Tenant Left Her Cats Behind And One Is Pregnant.

[phleb]

Went round today to feed them as felt terrible. How could she leave them and move out like that. What do i do? I can't bring them home...hubby has phobia....wimp!! and i won't know how to take care of a pregnant cat anyway. I feel so awful that their home is no more theirs. They sit outside wondering is she will let them in....i can't let them in as the house is to let again and just had it cleaned as they peed inside and pooed all over the house, she left them locked in. Some people are unbelievable.

[B00]

My area has a very active Pet FaceBook page,and I know that if I was to make such a post as yours on it phleb, there'd be an army of folk with baskets round to collect the cats before i'd finished typing!

Does yours? If so, worth posting on it,the thought of cats (or any animal) in this weather is heartbreaking.

[evedawn]

How awful!!! We recently (17 days ago) adopted our lovely 4 year old cat. After such a short time she has bought us such joy and is the boss of the house lol. Looking at her right now ... I could NEVER abandon her. What a horrible person to do that!

[ladybirder]

phleb, so you rang other charities before you rang the RSPCA. None of them could help you so you then rang the RSPCA. They told you they were full but still came out to assess the situation. They said as you and your neighbours were kindly feeding them and they looked well, they said they could stay where they were until they had room. Oh and while they were there they also took care of the poor unfortunate rabbit. And yet you still slate the RSPCA and call them useless. And yet you don't criticise the other charities you rang who did not come out and assess the situation. Seems to me the RSPCA are damned if they do and damned if they don't. They are crammed full of unwanted animals. Where did you expect them to put them. Perhaps they had to make a choice between your poor cats and some that had been abandoned locked inside a house with no food or water for a fortnight or longer. That is the sort of choice my friend had to make every day of his life when he worked for them.
Honestly, I really don't think, in this case, your slating of them is warranted. And this isn't meant to upset you, I am just sticking up for the RSPCA.

[phleb]

im not slating the other charitys because they told me straight they had no room. rspca came out wasted everyones time, and were more interested in a dead rabbit than the poor cats. However, they are still assessing the situation (waiting for the cats to die and then show more interest) i told rspca the tenant has gone and will not be returning, but they still go and leave a note for her at the house. She hasnt returned like i told them. Thats a waste of money, coming and going, chasing up people, they have been told won't be there. Gave no advice as to how to make cats comfy while waiting for room in the 'inn'. especially pregnant cats. So im not slating them, im just stating what happened!

[ladybirder]

So they came out and they're still wrong! Jeez they can't win.
Thanks phleb, you've proved my point, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.
BTW your tenant is to blame for this, not the RSPCA.

[ladybirder]

phleb I have had a little think about this since last night and perhaps the best solution is for you to put your husband in the empty property and let the cats live with you?
Joking aside and to take some of the points you made in your last post, the RSPCA has protocols that all officers have to follow. One of these is not to take anyone's word but to check for themselves. Although you considered it "wasted everyones time" by them leaving a note at the house, this is a protocol they HAVE to follow. I'm sorry you considered it a waste of time because it wasn't. The situation has been assessed, the officers saw the cats were in no immediate danger, were being fed, thanks to you and your neighbours, and they are monitoring the situation. As they have no room, I don't see what more you expected them to do. Each RSPCA shelter has a licence to house so many animals, if they break the terms of that licence Environmental Health will be down on them like a ton of bricks if they get to hear about it. I know of one rescue charity in Leeds that had a licence to house 85 cats. After the kitten season, because of irresponsible idiots like your tenant not neutering their animals, they ended up with 215! Luckily nobody reported them but it gives you a glimpse of what an enormous problem this is.
Having said all that, your best bet with these kittens would be to say they have been 'abandoned' because that is a criminal offence and something? would be done. Unfortunately by you feeding them etc, they are now not abandoned. Hard as it is, and I don't think I could do it, the thing to do is to NOT feed them, then they will be abandoned again. The risk in that is that the boy could be PTS, the female and her unborn kittens will be OK. Because she is pregnant she won't be PTS as although she wouldn't suffer, the unborn kittens would, hence they won't do it.
An RSPCA officer I know, faced with putting the umpteenth unwanted healthy young cat down, after trying everywhere he could think of to find a place for him, drove to an area he knew where there were lots of old people's bungalows. He knew it would get looked after there and he was right.
Sorry for the long post, it has taken me ages to write it but I hope you now understand a little more.
Oh, one last thing phleb, I think it might be a good idea to you check on your tenants during their tenancy. Whenever I have let out my own property or indeed rented one myself, 3-monthly (I think) checks were always carried out. I can only assume that you didn't realise what horrors were going on in there.

[phleb]

Ladybirder, sorry for being mean in my post. I agree with you. They did come and help. I would get rid of my hubby and bring the cats home, they will be more grateful to be honest, he drains me :-(!! but i can't do that realistically. I am grateful to the rspca for helping me sort this. He did not check on tenants on a regular basis as he felt it was best not to go round and seem a pest of a landlord. I also feel for your friend who worked for rspca, it must have been hard for him. I want to work with animals at some time in my life, and don't have the experience, even horses jump about erratically when they see me lol.

Thanks to all of you for your advice/help in this matter, i can happily say rspca have now taken them, but i cant help but feel very down about the situation and if they are going to pts the male cat, i let the cats down, that i could not home them in my home.

[ladybirder]

Thanks phleb. YOU DID NOT let the cats down, your tenant did. But hey ho she'll probably get some new ones as soon as she can and history will repeat itself:-( You did your best, don't beat yourself up.
I'm relieved the cats are now being taken care of, that was quick really, probably because of the pregnant one. Thank goodness she will now be spayed by the RSPCA and she won't have to have any more litters. Poor thing must be worn out. Don't you just hate some people.