On the popular reddit section "Am I the A**hole?", users of the community of nearly 3.6M members praised a user who "stole" their cat back from their neighbors.
The member, u/Likawaii explained how it all unfolded, explaining that he had owned "Fluffbutt" since he was 2 months old. Fluffbutt was terrified of strangers apparently and was on a special diet because of food allergies.
They explain how they were getting their kitchen redone in their apartment so they took Fluffbutt over to their grandparents house to stay while all of the work was being done.
"My grandparents loved him and really enjoyed his company. Two days ago, Fluffbutt sneaked out from my grandparents' flat into the apartment building. My grandparents spent over 2 hours trying to find him, but couldn't, so they called me and asked to come over and help. When I came over, it was about 7 pm. I checked with the neighbours if anyone saw him, but they all declined."
That's when the user says they heard Fluffbutt meowing behind one of the neighbors doors. They knocked on the door but claims that even though no one came to answer, they could tell that someone was definitely inside.
"I knew the neighbours had my Fluffbutt. He has very specific meow, and not a lot of people in the apartment building had cats."
So the user came back later, at around 3 a.m. Someone grumpy finally answered the door and sure enough, Fluffbutt ran out and tore off down the hallway, later to be found by their grandparent's door.
Then the next morning, the neighbors came over and knocked on their door and demanded that they return the "stolen" cat. They claimed their child was crying non-stop because the cat they found had been taken from them and were angry that they came and knocked on their door at 3 a.m.
They say they got tired of the ridiculousness and shut the door right in their face.
"I'm now staying with my grandparents for a few days to make sure Fluffbutt is OK and the neighbours won't try to steal him again, however some of my grandparents neighbours called me an a**hole for what I did."
Needless to say, nearly every comment on the post comes out in support of the user for doing the right thing and even recommended that they make a police report since it's likely the neighbors would do the same thing again in a heartbeat.
"NTA. [Not the A**hole] I’d do anything for my pets too. It should be easy to prove it’s your cat. I assume you have photos when the neighbors get mouthy? If these people really want a cat they can go get one. Plenty need homes!"
"NTA of course! I'm glad you got Fluffbutt back. Is your cat chipped? How about filing a police report against those neighbouring-theifs (especially considering they got quite aggressive after having been caught red handed AND trying to make you feel in the wrong that they stole your cat lolwut)?"
"NTA I’d do the same thing if it was my dog. Property is not “finders keepers” just because a child gets attached at first sight."