: My name is Sophia, and the RSPCA cannot be trusted. (Update @ post 105)

[sophia]

I came across this page by accident as i was looking for a page about complaints against the RSPCA.
I am a part time model, training to work as a councellor, however, something happened last week which has completeley saddened me, and left me feeling guilty.

A couple of weeks ago, a cat came into my garden , which looked like it had had a bit of a hard time. I have 4 of my own so left it in my garden , offered it food, made a sheltor for it, and kept feeding it. Then four days later, it came with two of its kittens, less than 4 months old. I fed them , let them come inside, and socialise with my cats, but i was worried the little girl my get pregnant, as there was a male tom cat, trying to always haul himself onto her. She was very frightened of humans and it took me some time to get her to trust me, she had a brother, who was more easy to tame, but she was warming to me!!

I was concerned about the mother cats brething, and took her into the rspca, with a view to the vets looking at her, and if was well enough, i would give her medication, and take her back home with me.. Also maybe the little kittens could be found good homes too. So on saturday , i took them all down, BUT said, and made clear to the RSPCA that if their was any problem, they should contact me and i would take all 3 of them back home with me, because i knew the little girl was abit feral, but i told them that i would take her in, if there was a problem. I left my work number , and mobile number...They said they would phone me if their was a problem, and all that would happen , is the vet would just check them over.
I waited 3 days, nothing, then i phoned myself, i enquired on how they were all doing, i was first given 3 different versions, one that the kitens were doing fine, and that the mother was in isolation, then i said i would like to adopt the mother cat , if the kittens are rehomeable. I was the told that i cant rehome her, but when i mentioned that i was an official member of the rspca, and that in the past the vet had neautered strays for me, that i had taken back home and rehomed them successfully, AND that is when i got told that THEY HAD PUT TO SLEEP both the mother and the little girl that was feral, When i had said to them to call me if there was any problem and that i would take the cats back home with me.
I have now filed a complaint against them, and will go to the press if i have to, also i have now cancelled my membership with them, and they are no longer going to be recieving donations from me.
They murdered two cats that i took to them in good faith, and i was promised that they would call me, they didnt !
Im told that the little boy kitten is still alive, and i am trying to get hime to come back home with me.
I feel partly responsible for this happening to them, i shouldve never took them down their..if they had told me they were going to kill them, i swear on my life, i would have brought them straight back home. i swear.

[Moli]

I would not trust RSPCA or as it is up here SSPCA....Such a shame when you were prepared to look after them...Sorry it turned out like this for you, you must be very upset...Try not to beat yourself up about it, you did what you though was best, and thought they would be looked after...Hope so much you get the little boy back...

Welcome to Catsey....

[louise_81]

you can't be responsible for other peoples actions, you did the right thing, thinking they would have a better life if you did this for them, you had no idea this would happen to them. Please don't beat yourself up about it.

[Moli]

They say they are animals lovers ....thats a joke!!!!

[sophia]

Thankyou for your support, but it was my fault...
i now keep thinking that what if i had just left them alone, they would still be living...
im going down for the boy tommorow, thats the only way i can make it up to his mother , and sister, is by getting him back , and showing him, and them, how much he means to me.
i keep thinking back to saturday, and i just wished i had not taken them down thr...
But thankyou for your support. If i dont get the boy back, i will go to the press as stated in my statment to them.
sophi

[catwoman999]

So sorry to hear this horrible story.
Many years ago before I entered the animal welfare/ vet nursing field, (back to office work now-too heart wrenching as a career) I used to feed a semi-feral Tom cat. He did not like human contact, and I used to have to stand clear before he would eat the food I gave him (ha, laced with wormers). I gained his trust enough for me to frontline him as he appeared to have a flea allergy. The sweet boy first footed me on a very cold new years day, and I saw my chance and put him in a cat carrier and called SSPCA. An elderly SSPCA officer came out within a few hours, took one look at him (not a pretty cat, bits of ears missing, battle scars, fur missing etc) and said he would take him back to SSPCA but he would be put to sleep. The reason being he was semi-feral and not rehomable or pretty. So, I did not let him take cat, and thanked him for being honest.
I have since learned (done work for SSPCA since) that MOST feral cats are put to sleep when 'rescued'.
I fed this cat a while longer, but the winter was really bad and I worried about him. To cut a long story short I caught him again and the CP took him, neutered him, tested him (he was FIV positive) and rehomed him in an only cat household and kept indoors. Sweet retired couple took him. Though he was semi-feral, he settled to home life well. See the CP have the time and volunteer network that SSPCA does not, and they focus only on cats.
I would advise people to call CP in the first instance when needing help for a stray/lost cat/kitten. They NEVER put a healthy cat down (even if FIV+)
Now CP are not perfect either, but would trust them more than SSPCA.
The SSPCA don't like pts animals either, but they struggle to rehome heathy cats, low on funds so have to make the hard decision that semi-feral cats will be even harder to home when their centres are full to bursting already and funding is low. Thus very hard decisions have to be made.
I this case the RSPCA had your contact number to take these cats back and rehome yourself, and that is what is unforgivable. I reckon wires have crossed, your details lost and the decision was made to pts not realising you were another option.
Hope you get the little male kitten back!
Though, you should have waited til you got him back before posting your story just in case RSPCA see this
Good luck and let us know how you get on...
My thoughts are with you, and as the others said you did nothing wrong. Just did what you thought was best for the little cat family...

[Elaine]

So very sorry to hear about what has happened, sadly you are not alone with this kind of thing.
I wont get on my soap box over it but I do support you and I too would probably go to the press about it.
Dont beat yourself up too much over what has happened, difficult as I'd be the same in your shoes. RSPCA/SSPCA are a law unto themselves.

[yola]

Sophia, I can understand you must be very upset - it was difficult enough reading your story from the outside as it were. However you handed the cats over in good faith so please don't blame yourself - the RSPCA were not honest with you!!

I fully agree that you should pen a really factual, detailed press release (try to keep it neutral, totally factual and non-emotive) and circulate it to local media as well as the national tabloids who do sometimes like this kind of news.

Finally, post your story on as many /petanimal (not just cat) forums as you can and if one cat or other animal is saved by your actions then your campaign will have been worthwhile.

[catwoman999]

I meant to mention, that when you hand animals over to the sspca/rspca you have to officially sign over the ownership of the animal to sspca/rspca. Regardless of whether the animal is a stray or owned by you. This covers them legally to make all decisions regarding the cat/dog etc. Once you have signed over (signed paper), you have given your premission to allow the RSPCA to do whatever they feel is right without consulting you first, even though you gave them your details.
I am not saying this is right... Its just how they operate.
Please keep us up to date with your progress, and I really do hope you get the boy kitten back.

[sophia]

I am a member/ or was a member , cancelled it as of friday, of this local branch. I had in the past signed these forms BUT said if there ever was a problem, that i would take any cats they couldnt rehome back..and every time they gave them back to me, and i successfully rehomed them.
The branch i am talking about, i have had dealings with the last 5 years or so, i even was a volunteer in the cattery.
The last feral cat , ann marie, was taken in by them, and which i said to them i would take back if she couldnt be handled, they phoned me and told me to take her back, a form was signed back then also.
I hear what you are saying but the thing is that even before i signed the form , they said that THEY WOULD CALL ME! Thats why i left my work number and mobile..and then the form was signed..and i had a eye witness to this, my sister in law, she was with me.
I am well known for my work with animals in yorkshire, but somebody over there wasnt doing what they had promised to do and that was to call me.