Dear Prudence,
A widowed friend we didn’t know all that well recently died, leaving behind a mentally ill daughter, Jenny. We knew Jenny had serious problems, but it was none of our business. We assumed that our friend, a wealthy financial advisor, was planning for Jenny’s future. Jenny has been diagnosed, we learned later, with multiple disorders, including paranoid schizophrenia. After the funeral, we also learned that the estate was bankrupt and Jenny’s nearest relative wanted nothing to do with her distant cousin. We took in her cat, which was supposed to be temporary. She claimed she’d take the cat back in two weeks when she got settled. She asked to sleep on our sofa, but we said no. Jenny is now homeless and enraged. Furious messages accuse us of defaming her, stealing the cat, and influencing her late father to disinherit her. We are shocked that Jenny’s parents would leave their ill daughter penniless.
She called late at night, leaving vicious, rambling texts and voicemails, and refused to stop even when we threatened to block her. Before blocking her, I told her she had six weeks to retrieve her cat before we took her to a local rescue. The cat is beautiful and now living with a foster family that already wants to adopt her. Our question is: What’s the right thing to do with the cat? Jenny appears to be refusing her medication and we think she won’t be able to care for herself, let alone a pet. I expect her to become a ward of the state. But I don’t know that. I told her I’d hold the cat until she found housing, not give it away. Maybe I don’t have a right to decide whether Jenny is “competent.”
—Ethically Confused Animal Lover