If the cat owner kept it on their own property, there would have been no problem.
How can they charge the person if the cat is merely “missing”? Cats take off on their own all the time.
Because the woman told other neighbors she had lured the cat with tuna and then driven it far out of town and dumped it.
In many jurisdictions, cats are allowed to roam free as long as they are spayed/neutered and rabies vaccinated. I would never buy a home in a jurisdiction which prohibited cats roaming free. And it’s illegal everywhere to dump cats, regardless of whether they were found roaming free in a place where it’s not allowed by law. If there’s a problem cat or dog coming onto your property, you call police or animal control.