Adopted cat’s ailments not necessarily shelter’s fault

Dear Cathy: My niece recently adopted a cat from an SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) facility. They initially denied her and her husband the adoption because of another cat and dog in their home.

She wrote a letter to the facility and ended up bringing home the male cat. He was hardly with her before he was diagnosed with the ear infection giardia. Then tapeworms were discovered all over his blanketed bed.

Does anybody oversee these animal adoption facilities? Shouldn’t she register a complaint? And where? Ironic that the facility didn’t want to approve her as a suitable pet owner, yet they failed in maintaining healthy animals for adoption. — Camille, Tucson, Arizona

Dear Camille: Animals are generally examined by a veterinarian or veterinary technician upon intake into an animal shelter and treated for any illnesses. Sometimes, though, dogs and cats come in healthy but leave with minor health problems because they caught something at the shelter.

For example, the incubation period for tapeworms is three to 10 weeks, which is the time between the pet ingesting the infected flea and you noticing egg segments on the cat’s hind end or in places where the cat lays.

So her cat could have entered the shelter with it and not shown any symptoms until she adopted him.

Or the cat could have ingested the infected flea at the shelter, and it was just a few days or weeks later when it was diagnosed.

Giardia is highly contagious. In this case, the cat could have entered the shelter healthy but caught the infection around the time of adoption.

Because these things happen, some animal shelters offer free pet health insurance for 30 days to cover incurred costs. If the animal shelter didn’t provide this service, she could inquire about reimbursement for the veterinary costs if it was in a seven-day window of adoption. The treatments for tapeworm and ear infections are relatively inexpensive, so hopefully, it didn’t cost her too much to treat him.

SPCAS are not affiliated with each other or with the ASPCA in New York. They all operate independently and rely on donations to their specific organizations to operate. If you honestly feel this was neglect, you can file a complaint with your state’s Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

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