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By Alyce Collins
Senior Reporter
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A woman has gone viral after revealing the shocking moment she confronted her neighbor who had stolen her cat several weeks prior.
In early April, Joanne Goffey's youngest cat, Luco, went missing from her home in the U.K. It happened when Goffey's premature baby was in the ICU, so it was already an incredibly difficult and emotional time for the family.
Nonetheless, Goffey, 27, tried to remain hopeful, telling Newsweek that she thought Luco had gone for a wander but would "come back when hungry."
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Sadly, that wasn't the case.
"When she didn't come back after a day or two, we worried that she'd been hurt or got lost," Goffey said. "We never thought the neighbor had her the whole time."
Three months later, the family's other cat, Willow (who is Luco's mom), also got out. Goffey's husband, Marshall Kinder-Maiss, chased after her and managed to catch her swiftly—but not before encountering their neighbor.
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Goffey explained that the neighbor spotted her husband and said to him, "we've got a new cat." But the new feline looked suspiciously familiar.
"Once Luco heard Marshall's voice, she came to the window. He said that looks like Luco and came straight home to me and told me. So, I put my shoes on and went straight over there," Goffey continued.
When she confronted the neighbors about this, Goffey recorded a video of herself to have as reference. In the clip, she can be heard saying "that's my cat," and "she is ours." She apologized several times and highlighted that Luco is registered to Goffey's family, not to mention the pet insurance is logged to her also.
Taking someone else's pet became a criminal offense in 2024, under the Pet Abduction Act. Anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland faces up to five years in prison, a fine, or possibly both.
Goffey thanked the neighbor for taking care of her and said how terrible she felt for taking the missing cat, but remained adamant that it's her pet to keep.
To Goffey's surprise, the neighbor acted stunned and begged her not to take Luco back. "It went on and on, her begging me not to take her and promising she will take care of her," Goffey said.
Despite her neighbor's persistence, Goffey was thankful to get Luco back and take her home. It was only when she got back and watched the video that she realized how difficult the interaction had been.
She shared the footage on TikTok (@jos_flow) to show exactly what happened when she confronted the neighbor, and it's gone viral online. In just a matter of days, the clip has generated over 3.5 million views and 201,600 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
Goffey told Newsweek: "It felt very manipulative, and at the time it worked because I genuinely felt bad for taking my cat home. They had no regard for us missing Luco, and no regard for my autistic child, and no empathy for our other pets who are all family. They only cared about themselves and their cat."
Unfortunately, the ordeal isn't over as the neighbors have continued to argue that Luco belongs to them and have tried to register her to their address, Goffey noted.
Meanwhile, Luco is settling back into her home perfectly fine and loves being with Willow once again. The 2-year-old cat has "no clue" about any of the drama that's unfolded around her.
Goffey would love to put this situation to bed, but she's continued posting videos on TikTok about her experience. Internet users have praised her for fighting to keep her cat and for remaining calm throughout, leading to over 4,000 comments on the TikTok video so far.
"Lots of people are proud of us for taking action," Goffey said. "I think people are more educated on the laws around stealing cats now, and lots of owners feel confident in taking action against cat nappers."
Among the thousands of responses online, one TikTok user commented: "The fact she kept her as an inside cat just shows she literally catnapped her."
Another person replied: "How did you stay so calm!?"
While another commenter added: "you're a better person than me."
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