Question
My cat had gotten out of the apartment; I searched everywhere, I put up posted checked sites daily to see if he would turn up, and reported him missing. No word. Then one day I was on Facebook and saw my cat on an animal foundation's page. I contacted them and they had already adopted out my cat. I’m just wondering if there’s anything I could do to get him back. I had him for 3 years, he’s all I had, and I want him back.
Answer
Sometimes adoption agencies will contact adopters to let them know that a prior “owner” has come forth and then leave it up to the adopter to make the decision on whether to keep or return the animal. Generally when an animal is adopted from a humane organization after the animal had been held for the legal hold period (time specified in the law to give “owners” an opportunity to redeem their pets), the original “owner” has no further rights to that animal. People who believe that their animal is being wrongfully withheld can sue to try to get the animal returned.
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