Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: fuzziesdad on March 04, 2007, 00:01:52 AM
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I asked this question of many RSPCA inspectors and have put it on every forum I have been on I think this answers my question.
THIS REALLY IS THE WAY TO MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/chroniclel
ive/eveningchronicle/tm_headline=owner%2Ds-agony-as-lost-cat-rehomed%26metho
d=full%26objectid=18701646%26siteid=50081-name_page.htmlToday's
Chronicle
*Owner's agony as lost cat rehomed*
Mar 3 2007
By Sophie Doughty, The Evening Chronicle
Joanne Morrison and partner Stephen Collins
A distraught cat owner has been told her beloved pet is no longer hers.
Over-zealous RSPCA staff have found a new home for Herbie, even though
he already has loving owners who are missing him desperately.
Joanne Morrison was told her cat no longer belonged to her after he went
missing from her home in Denton Burn, Newcastle, a month ago.
After searching frantically for her ginger and white tomcat for two
weeks, Joanne, 23, noticed a card in her local shop window saying a cat
fitting Herbie's description had been found and was now in the care of
the RSPCA.
Story continues
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A delighted Joanne raced home to call the charity. But she was told a
new home had already been found for Herbie and she could not have him back.
"I phoned the RSPCA and they said he was at their centre in Ponteland,"
she said. "I had to take an emergency day off work to speak to the
centre manager and then they told me Herbie had been rehomed.
"They said he didn't belong to me any more. I have spoken to lots of
different people at the RSPCA and they all say there is nothing they can
do.
"Apparently, he has been with a family in Newcastle for 10 days and the
kids have renamed him."
Poor Herbie had wandered onto a road and been hit by a car. He was taken
to Westway vets on the West Road with a broken pelvis, and a vet
contacted the RSPCA.
"We were really worried when he went missing," Joanne added: "When I
found out he was still alive I was so relieved but now we can't have him
back. I broke down at work when somebody asked how he was.
"I have three cats and they are my life, I have pictures of them all
over my locker at work. They have had Herbie for 10 days but I have had
him for two years and I miss him."
Support worker, Joanne, 23, offered to make a donation to the RSPCA and
cover the costs the charity or Herbie's new owners have spent on him.
But the RSPCA will not tell her where Herbie is living so she cannot
speak to his new family in person.
"He has got a loving home here waiting for him," she said. "These people
can't be cat lovers as they have taken a cat away from its owners.
"There are hundreds of cats out there that need new homes, but Herbie is
ours, we have had him since he was eight-weeks-old. I'm totally
distraught. We just want our family pet back."
An RSPCA spokeswoman said once an animal is in the charity's care its
owner no longer has any legal rights.
"While we understand the previous owner's feeling the RSPCA nursed, and
then rehomed a cat in good faith after 17 days in the Society's care,"
she said. "The cat was not microchipped, so there was no means of
tracing an owner. We urge all owners to microchip their pets to avoid
such sad situations.
"We asked the new owners if they would relinquish ownership, but they
and their child had fallen in love with the cat and wished to keep him."
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/rspcainquiry
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Um I think somewhere in the laws small print you can claim a pet for up to 6 or 7 years. I think there was a court case years ago about a similar situation.
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there was a court case in Brighton about 4 years ago and I am sure that will have set a precedent I will try and contact the reporter next week this really does the RSPCA no good in the public eye and if I were to be a bit cynical I might think it was an act of revenge for not having the cat chipped I mean how long did they try to find the owner?
roger.
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Very sad for the owner and over hasty behaviour by the rspca but the moral of the story is get your pet microchipped.
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Very sad for the owner and over hasty behaviour by the rspca but the moral of the story is get your pet microchipped.
I agree Susanne. My heart goes out Joanne :(
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This is ridiculous! Good old RSPCA again, eh? Bl**dy hell !
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microchip your cat................yes I could not agree more ..................but it is still not a legal requirement and surely this is theft by finding? i will know more about this tomorrow as the reporter is contacting me with the full low down sometimes there more to the story than has been told.
roger.
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Well the way I read this was that the rspca had operated on a broken pelvis & rehomed this cat all in a week?????? I'm afraid to say this shows how if by accident your pet gets out & regardless if its chipped or not, if the rspca pick it up you can say goodbye to your pet
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Thats a good point Saffy - bad practice homing a cat during a recovery period as well. I dont think it shows you can say goodbye regardless of chipping though, they did say that it wasn't, so they must have checked.
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I do wonder how the original owner can be so certain this really is her cat, actually. It sounds like she's not actually seen the cat so presumably is just going by the fact that it matches the description. It probably is but I'd imagine it's hard to be completely sure.
The trouble with proving ownership is the onus is on the owner to prove the cat is theirs. The owner needs to prove theft. Microchipping is one way of identifying the cat but not the only way. Microhipping might not be a legal requirement but if the cat had been chipped it sounds like the owner would have got him back without a problem. I assume the owner has other things such as vet records, photographs etc? If I was her I would certainly pursue this. Shame on the new family for not relinquishing the cat although I do wonder what exactly they were told by the rspca. Maybe the publicity will cause them to rethink that.
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I also hope the new family will have second thoughts & return the cat.
What I meant regards the chipping was the fact that we have had so many stories with vets & rescues not scanning & people (plus the pet) going through so much distress before being re united with their owner, which has come about due to the owners perserverance in searching rather than someone using a scanner.
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Well I'm going to be out of step with some of you guys. The main point for me is whether the cat has a good home. I have seen first hand crocodile tears over a cat's disappearance locally in the last few months on two cats that we found and, thankfully, both cats are now re-homed elsewhere albeit woith the owner's knowledge. The tears lasted for so long.
>:(My point is that if anyone cares about their cat - regardless of the law not addressing microchipping - they will have them chipped and wearing a safety collar with ID. No ifs or buts or maybes. There is enough information out there so I don't accept ignorance. I can't help but wonder if this cat had his vaccinations up to date or had ever had veterinary care. The two often go hand in hand.
I am staggered at the time mentioned below at rehoming after major surgery. Surely this is a typo; if not it is hugely disturbing and the RSPCA should be asked to explain their policy on this.
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Saffy and myself have been asking the RSPCA to explain some of their policies for the last 3 years beanie and so far we have never had any answer and I take your point about chipping but even this process has not stopped the RSPCA re-homing a microchipped cat their excuse was the battery had run down and they could not afford to get a new one its the old left hand right hand syndrom or do as we say but its OK for us to bend and break the rules.
roger.
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RSPCA re-homing a microchipped cat their excuse was the battery had run down and they could not afford to get a new one
Battery run down? What kind of excuse is that the readers just take normal AA's, at least our readers do anyway.
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I'm sure I read a thread on this forum not long ago concerning the RSPCA not scanning for microchips. Was it something to do with a cat which had been in a RTA?
I don't accept that all cats SHOULD be chipped in order to prevent the RSPCA stealing them. Nor do I wish to put collars on my cats. But my cats are known in the local neighbourhood to be mine. I wonder if the RSPCA are so cavalier concerning the ownership of dogs.
It's time that disreputable organisation was investigated and overhauled.
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I don't accept that all cats SHOULD be chipped in order to prevent the RSPCA stealing them.
The reasons our Branch of Cats Protection chip:-
WHY MICRO-CHIP?
Losing a pet can be heartbreaking, and an unsuccessful search even more so. Affectionately referred to as "immunizing against homelessness", the micro-chipping procedure is no more painful than a vaccination, and carried out the same way. The small chip (about the size of a grain of rice) is inserted painlessly under the skin between the cat's shoulder blades. Each chip carries a unique number and this, along with details of the cat, is held indefinitely on a national database. The microchip number can be read using a scanner; we have four costing almost £200 each and all vets have them, it then takes just a phone call to the national register and it will quickly bring up the cat's details.
A few weeks ago a vet asked us if we would take in a cat that had been handed in as a stray. indirectly his microchip helped us to find out more about him who we now know was named Murphy. The vets could not contact the registered owners; all they could find out was it had treatment in 2001 at another vets for seizures so asked if we could take the cat in. With the cat came the registered details of the owner. The owners name rang a bell so I did a computer search and found we had homed a cat to her in Sept 2000, not Murphy but a female named Nancy. I asked one of our homing officers to call at the the last registered address which was miles away from the area in which Murphy was found and we were told and the couple had split up a year ago and that Murphy had gone missing a year before the split. We were also given the name of the boyfriend and where they both worked. I phoned the Post Office and was told the owner had now moved to a Sheffield office and to phone them, the number I was given was unobtainable so I rang the Post Office again and was told oh! yes that office was closing down and all the employees are now split all over the country, I then asked if it would be possible to speak with the ex-boyfriend. Finally I managed to get hold of him and he advised me that the registered owner was now in New Zealand and at the time Murphy went missing she was devastated but thought he must have passed away somewhere in view of his condition. Murphy came into care and had a few fits within a short time, so Virginia took him to our vets who did every test possible to try to see what was actually wrong with him, all the tests drew a blank, so Murphy was treated for epilepsy he is a lovely friendly cat who would just like to be petted at various intervals through the day, he is on medication for life and needs constant love and care and observation through the day. He is big black and handsome and a cat to be proud of.
Very recently a cat was found on a main road in Chesterfield it was take to our vets where it received medical attention and was found to be blind, although it was micro-chipped they could not trace the owner so they asked us if we would take it in. The telephone number and address were in Kent, I contacted the Cats Protection nearest to the given address and they went to the house and found out that the family have moved out over 3 years ago and no one knew where. The surname was unusual so I logged onto Directory enquiries for the Kent area, no luck, so I then looked in the London area and there were 2 families listed with that surname, I rang them both but no luck, I had of course looked in our local book, I then rang directory enquiries and asked if anyone with that surname was listed as ex-directory, wonderful there were two families. I explained the position and asked if it were possible for them to ring the families and ask if they had come from Kent and had lost a cat, of course you know the answer. I then decided to ask the local paper if they could put an appeal in. A while later I received a call from one of the office workers, she actually knew a gentleman with that surname through his work with the children of Chernobyl and would ask him to ring me. Yes, it was his cat who had been missing for about a week, a few days before she (now we know her name is Sophie) had disappeared, Sophie had a stroke and the family thought she had gone away to die, (I did explain that was an old wife’s tale) Sophie was not blind the last time the family had seen her so perhaps she had been involved in some other sort of trauma. She is now back with her family thanks indirectly to the Micro-chip and hopefully she will recover .
Apparently there are only 8 families in the country with the surname, the owner still works in Essex but lives in Chesterfield, he advised me that he thought the new vet (who was not our vet) would have automatically informed the micro chip company of his change of address.
Another happy ending.
Then there is the other side, we were told that a cat had been hanging around a garage forecourt for about 4 weeks, Virginia went to investigate and scanned the cat, she was so excited when she found it had been chipped, on contacting the owner she was told Oh! Lucy went missing a year ago I have 2 more cats now, do I have to have her back? The answer is simple, no you don't have to have Lucy back, we will find a home that deserves her, however, I do not know how anyone could not be delighted and happy to be reunited with a pet no matter how long ago it had been missing and how many more pets they had adopted since then.
PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU MOVE HOME IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU INFORM THE MICROCHIP COMPANY SO THEY CAN AMEND THEIR RECORDS.
There are just so many reasons to chip. Many cats have been reunited with their owners within a very short time of being found due to a chip. Only last week an old cat was found in one of our fosterers garden. She scanned it and found it was from about 15 miles away. A a call to the chip company and the owner and the 22 year old cat and owner were reunited. Her owners had been searching for the cat for many hours however, there are many villages and a couple of Towns between cat and owner, also a different Cats Protection deals with their area so had the cat no chip I doubt if they would have been ever reunited with their much loved pet.
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I can't really understand why anyone would not chip their pet. If it goes missing a chip may not reunite pet and owner but there's a good chance it will. Without a chip the odds drop substantially. Even if the pet has a collar, collar's can come off and a cat picked up with no id is much less likely to be reunited with it's owners (and then there's the problem of proving the pet is yours. remember that post on here a while back - or may have been catchat - about someone who was in a dispute over ownership of her cat?)
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who was in a dispute over ownership of her cat?)
How right you are, whenever we have pics of cats in the paper, at least one of them is claimed by their so called owner. Sometimes the same cat has been claimed by 3 people. In these cases we ask for a photo, sometimes you just cannot believe the difference. On one occasion a man was so insistant that the cat was his it was terrible yet we knew by the time scale there was no way it could have been (we had the cat in care long before the claimer had lost his cat). He said he had the cats sister so I asked him if he would go to the vet for a blood test and we would take our cat. We never heard from him again.
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The reasons our Branch of Cats Protection chip:-
this was one of the good things to come out of my time with the CP,of coarse all pets inc cats should be chipped and it should be law that they are ......but until it is good old joe public will take the path of less resistance = not paying for a chip you can get chips put in now for about £10 so really there is no excuse but people being people they lose their cats and then think it is a good idea to get them chipped.
Ron has the right idea if he takes in a stray he chips it and if its claimed he asks them for the money it cost to do so and normally they are so glad to get their cat back they pay up.
As I have said I do not know the full details of this story yet,I will do soon.
roger.
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Everyone here knows about microchipping of course, but until I started visiting Cat Chat (through which I got my third cat, Bramble) I wasn't really aware of it. There needs to be a lot more publicity before we can say that a responsible "owner" would invariably have their pet chipped. (My first two came from a rescue that didn't supply any information)
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My first two came from a rescue that didn't supply any information)
I think nowadays more and more rescues are chipping so hopefully in the not to distant future more and more pets will be chipped. I think the biggest worry now is that cats and dogs that are homed to so called good homes from 'normal' families who continue to let their pets breed in spite of knowing the dangers.
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I agree with dave there should be more public info about chipping but some will say whats the point when about two thirds of vets do not scan unknown animals.
a site you might like to look at is
http://www.vetsgetscanning.co.uk
there lots of good info and backed by a celebrity.
roger
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I have been in contact with the reporter who wrote the story and she is passing on info to the lady who has lost her cat,so we will see if she contacts me?
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Susanne - my neighbours 'reason' for not having her cats chipped is that she thinks the needle is too big and will hurt them - when I had mine done, the first question she asked was 'did it hurt' - unfortunately, Pebbles was the first I had done, and she bit the vet nurse, so it reinforced my neighbours view - the other 3 haven't been bothered though. If anything happened to her cats, she would be lucky to get them back, as they are unchipped and dont wear collars - they are both unusual colours though, so if it was in the immediate area, they might be recognised - one of them sadly loves to climb in people's cars and neighbours have had to come home more than once cos she was in their car and they didn't check before setting off!!
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OK I have the full story now from the cats owner.
he went missing on the 5th of feb got into a row with a car and went to a vet where he had a pelvic op onto the RSPCA homing centre Newcastle where by the 16th he was homed the boy was identified by his collar he was not chipped or neutered.
Few questions here why was he homed so quickly especially after having a pelvic op why when the RSPCA knew he had an owner did they continue to re-home him.
the new law is not actually law yet so the fact that he was not neutered or chipped does not come into the equation ok we all know he should have had both done but it is not yet against the law to not have him done.
the lady was told that now the cat was in their(RSPCA'S) possession she had no legal right over the cat,I don't know about you but I certainly would dispute this and I am sure a solicitor will know her rights there have been several cases that will set a precedence here and all the owners got their cats back.
why oh why don't the RSPCA learn from their previous mistakes surely it would have been better to admonish the lady charge her for any ops chipping neutering and have it put in the paper this would have been far better than upsetting so many people everyone would have seen the lesson in this and everyone would have been happy apart from the husbands wallet.
the lady in hopes of getting the cat back and there are things being done now that might bring him back without to much fuss for his sake I hope he does find his way back to his mum(which he might yet do as he has only been homed a few miles from his mums home something else that does not stack up would any of you have homed him so close to his old home I mean do these people know anything about cats?)
I REALLY DON'T THINK THIS IS THE END OF THIS STORY.
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Ela, as is often the case, you have misunderstood my point.
I'm in favour of cats being chipped if it is felt to be appropriate by the owner. My oldies hardly leave the fireside and have a litter tray indoors, but are allowed access outdoors if they want.
My point is: EVEN WHERE CATS ARE CHIPPED, THE RSPCA ETC OFTEN DON'T BOTHER SCANNING. I'm having a go at the RSPCA, not saying that chipping is a bad idea where cats are often outside, roaming.
I also disagree with the idea of a police state in which all cats should be tagged and accounted for, regardless of individual circumstance.
Chipping is undoubtedly a good idea for most free-roaming cats. If only they were always scanned when picked up.
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where we are in wales IF one of ours done a runner more probably one of the two youngest both have collars and are chipped that might come back to us immediately because of the phone number on the tag but if a cat went missing with just a chip I doubt whether it would go to a vet (that might cost but I know most of the vets in this area will scan and give an MOT free of charge) so it more or less defeats the object of having one and as I said before somewhere else two thirds of vets do NOT scan cats unknown to them but are still will to take your money to put one in.
lets hope the day when it becomes law to have a microchip is not to far away (you might have thought that if the RSPCA are so pedantic about having them put in they would have lobbied to have it put in the new law) but then where would they get a good supply of animals without looking to far or is that me being a bit cynical :tired:
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My vet www.bakervet.co.uk chips all new customers FOC which is a great sweetener - he also send referrees a sainsbur's gift voucher (no wonder he's so :censored: expensive!)
I notice the vetsgetscanning website only refers to dogs - which is a shame
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mark if you scroll down the sponsors you will find mymoggy and my site there debby has promised that they will eventually have a full cats page.
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What gets me is the quote from the RSPCA ..."once a cat is in the care of the RSPCA the owners have NO rights" who the hell do they think they are!
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Chipping is undoubtedly a good idea for most free-roaming cats. If only they were always scanned when picked up.
I think it's a good idea for all cats, tbh. Mine are indoor cats but they are still chipped in case they get out and lost. It's not so much a case of making it compulsory to chip (although I do think that would be a good idea) but most people want to maximise the chances of being reunited with their pet should it go missing and chipping is one way in which they can do that. Even if a lot of rescues and vets don't scan routinely just the fact that some do is enough for me to feel it's worthwhile.
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What gets me is the quote from the RSPCA ..."once a cat is in the care of the RSPCA the owners have NO rights" who the hell do they think they are!
once the new law is set in stone no doubt tinkering will occur and this could become possible.
GOOD LAW not so sure about the policing.
I think it's a good idea for all cats, tbh. Mine are indoor cats but they are still chipped in case they get out and lost. It's not so much a case of making it compulsory to chip (although I do think that would be a good idea) but most people want to maximise the chances of being reunited with their pet should it go missing and chipping is one way in which they can do that. Even if a lot of rescues and vets don't scan routinely just the fact that some do is enough for me to feel it's worthwhile.
a very good point and for about £10/20 its got to be worth it.
roger.
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Okay, I'd go along with a law to chip all cats regardless IF it was also compulsory for a stray to be scanned immediately.
But this brings up the odd scenario of cats being whipped off the streets to be scanned!
Maybe collars are a better idea. Visible to all. But dangerous to puss.
Why should I chip my fur rugs? They have a mad-half-hour in the house everyday, saunter to food bowls and litter trays, then go back to sleep. Occasionally they'll walk down the garden and back for their constutional.
Oh, and the rest of the time, they sit on me or pretend to be fur rugs.
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Maybe collars are a better idea. Visible to all. But dangerous to puss.
And also very easy to fall off (after all, the idea of safety collars is that they will come off very easily) or remove.
Why should you chip them? Well what if your house was burgled and your cats frightened to the point where they wandered a bit further than they usually go, or they were involved in a rta, or they climbed into a vehicle and got driven away somewhere? They may not be found by anyone who would scan them, but if they were then that's you contacted very quickly. If they weren't chipped what's the chances of you being reunited with them? I think it's unlikely Jaffa would really need his chip. He's never got outside in the 9 years I've had him and he's so timid that if he did I think he'd just hide nearby rather than wander, but there is always that possiblity and the thought of him languishing in a pen at a rescue because he had no id was enough for me to get him chipped. As it's not compulsory it's totally down to you or anyone else whether they chip their furbabes but I don't see it as something I'm being made to do - it's something I want to do. Something that is for my (and my cats) benefit.
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It is a personal decision, with hindsight I will never forgive myself for not having Firbee chipped. When he went missing my friend and I searched everybodys shed ( with permision) and we found a young ginger and white cat in one very frightened, well fed and neutered. he obviously belonged to someone. Ally (my friend) has great tenacity and she thought she saw markings from a collar on the cats neck. so she searched for hours and eventually came up with a release collar with his owners phone no on it. He wasnt chipped. His owners were dellighted to get him back, but what if she did not find the collar and what if his owners missed the posters etc, what if? with a chip you have a better chance of getting you pets back. Mine are all done now, its the best chance they have if they do go missing.
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my wife and I beat ourselves up every day if only we had fuzz chipped she might still be with us having said that many hundreds of cats have been saved or found because she went missing (only thing that lets me sleep at night) its been very nearly six years and we still talk about her as if she was still with us.
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I not sure I seen a picture of Fuzzie before and what a handsome cat. ;D I can understand why you are so sad about him being gone for so long.
Mine are all chipped now even madam Sasa but no collars cos they scare me.
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Hi everyone, i have looked at all your comments and i agree i should off had him chipped and neutered, but it doesnt take the fact away that i am not the one in the wrong. With many thanks to Roger for all his advice we now have a solicitor on the case!!! :shy:
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Hi Jo welcome to Purrs. I wish it was under better circumstances :(
I sooo hope that Herbie can come home to you. Keep fighting for him. Sending positive thoughts :hug: :hug:
Unbelievable whats happened. :sad no:
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Hi Tan, Thanks for your support, it start to really get your down when people keep saying you should have done this and that, me and Stephen no now. We have are fingers crossed we will get him back. Stephen spoke to the solicitor last night and he told us to write a letter to the rspca which we have done and sent away today so i will let everyone no what happens, he also advised us to contact the police as it is thief!! :thanks: Joanne
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Welcome to Purrs, fully support you in getting your furbabe back & hope the solicitor will throw the full weight of the law against the rspca
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welcome to purrs jo good to see things have moved on. :welcome:
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Hi Jo
:welcome: to Purrs.
I take it you're the owner mentioned in the first post?
Good luck getting your cat back.
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Hi everyone, I would just like to thank you's for all your support!!!! I will keep you up dated as i need to speak with rspca today. :)
Joanne xxx
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:welcome: Hi Jo :)
Best of luck from me and our clan of 3... Hope you are reunited with your little man soon.
Alot of us on here are not in favour of the RSPCA from hearing stories (or experiencing first hand) their rubbish handling of situations!
Let us know how it goes - I for one am rooting for you!
Dawn xxx
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Good Luck, I also feel sorry for the Family who adopted the little one.
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I dont at all feel sorry for the new family, as they know we were there wanting herbie back they only had him 9 days and they said no!!
So to me and my partener we dont feel sorry for them at all. Joanne x
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That's a little harsh isn't it, Jo? I'm sure they took the little one on in good faith. Yes I think they should have returned the cat when they found out he actually belonged to someone else but iirc (sorry can't see all posts) the rspca just had a word with them so you can't be sure exactly what they were told? They have probably bonded with the cat by now and although I still think they should give the cat back to you it's no doubt a difficult time for them too. The RSPCA are the villains of the piece here, imo, not this other family who just tried to give a home to what they thought was a homeless cat.
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Hi susanne, no i dont think it is harsh, im to bitter and anger to feel anything for the family as they are aware we were there wanting our herbie back. They had him 9 days and its not as though he was running around and playing with them as he is in a cage so he cant damage himself anymore. Sorry if you think im being to harsh but im sure if you were in my place you would feel the same.
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If I was in your shoes yes I would be angry and upset but I dont' think being angry at the other family will get you anwhere. They are as much victims in this as you are. They didn't steal your cat from you - they thought they were giving a home to a homeless cat - and now they face losing the cat they've grown to love. How does it make a difference that he's in a cage? When I got Jaffa he was ill shortly after I brought him home. I was devastated at the thought of losing him even though I'd had him less than 9 days as I loved him to bits.
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I agree with Susanne, Jo. The point is those people chose Herbie from however many other cats were in the shelter. Which means they felt something drawing them towards him straightaway. Sometimes it doesn't matter how long you've lived with something, you just feel it's meant to be with you. But I can understand that's it's easier to feel angry towards them, because otherwise you'd probably feel awful that you're trying to get Herbie back.
The RSPCA have exhibited a large amount of incompetence by not checking for Herbies home thoroughly enough - but then again, what's new? I hope that the issue is resolved with the least amount of upset to both parties and Herbie is back where he belongs soon.
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The RSPCA have exhibited a large amount of incompetence by not checking for Herbies home thoroughly enough - but then again, what's new? I hope that the issue is resolved with the least amount of upset to both parties and Herbie is back where he belongs soon.
Yes - I agree with you there.
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I had never had a cat and hated them till Kocka walked into my garden over 10 yrs ago.
I think it was love at first site and I was rushing to the supermarket in my lunchtime the first day to buy tins of food incase she was still there and hungry when I got home.
Cats get their paws in a heart so quickly, sick or not and I agree that RSPCA have a lot to answer for in this case and two families have been very upset due to their over hasty action.
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Perhaps one possible solution would be for the cat to return to jo, but for his new family to visit from time to time. I can't remember how long jo had had the cat, but I think it was considerably longer than a couple of weeks.
For me love for a cat grows, it isn't just that instant aaahhhh we all feel. The habits ingrained by the daily caring for a cat: it's feeding, sleeping, grooming and play routine create a strong bond which is greatly missed when the cat isn't with us, for whatever reason.
The RSPCA are undoubtedl the villains here, but now that they have committed the crime, the consequences have to be dealt with.
Good luck jo.
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Hi HippykittY, I had Herbie over 2 years. I agree with everything you say. :thanks:
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Hi, i need a little advice, i feel like i need to replace herbie as soon as poss as its killing me not having him there as he always needed me and my 2 girls are alot more indepentant. Do you think it is to soon? :'(
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Although Herbie is not currently with you he will always be in your heart. You can never replace a cat, its just not allowed. ;D
Do you know if you are likely to get Herbie back? If so then you need to consider this very carefully before making a decision.
If not, you go with your heart and if can offer a home to a needy cat and your others will accept that, goooooooooo for it, but never forget Herbie ;D
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feel like i need to replace Herbie as soon as poss
You can never replace Herbie. You can however, take in another little one, however I think it would be wise to wait and see what the position is with Herbie. Also you would need to make sure that if you adopted another cat it would get on with other cats just in case you do eventually get Herbie back.
Have the other cats now been neutered/spayed? If not a rescue would possibly want to wait until they have before homing.
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I agree withy what Ela & Gill have said. Also if you do get Herbie back (fingers crossed) you will be introducing cats to each other twice so, depending on the situation, perhaps it would be better to wait.
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I agree with teh others, you need to see what the situation with Herbie is going to be first. But, if the RSPCA say he has to stay with his current owners, then there is nothing wrong with adopting another, it isn't replacing a cat, it is helping to fill a gap they have left - jsut make sure all future cats are neutered and chipped, then you shouldn't have to go through anything like this again.
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:thanks: everyone, i think its just that i want my herbie back. :'( I started wanting one after seeing bubbles and her babies they are soo cute. x :Luv:
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HI everyone some news on herbie came today, the rspca sent me a letter tell me that they are taking my complaint seriously and an investorator is on the case and he will get in touch in a couple off days. Fingers crossed. :hug:
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Ihope it's a good result for you. Whatever happens, please don't blame the other family - they've probably been lied to as well. That's what incompetent officials usually do, blame whoever complains about them.
Fingers crossed here too.
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Cheers Dave, my anger has moved away from the family and onto the rspca. :wow: Now we are ready for the rspca. :shy:
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No need for kid gloves with those :censored: s!
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I do hope the RSPCA branch are rattled over the knuckles, however I think the interest of Herbie is paramount now, I think perhaps a meeting with all concerned parties is perhaps they way to go. It could be that it may now be in Herbie's best interest to be kept as an indoor cat or at least predominately indoors, which family would be in a position to off this?
Also I would imagine you will have a huge bill to pay especially as the accident was quite possibly due to Herbie being unneutered and allowed out before neutering. Then again if he is to be returned I am sure that you expect nothing less than to pay all the fees and be delighted to so.
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Hi Jo and a very warm :welcome: to Purrs.
Just caught up with this thread - read it from start to finish.
I hope that everything resolves itself and I am sending positive vibes your way.
Good luck :hug:
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Hi everyone
Good new we had a letter from the rspca and they have taken the case to the highest person who is going to contact me in a couple of days. :shy:
Fingers crossed ;D
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Good luck Jo :luck: I Hope it all worls out for both families :Luv: :Luv:
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sounds like you have got them rattled,hope it turns out OK.
ROGER.
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HI Roger, I think i have them rattled as well as it has been passed to a higher person!!! :evillaugh:
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Loads of luck ;D
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Just read this the whole way through and am completely gobsmacked!!!!!
Fingers crossed that you get Herbie
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:thanks: everyone i will let yous know as soon possible. :)
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:(
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It that :( as in no news Jo or for bad news
:hug:
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Hi everyone just a update, we had a letter from the rspca saying that they just had to keep him 7 days which they done and the vets bill were around £480, reading the letter they were trying to get out off it and to try and shut us up. We have to ring the solitaire tomorrow to see were we stand and see if we have a chance to get him back? :( I will keep yous updated. Joanne xxxx
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I do know who you must be feeling :( however, the longer it goes on the more Herbie will be settled in his new home. Please think about Herbies interest and not about how cross you are with the RSPCA, and that you have the chance to get even with them, especially after all the trauma he has suffered. It may well be that Herbie now needs to be kept as an indoor cat, can you offer him this?
Obviously if you can have him back and you insist on doing so in spite of the fact that it may not be in his interest, as you know you will need to pay the vet bill, especially as his accident quite possibly could have been prevented had he been neutered and if he were chipped you would have been contacted immediately.
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Good luck talking to the solicitor.
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I do know who you must be feeling :( however, the longer it goes on the more Herbie will be settled in his new home. Please think about Herbies interest and not about how cross you are with the RSPCA, and that you have the chance to get even with them, especially after all the trauma he has suffered. It may well be that Herbie now needs to be kept as an indoor cat, can you offer him this?
Obviously if you can have him back and you insist on doing so in spite of the fact that it may not be in his interest, as you know you will need to pay the vet bill, especially as his accident quite possibly could have been prevented had he been neutered and if he were chipped you would have been contacted immediately.
The problem here is if the RSPCA were allowed to get away from this situation scott free then THEY would consider this as setting some kind of precedent I have campaigned for years to stop them taking cats from the streets(and I know this one came from a vet who operated on him and understand that it could have been avoided and have discussed this with jo) and all of us know that having a cat and not neutering and chipping it is asking for trouble ........but that does not get away from the cold fact that it is not a legal requirement as yet, to have any animal neutered or chipped, with the new law the RSPCA will try and make this so ....but why oh why did they not think about making this law while they were lobbying the government to bring in this new animal welfare law............simple really because it would probably put them and a lot of us out of a job.
there is never a simple answer to this question of neutering and chipping until its made law then we will all have to get it done or suffer the consequences.
As for herbie its obvious that the RSPCA don't think as we do ela otherwise they would have homed him a lot further away as it is when he is let out he might go back to his rightful (in law) owners.
It always looks like I really have it in for the RSPCA and as far as their policies are concerned I do,as far as their attitude I do,and when you have a local shelter(who normally I would have no problem with) does something like this(and I have no doubt HQ have had something to say about this) re-homing an injured cat within a few miles of the original owner,all within 10 days smacks a little of crass stupidity and you must remember these people will be policing the new law and giving out advice to the public.
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The problem here is if the RSPCA were allowed to get away from this situation scott free then THEY would consider this as setting some kind of precedent
I know exactly what you say, but hopefully they will have learnt a lesson from this, and to make the RSPCA learn lessons is not a good reason to make Herbie suffer trauma once again.
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of coarse herbie is the priority here why do you think the RSPCA are hanging it out you can see from this how long I have been at it.
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2002/9/12/150453.html
and there have been many dozens of cases that I have had dealings with they did not learn from this one so why should they learn from herbies case,but for some kind soul who knew where herbie had been taken jo would never have known about his whereabouts and it does accur to me that the RSPCA are holding this case up as a lesson to people who do not tow their line.
they have truly become the animal police and as time goes on and they use their hobnails on some unsuspecting small rescue(s) we are going to wonder how we have let it happen,true that campaigning does work even in a small way sometimes but all the time people think of them as some sort of holy grail nothing will be done unless of coarse it affects them in some large way.