A man has become concerned for the security of his cat after to a neighbour who tried to forcibly adopt him and, according to the man, might catnap him. Theo Droushiotis, 42 from Enfield in North London, claims his cat, Severus, is pleasant and friendly but has recently caught the attention of a nearby neighbour who has tried to forcibly adopt the cat.
Theo received a number of text messages on Wednesday, September 14 from the neighbour, claiming they wanted to adopt Severus as their daughter had become fond of him. According to Theo, the anonymous neighbour was saying he knows Theo works a lot and questioned whether he has a time to care for a cat as well.
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Theo said: "At first I thought people were playing a joke on me so I said to my colleagues 'very funny guys'."
However, when the neighbour did not take no for an answer and kept asking for the cat, Theo became more concerned.
"I rang the phone number back to see whose phone rang but it went straight to voicemail and then the next text came through. At first I thought it was funny, like 'the cheek of it' but then they weren't taking no for an answer and said 'we'll see how it goes' and I was like 'what,'" said Theo.
"I literally dropped everything and ran home to get him in. I ran home and Severus was there lying down at the back door purring."
Theo became upset and suggested that even though he has a nice friendly cat, it does not mean anyone can just take him.
He tried to diffuse the situation with the anonymous neighbour by trying to tell him he will find another cat like Severus.
"I tried to diffuse it by saying 'everyone loves Severus, I'll find you another Severus', thinking I need to get their address in case he goes missing," said Theo.
"I put Apple AirTags on them round their collars so we can see where they are. I'm watching it like a hawk.
"I'm worried about them catnapping him. I'm waiting for him to not come home for me to follow that AirTag."
Theo and his partner had adopted Severus and their other cat Bellatrix as kittens and named them after two stars of the Harry Potter film series.
However, it is Severus' friendliness which has been his downfall after the owners worried he could be stolen.
"I know he's friendly and that's why we've taken precautions putting our details on his collar - if they weren't would they have just taken him," questioned Theo.
"His tag says 'Hi I'm Severus, I'm really friendly. Call my daddy if I get lost' so that's where they got my number.
"Now I'm worried that my cat is a bit too friendly but I can't do anything about it, he's a very friendly and adorable cat and literally says hello to everyone."
The owners have made clear to the anonymous neighbour that Severus is absolutely not up for sale, but they still remain concerned about their cat's welfare.
Theo and his partner have been very annoyed by the entire ordeal and think it is completely out of order.
He said: "What wound me up was the 'you work all day and you don't have kids'.
"I've got kids, they just don't live with me anymore but who are you to ask that? It's just too forward. The audacity that you have a child that wants something. I really wanted to say 'you need to teach your child manners'.
"My partner said you should have turned the tables and said 'your daughter is so lovely, can we have her?'"
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