RSPCA put down my two kittens because they were too wobbly
ITS mission is to ‘end animal cruelty’. But after the RSPCA took in two kittens for rehoming, it ended their lives within 48 hours.
Lucy Pauley, a veterinary nurse, told yesterday how the cats she had cared for since birth were put down by the charity without her knowledge.
The RSPCA said it acted to prevent the animals suffering. They both had a neurological condition which affected their balance.
Heartbroken Miss Pauley insists the condition was manageable and the kittens could have led ‘perfectly happy’ lives.
The 24-year-old had fostered a pregnant cat from the animal charity which gave birth to five kittens. Miss Pauley dropped off four of the youngsters at a surgery in her home city of Coventry run by the charity so they could be neutered and inoculated before being rehomed.
But she said two of them – whom she had named Pumba and Diddy – were put to sleep by a locum vet because they had ‘wobbly cat syndrome’, or cerebella hypoplasia.
Miss Pauley, who works at a different surgery, said both the 12-week-old kittens had a slight and manageable case of the condition, the result of a poorly developed cerebellum.
Yesterday she accused the vet of ‘playing God’, adding: ‘The locum had said it was a welfare issue and they wouldn’t live good lives.
‘I had the opinion of a veterinary neurologist and five other vets who said the kittens were fine. I deserved a phone call so I could explain to the locum what had been going on, but although they said they tried to call me, the decision was already made.’
Miss Pauley had taken the kittens to the RSPCA’s Coventry and District branch on August 8. She claimed she was not spoken to before the kittens were put down, although she had missed some calls from the RSPCA on the day after she dropped the animals off. The other two kittens – Oreo and Alf – remain with the RSPCA, while she has kept the fifth, called Alvin.
She described the RSPCA as ‘one of the best charities in the world’, but said she was speaking out to stop other ‘perfectly healthy animals’ being put down. The incident follows several other reports of the charity destroying pets unnecessarily or without consulting owners.
Another vet, who works alongside Miss Pauley but asked not to be identified, said: ‘ These kittens were assessed by several vets and all deemed them to have a good quality of life. Over time, the majority of kittens learn to compensate [for the condition].’
An RSPCA spokesman said the vet found the kittens were struggling to stand, hold their heads up and eat, and added: ‘In view of the worsening condition, which resulted in them suffering, the vet made the difficult decision to put them to sleep.’