Settlement ends legal cat fight

PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Two Oregon couples involved in a long custody dispute over a pet cat settled just before the case was to go to trial.

Donnella Whitacre of Portland got her 4-year-old Siamese cat, Merlin, back Monday night after 16 months, The Portland Oregonian reported.

RoseMarie Opp and Lawrence Hudetz, who live four doors down from Whitacre, insisted that they gave Merlin a home because Whitacre and her husband, Charles, had been neglecting him. Whitacre responded by posting leaflets accusing Opp and Hudetz of theft.

In one of the more bizarre turns, Opp and Hudetz placed a lien on Merlin and then foreclosed. That came after Whitacre filed a criminal complaint and a Portland police officer tried to recover the cat.

Sia Rezvani, the lawyer representing the Whitacres, said that he agreed to fight the case for no payment except the $1,000 he was given as a retainer at the start.

"I think they knew my clients wouldn't be able to pay me and they'd fold -- that they'd be able to outlast us," Rezvani said.