Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Animals, including pets, are considered to be personal property. If you clearly just lent her the cat with the agreement that it would be returned upon your request or a certain date, you are entitled to get the cat back. You can threatened them with a lawsuit, including telling the boyfriend that if the cat should be considered being kept illegally then he might also have liability. But you can only get an order getting the cat back by going to Superior Court for an injunction which will cost $365 to file a complaint and the help of an attorney at over thousand dollars to prepare the suit and proceed with it if she fights you. As a student, I doubt you have the money to fight her in court, so your only real option might be to bluff her with an attorney letter which might cost you only $5-600 unless you use an attorney who charges discounted prices [still would be about 2-3 hours of work so at least about $200-300].

I agree with Mr. Shers, and I'd also like to point out that any claim of ownership on your part would be somewhat tenuous, perhaps depending upon whether there was a previous owner, whether the cat is lost or abandoned, etc. Did you have it checked for a microchip? Also, if the cat is happy and healthy where it is, maybe you should pick out another one you can like at the animal shelter. There are cats aplenty looking for good homes vs. ????