A Christchurch family are devastated their 20-year-old cat was handed to the SPCA and killed before they had a chance to save it.
The Clarke family of Halswell had Krumpet for 20 years.
Last Tuesday, father Gwyn Clarke was shocked to come home from work and find a note in his letterbox saying their female ginger cat had been picked up by the SPCA and they should contact the society within a week or their pet could be put down.
Clarke rang the numbers listed on the note but was told he could not collect his cat until the shelter opened the next morning.
At 8.30am on Wednesday Clarke said he went to pick up Krumpet but was given his beloved moggy back, frozen in a plastic bag.
“It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do — to go home and tell the kids that their cat had been put down,” he said.
“Why tell people they have a week to get in touch then put the animal down straight away?
“We knew Krumpet was old and wasn’t expected to live too much longer but she was comfortable and loved at our place and we were denied the chance to make the decision about her.”
Christchurch SPCA shelter manager Geoff Sutton said while he did not know all the details, he understood Krumpet was handed to the SPCA by a member of the public who had been concerned that the cat appeared to be “in a very bad state”.
Sutton believed the cat was in the early stages of vital organ failure and was unable to use its back legs.
The SPCA did not put animals down within 24 hours of collecting them unless their condition was critical, he said. The law allowed for the society to act in the best interests of the animal.
“We are not the bad guys here,” Sutton said.
Clarke said the SPCA vet told him when he collected Krumpet that she had lots of fleas and was undernourished so it was decided to put her down.
Clarke said while Krumpet was old, thin, arthritic and had a growth on her face, she ate well and had been checked by her regular vet in the past year and found to be in good health.
“She wouldn’t have looked too flash but she was happy and still liked to sit on the couch for a cuddle and came looking for her food every day at the same time.”
Clarke said when he took Krumpet to his regular vet within the past year, the vet said the growth on her face could not be removed because the cat would not survive surgery.
Sutton encouraged the Clarke family to contact him to talk about Krumpet.
Tags: bad guys, clarke family, failure, family, geoff sutton, ginger cat, good health, gwyn, last tuesday, letterbox, moggy, next morning, rth, spca shelter, vet, vital organ