A woman who alleges her cat was kidnapped by a former friend won a legal victory earlier this month when a Manhattan judge granted her full custody of the elderly feline — but the pet parent said she’s yet to be reunited with her companion.
Aliya Zaydullina said she’s hoping the July 11 ruling will put an end to the two-year-long legal battle between herself and former friend Maria Senichkina, whom Zaydullina said was supposed to be pet-sitting her playful senior cat, Liza, for a few months back in 2022.
Liza is now 15 years old, and it’s been close to three years since she saw Zaydullina, who the court reaffirmed remains her legal human guardian. Yet Senichkina told Gothamist she hopes to appeal the decision.
In her ruling, Manhattan Judge Wendy Li considered not only the two women’s property rights and discrepancies in their accounts of events, but Liza’s welfare. An animal rights expert told Gothamist that’s rare — but described it as one of multiple recent examples of courts treating animals less like property, and more like people.
One conversation, two interpretations
Zaydullina was living in Hell's Kitchen in September 2022 when she asked Senichkina to watch the cat while she traveled to her native Russia to be with her sick mother. She said that when she returned a month later, she asked her friend again to watch the cat fora few more weeks to deal with family issues.
That conversation is the crux of the disagreement between the two women. While Zaydullina maintains it was a mere extension of the original favor, Senichkina argued in court and told Gothamist by email that in that conversation, the two women agreed the cat would become hers — and she’s kept the feline since then.
“It's like part of you is just taken away from you without your permission,” said Zaydullina, currently living in Florida. “You do everything you can, and still, you can't do much.”
Li’s decision recounts testimony that Zaydullina left New York to stay temporarily in Florida until spring of 2023, because of financial issues. During that time, Liza remained with Senichkina.
“I would never have agreed to be a temporary sitter for seven months,” Senichkina said in her email. “One month, sure. But seven months, and hundreds of dollars and hours invested … it was clearly not a temporary favor.” She described taking on thousands of dollars in expenses for the cat’s care, including veterinary bills.
Zaydullina said when she returned to New York, Senichkina wouldn’t give her back the pet.
“She blocked me everywhere, Instagram, even LinkedIn, everywhere,” Zaydullina said. “I was sending emails nonstop.”
That’s when Zaydullina began exploring her legal options and filed a police report for stolen property and then the civil suit. The trial ensued in May, leading to a decision this month.
The cat Aliya Zaydullina calls "Liza" but her former friend Maria Senichkina calls "Lisa" is 15 years old.
A court decides
In her decision, Li considered whether a contract had been breached, whether Zaydullina had abandoned the cat, and the well-being of all parties — including the cat. The two women hadn’t made any written agreement, and the judge found Senichkina couldn’t prove in any of the communications shared with the court that Zaydullina had handed over the cat as a gift.
Li also found that Zaydullina hadn't abandoned the cat and remained its legal owner the entire time.
Ultimately, when considering all parties’ wellbeing — including that of the cat — it came down to time. Zaydullina adopted Liza from a Brooklyn shelter in 2013 and cared for her until she had to return to Russia a decade later.
“While there is no doubt that [Senichkina] and the cat have formed an incredibly strong connection with each other in the past two and a half years, this court must acknowledge that [Zaydullina] shared at least a similar connection with the Cat for the 10 years prior,” Li wrote in the ruling.
Zaydullina and Liza shared that time “not just as pet and owner, but together as a family,” Li wrote.
More than just property
Animal law expert and advocate Matthew Dominguez said pet custody trials of this type are rare since litigation is expensive and time-consuming. Dominguez, U.S. director of the animal rights group Compassion in World Farming, said it’s even rarer for the decision to come down to the animal’s best interests.
While courts in New York are asked to consider an animal’s well-being, contractual agreements typically matter more because pets are ultimately considered property in the eyes of the law.
“If there was a very clear oral agreement or there was a written agreement of transfer of ownership, the judge's hands would've likely been tied to not even consider what was in the best interest, interest of animals, because the contract, contract law would've trumped everything,” he said.
Dominguez said he’s hopeful that courts are moving closer to recognizing animals’ personhood, as animal advocates have long advocated for doing.
Aliya Zaydullina adopted Liza in 2013, and cared for her for a decade before a dispute with Maria Senichkina over the cat's ownership
New York courts and legislators have taken multiple steps toward treating pets as more than mere property.
Legislation proposed by State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar would hold dog owners criminally accountable if their pets harm others because of negligent handling — after a service dog’s owner found she had little recourse when her companion was mauled by a pit bull on the Upper West Side. Last month, a New York court recognized dogs as family members, allowing a woman to be awarded emotional damages after she witnessed the death of her son’s dog as it was hit by a car — a decision advocates celebrated as a win for animals.
A 2021 state law also asks courts to consider an animal’s best interests in divorce cases, much as they do for children. And Li’s ruling cited an older case asking to determine if an animal had “prospered, loved and been loved," finding Liza was loved under both women’s care, but that Zaydullina would be harmed more by losing the cat.
Senichkina, who calls the cat Lisa, said she hopes to push back on that finding in an appeal.
“Lisa is not a bag of beans that can be passed back and forth every now and then,” Senichkina said via email.
What’s next for Liza
Li’s ruling requires Zaydullina to reimburse Senichkina for the costs of the cat’s care from September 2022 to May 2023, which Zaydullina said she always planned to do.
The judge also suggested the parties “arrange a way for [Senichkina ] to remain a part of the cat’s life in some capacity.”
“I am open to reestablishing the connection if we reestablish some sort of trust and communication, which is not happening,” Zaydullina said.
Senichkina, told Gothamist by email that she and her lawyer haven’t yet formally received the court’s ruling, which gives her until Oct. 1 to return the cat.
When asked specifically if she now planned to hand over the cat, Senichkina said only: “I respect the court orders and the judge’s decision.”
