Suspect kitten poisoned - Police/RSPCA won't try to help - any advice

[Hidingwithcoffee]

I'm looking for anything I can do here.

We have a kitten, 9 months old. Live on a new build estate, away from main roads, backing onto other gardens. Should have been safe. Didn't let her outside anyway until a couple of weeks ago. But, she soon found she could climb fences, & would go into neighbouring gardens. Not far, because when we called or shook food bag she would quickly jump back over.

I was working from home day before last. Kitten went out at around 2pm, I had the patio doors open as it was so hot. Suddenly she came in and started throwing up everywhere. But... as that isn't entirely unusual for cats I just thought, eurgh, cleared it all up and put her back outside.

However. It then went downhill rapidly. Within an hour she was bleeding from her rear end, and within hours that was getting worse - pools of blood, haemorraghing. Took her to an emergency vet. They did lots of tests which took most of the next day. Transferred to the local out of hours service where she is now. So far, they can't say for sure but can't find anything physically wrong. It sounds like there are 3 rough possibilities - 1) she ingested a plant she shouldn't have 2) she ate a poison that was put down for another reason 3) she ate a poison that was put down deliberately. They seem to be learning towards a poison rather than just a plant, because of the speed and severity of her symptoms. It looks like she likely has kidney damage, and so far not certain she will live.

Needless to say I'm now really mad at myself for letting her out. I don't like to see animals cooped up but, never wanted this to happen. The kitten is my daughter's really and all she ever wanted, and will be very upset if kitten doesn't make it.

But... if there is a possibility it is a poison I want to know. For myself, especially if there is a possibility it is deliberate. And, I'm not the only cat owner nearby.

I looked online and could see there are at least 2 pieces of legislation that 'should' help. Poisoning an animal would be illegal, in theory prosecuted.

I contacted the local police using their online form - they sent me a message very quickly, saying it wouldn't be something they would get involved with at all and to contact the RSPCA.

I called the RSPCA, which was a frustrating experience from start to finish. They concluded by saying that unless I basically have concrete evidence she has been poisoned, they won't even begin to look at this. I pointed out (repeatedly) that I can't just go into neighbours' gardens to 'look for proof', and the vet can't currently say whether she has definitely been poisoned and may never be able to, they are just leaning in that direction. So I'm not going to be able to get any. Probably noone is going to tell me if they did something. My experience on this call was very akin to the 'computer says no' person on Little Britain... they seemed more determined to find ways not to help me. I had told them what the Police had said, but they just said I would need to get in touch with them - is was a kafka-esque level call in so many ways.

What these two organisations are basically saying, between them, is if she has been poisoned, there is zero they will even try to do to investigate. Which means if (I recognise it is an if) someone has done this deliberately, they will completely get away with it. And easily could do the same to other animals in the area.

I don't know what else I can do, and just posting here in case anyone has any experience of similar.

You need to report it it DEFRA's Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) (they also deal with poisoned pets) 0800 321600 (calls are free). Keeping my fingers crossed for your kitten 🙁

If you get a new kitten then please either install cat proof fencing or a catio.

So you've correctly outlined a range of scenarios in which the poor kitty could have eaten something that has caused this. What exactly do you want thr RSPCA or Police to do?
There's zero evidence that this was deliberate not even a sniff of evidence (like a grumpy neighbour who told you to keep kitty out of their garden). Even the vet is not 100pc definitive it's poison. What are you actually expecting?

Police cant just go entering everyones gardens just in case someone may have poisoned a kitten. They have to have some grounds on which to go round and investigate. RSPCA is similar. They have even less powers in some ways. Imagine if they did rock up at people's houses and say "let me in to check if you poisoned a kitten"? Can you imagine the outrage ?

I am really sorry your poor kitten is so sick. It must be worrying and awful. I think you need to just concentrate on Dcat and work out how you're going to keep her confined to your own garden which you can control.

Thank you

There is very little anyone can do here unfortunately. It is just as likely she ate poison put out for vermin or vermin already affected by poison. Finding who is putting poison out and then proving it was their poison that the cat ate will be pretty much impossible.

I hope your poor kitten gets better, people do put poison down for rats, mice and have no thought for the pain and distress it can cause, I'd have thought the vet can tell if there are poisons or drugs in the kittens blood samples. Poor kitten.

Thank you

Yes absolutely will invest in garden proofing going forward.. though I know so many people with cats, but noone else who has needed to take that step, even in more risky areas than mine.

If it does turn out to be something like warfarin or a poison, I would post on your local fb or community group to be aware that this can happen, people shouldn't use poison, there are other methods available that don't harm animals.

I'll do that.

Yes, a kitten doesn't know any better, it might be poison wrapped in a piece of cheese or ham, a greedy little mogster is inquisitive and eats anything, they can also get it on their paws.

Do any of your neighbours have lilies in their garden?

I have put poison down for rats. They were under a shed. The poison goes into bait boxes so that other animals (wildlife) don’t eat it. The kitten might have eaten poisoned vermin but unlikely.
There are all sorts of dangers in other people’s gardens so the best thing the OP can do is keep her cat in her garden. There is also the danger of the cat getting run over. We wash our bird feeders out with Jeyes fluid because that is what is advised for avian flu. I am not using the bird feeders at the moment and I never let the Jeyes fluid pool but I do know this could be a danger to cats.

I think it’s more likely that a neighbour has put down poison for rats or mice (which, although legal, in my opinion is still barbaric and inhumane), and your cat has eaten a poisoned mouse.

If your cat does unfortunately pass away, a post mortem examination would be able to tell you if poison was the cause, BUT - it would probably be expensive, may not be covered on pet insurance, and still doesn’t prove whether the poison was put down with the intention of your cat eating it, or a rodent. I think a prosecution is very unlikely to happen.

As another poster has mentioned, cat proofing your garden so your cat can’t get out, or getting a catio are safer options for cats. In the past I have let previous cats free roam, but nowadays there are too many dangers. We are currently cat proofing our garden using Protect a Pet products, and are very happy with the quality. You can often buy secondhand on Facebook marketplace or facebook groups on cat proofing gardens.

I’m sorry you and your daughter are having to go through this. I’m keeping hope for your kitty. Please update us on her when you can x

I can't see every plant from my house, but yes I know those are particularly toxic to cats

I can't see every plant from my house, but yes I know those are particularly toxic to cats

Thank you. I have seen no rats and mice in my own garden but can't speak for the immediate neighbours. I know they're always nearby somewhere.

Even with bait boxes surely the poison is excreted by the vermin onto the grass, earth, surfaces, plants, which then gets picked, eaten or transferred onto wildlife, is the poison instant and the dead mice removed immediately..

I don't think there is anything you can do, you have no proof and nobody will be prepared to gather evidence for you. It may be poisoning but could well be accidental.

I am sorry to hear what happened and I hope your kitten recovers OP.

Many years ago my neighbour's young cat was poisoned, possibly by antifreeze. He was treated quickly at the vet, and when he returned home he was poorly for a while but he did recover over time and lived for many years. There were 8 or 9 other cats in the area including my own, none of them were ever affected.

I did what I could. I did not find any dead wildlife in my garden. I did consider getting spring traps but they are quite large for rats. Given that the traps would have to be outside they could have killed any wildlife. Having rats wasn’t an option.

Any update on your kitten OP? Been hoping for a happy outcome

Yes, thank you @Gillettegirl
She's home from vet and pet hospital. On the mend.
I took her back to the vet and she said kitten looks like a different kitten to when I first took her in, and also if i hadn't taken her in right when I did she probably wouldn't have survived. So it was a close one.

I wonder did she ingest slug pellets. I saw that happen to a pet once and the description you gave sounds similar.

Thank you @purplecorkheart
I did ask the vet whether the blood tests show anything conclusive, they stood they will double check and come back to me, but I recognise they may not
They did seem to lean towards it being a poison rather than a plant, due to the speed/ severity

People put down slug pellets etc which are poisonous, completely legal. I suggest cat proofing your garden. Far more likely to be accidental that malicious