AIBU - pissed off with RSPCA

[BananaBanana1999]

I'll keep this as short as I can.

A year ago I took what I thought was a stray cat to the vet to see if she was microchipped. Cat was in a sorry way - respiratory issues, very very thin, bad teeth. Vet scanned her, found she had a microchip. Owners collected her.

On Sunday the same cat turns up again at mine looking for food. She's very, very thin, got some issue with her tail (it looks odd - floppy). Cat still has respiratory issues and bad teeth. I take the day off work, call RSPCA, request that an officer come and get her. I told them they can get the owner's address from her microchip.

After waiting in most of the day (and having taken a day off work), RSPCA finally call to tell me to release the cat because "her owners might be looking for her" and "if you see the cat again and her condition has gotten worse, call us".

What on earth should I do now? I haven't let her go (yet), she's asleep in our kitchen with food and water and a litter tray. I think she's being neglected by her owners, she needs veterinary attention but I can't take her to the vets because she belongs to someone else. All the vet will do is take her from us and hand her back to the owner.

Any advice very, very gratefully received. I have already spoken with Cats Protection who say that they can't do anything as she has an owner (it seems they only deal with ferals and rehoming). I just don't know what to do.

[ClandestineAdulation]

Can you put an appeal out on one of your local Facebook groups explaining the problem and asking for the owners to contact you?

It may be that the cat is elderly and looks frail, or it may be being neglected by its owners.

Alternatively, if you call the RSPCA again and state that you are concerned for the cat’s welfare and it will not willing leave your property they may pursue it with greater agency...

[MyKingdomforaNameChange]

RSPCA are useless.

Personally I'd keep her, and find a different vet :) But I'm a soft touch, and we have about 30 ferals at ours which are gradually getting tamed and neutered :D

I'm sure someone will be along soon with much better advice :)

[mustbemad17]

Nothing you can do sadly. It's chipped so you can't hold on to it, you'll potentially open yourself up to trouble. The RSPCA are not my favourite organisation when it comes to dealing with welfare issues, they find it too easy to pass the buck.
You could play dumb & put out an appeal for the owner but lots will tell you to take it to a vet for scanning

[QuestionableMouse]

Cat protection can probably help. Rspca are useless.

[Thereshegoesagain]

Keep taking it back to the vets, maybe they’ll have more clout with the RSPCA?

[BananaBanana1999]

MyKingdomforaNameChange we've thought about it, but as soon as the vet scans her they'll realise she's not our cat :(

[BananaBanana1999]

Thereshegoesagain could do, yes. Perhaps the vets will have a word with the owners?

[Buzzlightyearsbumchin]

Wait a week and the RSPCA will phone you asking for a donation since they 'helped' you

Facebook is probably a good idea, as is the vet.

[Chattymummyhere]

Unless there is a TV crew the rspca are too busy.

[Piffle11]

@Buzzlightyearsbumchin yep, I had this … found a cat in the gutter, it couldn't stand up (hit by a car). Rang RSPCA, they collected it from my house. I found out where they took it and rang the vet - unfortunately it had to be put to sleep. Vet tried to get me to pay for the procedure … then a week or so later the RSPCA rang me trying to get me to set up Direct Debit to donate to them every month. Great all round.

[PositivelyPERF]

If your you saw one of my cats you would report me for neglect. She is really skinny and has bald spots. She's 17yrs old and took an allergic reaction to a bite, so her hair fell out. Her pale skin against, what is left of her fur, makes her look sickly. I have had clients (I work from home) so me if she’s a stray. 😳 I have to explain her condition and I also have her at the vets every three months, for a general check up, just in case I miss anything or she shows signs of fading. She’s fed a very expensive, top quality cat found, regularly worked, flea treated and gets her boosters and is still going strong. She genuinely looks horribly neglected, but is a happy, loving kitty.

Did the vet give any indication that she was being neglected or had health problems? I would take her back to the vets and check if they are actually the cat’s vet. I can understand your concerns, the fact that they have her chipped and registered would suggest they do care about her.

[PositivelyPERF]

Wormed not worked! I’m not a monster! 😁

[BananaBanana1999]

@Piffle11, @Buzzlightyearsbumchin they will get an absolute bollocking from me if they do that! (Am waiting for the call now!)

I called the vet for advice. They say to call the RSPCA again, get a log number and then bring the cat in, if that is what the RSPCA advise. But they haven't advised that, of course.

The RSPCA really are a bunch of useless arsemorons.

[OfaFrenchmind2]

PositivelyPERF awww poor darling! She is lucky she has an owner like you!

[BananaBanana1999]

@PositivelyPERF Vets couldn't give me any information about the cat (Data Protection and all that) so I don't know whether the cat is just old and has issues and the owners are doing the best they can, or whether she's horribly neglected.

[Juells]

Does a vet scan a cat if he/she isn't asked to? I doubt it. I'd just take it to a different vet, get it sorted out, then keep it.

[Buzzlightyearsbumchin]

I found some teeny kittens with no mum around. Kept an eye out for a whole day and she never came back. I called the RSPCA and they said that they wouldn't touch them because they were healthy and told me to just leave them outside in the cold and rain and call back when they were ill because they could do something then.

I called a small local charity and we ended up working together to feed the poor things until we found a foster home who actually knew what they were doing.

The day after the kittens went to their foster home the RSPCA called me asking for money. I was fuming, I donated to the small cat charity who actually helped the kittens instead.

The RSPCA are awful. I refuse to support them.

[PositivelyPERF]

OfaFrenchmind2 That’s very kind of you. I’m of the belief that since we choose what animals live with us, then we owe them the very best we can give. That doesn’t mean you have to be well off and buy the most expensive food, just do your best and give them the best you can afford. They give us more than we can ever give them. Animals are amazingly wonderfully funny and loving creatures, even if they do occasionally piss up against your sofa! raises eyebrow at small white fluffy dog, currently curled up on sofa 😒

[HelenaDove]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2424973-to-be-really-scared-and-pissed-off-with-the-RSPCA

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Have you contacted the owners? You seem to have their address. Pop around and tell them you have their cat and you're concerned about its health. If they're decent owners they'll appreciate your concern and if there's a story like @PositivelyPERF behind it they'll say.

[Papergirl1968]

If you have a local branch of the rspca, they tend to be much more helpful than the national organisation.
Otherwise I would take the poor kitty to the vet anyway and see what they advise. They can at least trace the owner and have a good idea as to whether it is lost or abandoned.

[BananaBanana1999]

AvocadosBeforeMortgages I don't have the address, no, just a vague idea of where they live. Now that I've reported them to the RSPCA, I feel uncomfortable going and hunting the owners out. I live in a rough area...

[CitySnicker]

Keep it for a few more days... then phone the RSPCA again and say the cat has come back and its worse!

[WheelyCote]

Banana go speak to the owners. They may shed some light on why cat is in current state or you might see why it looks in that state

Or take her to a vets and keep her

[OfaFrenchmind2]

PositivelyPERF Indeed, I am still mourning my own cat after quite some time, and though she gave us sleepless night with her almost useless kidneys, she held out for more years than the vet was expecting. Every penny was worth it. She was one of a kind.