Hello there,

I am reaching out for support to make the RSPCA respond for pushing my cat to her death.

Please follow the link and sign and share my petition!

https://www.change.org/p/rspca-revie...eath-of-my-cat

Thank you,

Mary Rudgard.

The main issue with the RSPCA is that they are judge and jury.

When can that ever be right?

They almost have the powers of the police, without the oversight.


The sooner the RSPCA is brought to account the better.

Not sure how this is the fault of the RSPCA tbh.

You let a frail, unwell cat out to roam unsupervised, someone cared enough to raise concerns about her welfare and the authorities took action.

It's sad that it led to her death, but you are responsible for allowing her to roam in that condition, any minor trauma may have had the same result.

I don't like the RSPCA, but it's about time cat owners man up and stop blaming everyone but themselves when there pets encounter hazards whilst free roaming.

Muze I agree with most of what you say there but surely the RSPCA should know what an old cat looks like and has some responsibility to care properly for it when they pick it up.
I think there is plenty of blame for this poor cats' death to go around really but ultimately if you pick up an animal you take responsibility for what happens to it in your custody.

Cats have the legal right to free roam. I accept there are hazards for cats who free roam but I am not sure how free roaming caused this cat's death except in that someone who saw her outside reported her to the RSPCA.

To be honest, I don't really think the RSPCA did much wrong in this particular instance in that they didn't euthanase the cat, like they have done on other reported occasions. They did the responsible thing in getting the cat seen by a vet. It's hardly the fault of the RSPCA that the cat was so traumatised by the experience of being at a vet's surgery.

The RSPCA should certainly have communicated better with the owner but perhaps they felt this was a real case of neglect.

It's a bit like the plight of social workers - pilloried for not taking action when needed and for taking 'inappropriate action'. A lot of it is down to personal judgement of a situation, it can be very difficult to make the right call.

Deleted.

My cat was not wandering around obviously old and frail. She was happy and energetic. The reason they picked her up was because she was small and had a loose collar. As explained in my letter for very good reason!

Just because she was old doesn't mean that she should be trapped in the house because there is the possibility she might die in the next few year. It would be cruel, she loved being outside.

it is not ridiculous that I ask the RSPCA to review the protocol before picking up another animal and pushing it to their death.

Everything we did for her was in her best interests. The RSPCA should have never taken her without assessing the circumstances. End of.

Mary Rudgard.

Pushing it to their death... ???? Want some over dramatic incidental music to go with that?

yes the stress may not have been beneficial to the moggy but cmon.. The cat had weeks to go your vet said.. You got to say goodbye.. Most people don't.

Try dropping the dramatics and stick to the 'relevant' facts

The death of any pet is distressing and you have my sympathies there.

There are some additional details to look because it appears that your mother consented to the putting down of the cat, presumably based on veterinary advice. That was a free will decision and it might have been possible to request monitoring of the cat's condition for a few days and then decide accordingly but that option was not chosen.

While you might have grounds for complaint against the initial conduct, politeness and professionalism of the RSPCA officer concerned, the actual decision to put down the cat was your mother's.

If you wish to complain, the first thing to do is calm down and try to be as objective as possible. Then you could ask your vet for a statement about how the cat was treated, why its health state declined and why they recommended euthanasia and then write a formal, polite letter of complaint to:

Mr Michael Tomlinson
The Chair, RSPCA Council
c/o The RSPCA
Head Office
Wilberforce Way
Southwater
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS

No it doesn't mean it has to be kept in but at that great age possibly it should have been unless supervised. Foxes, dogs other cats even will go after an aging cat.

I think the OP has some missdirected emotions so lets none of us forget all the good work of the RSPCA. Any organisation trying to do good in a world that often doesn't care enough can never be immune from being made out to be the bad guy.

No we really do need to remember the way the RSPCA run rough shod over perfectly nice owners, how they take money in donations and use it for political purposes and kill so many animals who could be found homes. Have a simply look at a google search on the RSPCA and you will find so many terrible stories. I have told my own several times here so won't bore you all again but they are not the nice charitable service they want us to believe.

Quite a lot of hate you have there.

Our cat couldn't leave our garden due to the fact we had secured it because of her age. She always had access to the house via a cat flap to escape any predators. I think that was a considerable effort to protect but also avoid ruining her last few days. My argument still stands, if they hadn't intervened, she wouldn't have died in such an awful way.

While I appreciate the fact I got to say goodbye to her, she would have only understood the fear and pain she experienced in that last day brought on by the RSPCA officers actions.

I don't see how I am over dramatic... the cat is dead. Should she have been killed before I got chance to say goodbye to her before you think I have a right to be upset?

Well that's a bit different then and I would say it was reasonably supervised if other animals couldn't get to it.

I do feel for you, I just don't think another petition will help really. Over the years there have been too many, it dilutes the impact.

You may have had more impact if you got all those petitioners together and done one petition with millions of signatures.

I find it very sad every time I hear one more animal the RSPCA have harmed, another family touched I this way.

They have far too much power and are misusing it everyday. Sadly they touched you this time but I can guarantee it will be someone else tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow ....

Nope no hate never hated anyone in my life. I dislike them, I don't trust them and I think they need to be stopped before they hurt any more animals.

I completely see your point. You are right, people need to come together and create one strong solid argument that the RSPCA can't shoot down with the threat of court fees and prosecutions.

As you can imagine, I just feel like I have to do something for my cat. You never know, I might just be able to make a difference.

Thank you for your advice and support.

There's a huge difference between 'upset' & 'dramatic'
While you may have been 'upset', your posting here & your petition content is 'dramatic'

Fill out all the forms you want, shout to the hill tops & blame the RSPCA if you must..

Or you could Just face the fact.. That the cat was on its last legs & in your grief you're looking for someone to blame..

Perhaps I am being dramatic, but maybe that's how you become when you're devastated about losing something you love?

As for looking for somebody to blame... if my cat had died peacefully in her bed, where she belonged, I certainly wouldn't have any blame to place.

You could've taken her home for her final days/weeks ... You chose not to.. That's not the RSPCAs fault.

So try dealing with the death of your cat & then when you have, deal with your life & how to carry on... If that means writing to the RSPCA to make your feelings known then so be it,

Do one but don't mix the two... Never a good idea.

I would imagine many of us would feel as you do Mary, and I do agree what happened likely hastened your cat's death. I do blame the RSPCA as they could treat animals so much better, I don't ever understand why they cannot wait and see the owner and talk to them before they act, just a conversation will often explain why an animal looks as it does.
Don't worry though as I am sure your cat knew you loved her very much and will have felt better knowing you were there at the very end.

I am sorry you couldn't have had the death you wished for her but it's so much better you were there and the RSPCA didn't kill her at least be thankful you had that chance.

If you had read my letter thoroughly you would understand that we did take her home. But she had declined dramatically and was in a state, a state which she was not in before they had taken her.

We sat up all night while she struggled and couldn't clean herself. Because of this we chose to take her to OUR vet, where we made the decision to have her put to sleep.

If she hadn't been taken from us we would not have had to take her to our vet and make this decision because she would not have been in the condition she was.

I read and understood perfectly

You blame the RSPCA for the death of your cat & that's the end of it.

btw... Any vets out there find it good practice to tell owners that 'they're certain the stress of being snatched from the streets was the cause of her death'

especially when the cat is back from the clutches of the RSPCA & is put down by aforementioned vet?

I'm very sorry. This is just as bad as a human bereavement. If justice is to be had I hope you get it, though it will be difficult. But justice or no justice, the current raw feelings will mellow in time. And if justice is not forthcoming, try to not hang on to too much bitterness.

We are a truly contemptible race.