feeding him.
But he went absent again and Nicola was delighted to find him wandering the pavements
near the Manor Park roundabout -
But efforts to thank the person who cared for the cat turned sour when Mrs Macdonald traced Nicola via the Facebook social network site and came knocking on her door wanting the cat back.
Police attended the incident but the cat has remained at Nicola’s.
Mrs Macdonald says she badly misses the cat. She is now taking Ms Dempster to court over the dispute. The case is due to be called at Stornoway Sheriff Court on 24th November.
Mrs Macdonald alleges the cat was thin and hungry when it appeared in her garden and she can look after it better. She says she has suffered stress over losing the cat and her dog Hamish is pining for “Oscar.”
A relative of Nicola’s says the teenager has proof of purchase, vets bills and has witnesses to verify her original ownership. The relative said the cat was always well fed and cared for and they tried to find him when he vanished.