To think the vet/RSPCA are BU and what do i do now?

[Chaosdragon]

Saturday afternoon person knocks on the door to say that they have seen my cat staggering into the back garden and they think its been hit by a car as its dragging its legs. Me and DSs go and hunt for the cat which we find but it turns out not to be ours. Its quite clearly got cat flu or the like as has green snot running out of its eyes and its nose is completely caked over. It also doesn't seem able to stand.

I ring the vets to say can I take it in to be told they don't have a stray cat account and so to ring the RSPCA to get a log number so they can see it and the RSPCA will pay for it. Done and we take the cat in.

The good news is that theres nothing wrong with its back end, it seems to be staggering because its got an ear infection as well as the cat flu. Vet can't keep cat in surgery because there is noone there on the Sunday, so its agreed it will come home with me until Monday and I am given some medication to give it Sun night / monday morning.

Its the cutest little thing and mega friendly but its not eating or drinking and I ring the emergency vet sunday night to ask advice as medication is to be given on a full stomach. They say not to give one lot of the medication and ring my surgery first thing Monday as originally planned.

I ring my vet this morning and am basically told there is nothing they are willing can do. They can't have it at the surgery as they have healthy cats in and no isolation room. They won't see it or give it any more treatment as the cover vet on Saturday did a lot and bill is already £150 and she has only ever known RSPCA to pay up to £80 so they already won't get paid whole amount so cant do more. She knows local cat charities are full and it will be difficult for any of them to take cat it. Suggests I ring RSPCA

I ring RSPCA and am basically told to release the cat back where I found it as emergency treatment has been completed. I point out this likely means the cat will die and am basically politely told tough crap. After falling out with the call handler, it has been agreed that she will pass a message onto someone higher up the chain and see if there is anything else that can be done but am told that the policy with strays is emergency treatment only and then release.

AIBU to think both the vet and the RSPCA are utter jerks and what can I do with it now. I don't really have the funds for any expensive treatment for her, but I could pay to have her PTS rather than leave her to a long lingering death outside but that just seems grim.

Do you have a Cats Protection charity near you? They might be more help.
Do you know if the cat is young or elderly?
Only other option I can think of is are there any cat fosterers in the area (Facebook might list them) who could take the cat for a while?

Surely put this on the local Facebook group to try and find its owner before you kill their cat?!

Wow I am really shocked at both your vet and the RSPCA.

Maybe try Cat's Protection League? They are generally better.

You could still try a local cat rescue regardless of what the vet has told you. A local rescue might have facilities to treat a cat. Battersea near me certainly do.

I would pay to pts, it is obviously suffering and probably been kicked out because it is ill. If the charities wont step in then there isnt much else you can do. Poor cat, there are certainly fates worse than death.

Are you sure it's a stray? If it was very disorientated from illness, it may have wandered off and not been able to get back home.

You sound very kind in wanting to help this poor cat.

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised by the RSPCA. I personally think they are more concerned about money than animals and I refuse to donate to them any more. As others have suggested, is there a local branch of Cat's Protection?

AIBU to think both the vet and the RSPCA are utter jerks and what can I do with it now.

I don't think they're jerks at all. They don't have unlimited funds to spend on stray cats - as harsh as that sounds. The cat has already received £150 worth of emergency treatment - I think that's pretty generous.

I'm not shocked about the RSPCA at all, sad to say. I've never had any successful - or caring - dealings with them.

Crikey please try to find the cats family first they may be looking for it 🤞🏻

Have you even asked around to try and find out who's cat it is? You can't have it PTS if it belongs to someone! One of my cats rarely comes home any more but if he was unwell and someone else had had him PTS I would be furious with you as he's insured!

The cat protection league might be another route to take if you genuinely can't find the owner

Contact Animal Lifeline UK. (Make sure you type in the UK as just 'Animal Lifeline' is a rescue that's nothing to do with them). There's a lovely Facebook group. They are an organisation that works with reputable rescues across the country and will find a rescue placement and coordinate volunteers to get the cat there. They are so lovely and it's definitely your best best. They help with these situations all the time. Let us know how you get on and well done for helping this poor cat! Ignore the RSPCA. They are a absolute nightmare and a law unto themselves!

I’d pay to have the poor little cat PTS if I couldn’t afford to pay for treatment

You can't pts, there are probably owners looking for it. Try and find it's owners somehow.

Has the vet scanned the cat for a chip? Try a local rescue, I foster for one and we would have paid for the veterinary treatment, scanned for a chip to try and find the owner and rehomed if no owner or they don't want the cat because that's what we do.

Try this for one local to you.

the RSPCA aren't great, but another animal charity might help, or even just advise you. Where are you in the country? Good luck OP.

Can u just keep trying to feed it and give it the meds you were given???

I can't believe people are suggesting you have the cat PTS. Christ you need to look for the owners before doing anything so bloody drastic.

I am not shocked about the RSPCA.. they are NOT a stray animal charity for a start and they don't spend money if they don't have to.

The vets, again, they are a private business... if YOU don't want to spend YOUR money on this stray cat.. why should they?

I would take the cat to the vets and have it PTS. That is what the RSPCA would do if you actually got them to come and get it.

Unfortunately this is the reality for some animals. The vets will have scanned the cat and not found owner details. It’s upsetting but they are not a charity and the RSPCA has a tendency to put down many animals (probably because rehoming is not possible).

I agree that a social media campaign and leaflets or even door to door might get you more information but some people are horribly neglectful of animals.

Caramel vet said she is about 5 - 8 years. Shes tiny though so I thought she was quite young. I have now spoken to cats protection and they are also going to get a volunteer to call me back and hopefully they will be able to take her if the RSPCA can't do anything.

crusty I don't particularly want to have her PTS but nor do I want her dying a slow death in my spare room because she can't breathe or is eating and I aren't willing to put her outside to do so either. I am assuming shes a stray, partly because I live rurally and I know shes not from one of the houses in a 3 mile radius.

adaline I suppose thats a fair point on the vets. Its just I always thought that you could take a sick animal to the vets and they would treat it (indeed it says that on the cats protection website on the lost / stray cats bit). The RSPCA I think are terrible though. I mean the whole name is about prevention of cruelty and sticking her back out to die just seems wrong.

It’s horrible isn’t it. Basically there is no NHS for cats and if they can’t find a human to pay they don’t get treatment 😭 used to be the same for humans not that long ago.

We had the same, found an injured cat, took it to the vet who did give a painkiller.it didnt have a chip but we knocked on doors and found the owner. Poor soul had a fractured pelvis. The vet wouldnt xray it or keep it at the surgery so we took it home with us. I dont bother with the RSPCA now, either I find a local wildlife rescue centre, the blue cross or cat protection.

Sorry for those asking. Yes shes been scanned for a microchip and she does not have one.

The vet thought she hadn't been eating / drinking for several days as she was extremely dehydrated and very skinny.

I've asked all the local neighbours and farms if shes theirs and she isn't. She would have had to travel a good 4/5 miles if she has come from somewhere else and I wouldn't have thought that was likely. I always thought cats stayed relatively close to their homes? Google said less than 1 mile.

She's possibly been dumped by someone who doesn't want to pay for treatment, we see a lot of that, people drive out and dump the cat and just leave them, they do it with pregnant cats about to give birth too .