Threats to take me to court to take her cat back

[Seepe56]

Hi Guys, need some advice here: cut a long story short, a girl that was living with me had a cat she got in 2013. In December 2016 she decided to go stay at her mums as her mum was was poorly - she kind of expected me to look after her cat - which i didnt mind as i grew to love her and did most of the looking after anyway! she always slept with me not her. Anyway as she was still paying rent when she wasn't there i asked her to pay an extra £10per month to pay for her food etc, anyway 2 years and 4 months later (April 2019) !!! she decides shes not renting anymore and thats fine, she left all her stuff in her room as she did for those 2. years and it was gross, she hoarded and had crap everywhere, stuff she hadn't even used for years, she was meant to collect her stuff by end of April as my brother was moving in - 2 months later (yesterday) she decides to message me asking to collect it, i am not a storage unit (she stopped paying rent in April) and my mum had already cleared her stuff out, as most of it was moldy and gross, she salvaged a few bags and some other bits, but most her stuff had to go in the bin - i told her this and she is saying she is now saying shes going to take me to court for throwing most of her stuff out, then a few messages down the line, she decides to say that she wants to collect the cat on Tuesday also, in which i told her no, i had looked after her and cared for her and paid for her toys, litter etc, she is saying she owns the cat et c and paid the exdtra £10 for her food - lets be clear, she doesn't are about the cat, she never visited her, asked after her, cam e up and played with her , nor bought her any toys or nothing, the cat doesnt even know who she is, and i know full she she wont look after her properly - she said she called the police and they said i i have 7 days to let her pick the cat up or she can claim it as theft, even tho she left the cat with me !!! i didnt steal her, this is her home and she is well looked after and loved. Anyway i said see you in court, so wether she does it or not i dont know, she was angry about her stuff and then brough the cat up she never said she getting her until that point. if she does take me to civil claim court, what coudk the outcome be? i wouldnt leave my pet thats for sure, no matter what anyone said - why now 2.5 years later she decided she loves her ? any help will be appreciated - in regars to her stuff, she abandoned it for 2 months, and i have every right to get rid of the moldy stuff - she stil has a couple of bags of stuff my mum saved. no one is stopping her getting it .

[Amethyst]

When she was living with you was that as a partner or as a tenant ? ( ie did she live with you, or rent a room from you, and on what terms was she renting ?)

[Seepe56]

tenant - just a monthly rolling one

[Amethyst]

Okay did you give her notice of the date by which she needed to remove her belongings and that after that date they would be cleared ?

[Seepe56]

yes she paid for aprils rent, - a few days after she decided not to stay -so i said my brother is moving in in may and if she has collected her stuff mid way through arpil i would reimburse some rent back to her - she never mentioned her stuff again until 2 months later - by which time most of it had to be chucked out as it was rotting and moldy - she still has handbags, photos and a few bits and her tv - my mum clearedher room and she wasnt told most of had gone to be fair - anything in regards to my cat ?

[Amethyst]

It sounds like it was her cat, and in adding to her rent payments to cover the costs of the cat you were agreeing to look after it for her, and it remains her cat, you acted as a bailee and it remained her property. I'm going to tag des8 now we know a little more as he has far more knowledge in this area.

[des8]

Hmm... cats are regarded legally as property of their owner, and to deprive the owner of that property is theft.
The payment of money for the upkeep of the cat would indicate that she had not abandoned the animal.
Whether or not she will proceed to obtain a court order for you to deliver the cat to her can't be guessed, but she could report you to the police for theft.
I appreciate you are emotionally attached to the cat, and if you can prove she would not care for it properly you may be able to retain it.
However that is a high bar to overcome.
You will just have to wait and see what her next step (if any) is.

Regarding her goods, they should not have been disposed of.
However if you have evidence that the goods had deteriorated to such an extent that they were valueless (& perhaps a health hazard), she hasn't really a viable claim.

[Amethyst]

Thanks Des