Hey, I’m in a really awful and heartbreaking situation. My parents split up. My dad was abusive , particularly to me and also my mum. My mum left the family home. I left at 18 due to basically being forced out. My mum was afraid of him and wanted to be free of his control, therefore she didn’t include much in the divorce about me and my sister or our cats. My dad has 2 family cats that belong to our family, me my sister and my mum. They sold the house and my dad lives in a new house with them. My mum chose to not buy a house and she moves between her partners house and her mums house.

My dad is dating a woman, a very on/off relationship. She is frankly an awful person, clearly after his money and putting pressure on him to have a child, even though he didn’t want one before she started putting the pressure on him. She also lives in another country and marrying him would mean she can move here , have a big house, a well off partner and she’s made it pretty clear she doesn’t see me or my sister in the picture. It is evident that my dad doesn’t really care that seeing her pushes us out.

I’ve kind of accepted the end of a good relationship with my dad, but the cats being with him absolutely breaks my heart. The thing that is the worse is the cats being by with her, or the cats being around a child they may have as that would be disruptive (they are older cats) as well as emotionally awful since they are our family cats.

Please could I have some advice, how can I go about getting my cats back? I live in a flat without a garden right now, but if necessary I could move. I’d do anything for those cats. I also think it would be more disruptive for her to move in and have kids with him, than the cats come with me or my mum/ sister and live in a flat, even if it were to have a smaller garden.

Hell, can I even walk into my dad’s house and take them to mine? They are my cats too. I grew up with them. He does have cameras on the outside of his house though. Perhaps I could cover them. Please, any thoughts? And please, no judgement on my situation. I’ve been through an awful lot and I definitely think the feelings here are justified.