Harriette Cole: I saw my missing cat in the neighbor’s window. How do I get her back?

DEAR HARRIETTE A scant weeks ago my cat went missing I put up flyers around the neighborhood posted on local social media pages and walked around calling her name Related Articles Harriette Cole Should I ask the tutor about the event my child described Harriette Cole I keep replaying this distressing moment from my wedding Harriette Cole My friend laughed off the blunder but it stung to realize how people see me Harriette Cole Are you kidding me The wife who wants to date doesn t deserve sympathy Harriette Cole My cousin thought his wife s lies about me Then a scant days ago I spotted her sitting in my neighbor s window just two houses down I m absolutely certain it s her same markings same collar and when she saw me she perked up and tried to get my attention I knocked on their door to ask about it but they acted confused and commented it was a stray they in recent months took in I know my cat and I m sure she didn t just wander in and decide to live with someone else I m torn because I want to confront them but I m afraid of causing tension or making things worse I live here too and don t want ongoing hostility How do I go about asking for my cat back without starting a neighborhood feud Should I involve the executives or try to resolve it peacefully I just want my pet home where she belongs My Cat DEAR MY CAT If you are certain that is your cat it is time to go to the police Clearly your neighbors have decided that your cat now belongs to them Rather than attempting to reason with people who are unwilling to accept that the stray cat they located wasn t really a stray get the local officers involved to handle the situation If you had your cat chipped when you adopted it that will be all the proof you need DEAR HARRIETTE I got myself into a bit of a pickle I am a single dad and now that my daughter s a bit older and I ve gotten a better hang of the whole dad thing I ve started dating again In the past year or so I ve met a inadequate women and along the way I decided that I would not discuss my daughter until I knew I was interested in pursuing something serious The most of latest woman I was seeing is great and as things began to pick up I decided that I needed to tell her about my daughter and my role as her primary caretaker I called to invite her out and she without delay inquired me why I had never mentioned my daughter Apparently she uncovered out from my social media which I never shared with her I tried to explain that I don t bring up my daughter until I m serious but that seemed to pour salt in the wound She thinks I m a liar or that I m not a proud father which is not the scenario This is a woman I really connected with How can I show her that I m being genuine Should I just cut my losses and move on Dating Dad DEAR DATING DAD There is no rule about what to tell your dates about yourself and your family You are not wrong to want to protect your child s identity and privacy until you get to know someone Related Articles Dear Abby My co-worker thinks I m mad at him In reality I have a raging crush Jill On Money Achieving financial independence Asking Eric There s nobody to complain to about the man in the gym Harriette Cole Should I ask the professor about the event my child described Miss Manners Where should I look when I follow a woman up the stairs That declared if you post about your child on social media you must assume others already know she exists It is understandable that your date would question why you kept this a secret from her State your episode about wanting to protect your child from any new person Add that you are telling her now because you do care about her She can be angry or choose to grow in a relationship with you It is her choice now Let her know what you want so your message is clear Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams You can send questions to askharriette harriettecole com or c o Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO