RSPCA experiences/opinions?
Discussion
After skimming through a recent thread about the 'evil' side of the RSPCA I thought I would put this one up asking for people's own experiences and opinions of the charity.
We picked up a cat last week from the RSPCA and although the establishment clearly had a lot of money invested in it and the animal wings were very well set out, the staff were definitely the weak point. They seemed to think they had more authority than they probably actually did and were asking questions that they had no right to ask but it seemed that if they weren't answered then they wouldn't let us take our new kitty home. Strange as you would think they'd be glad to see it go to a good home....
We visited 3 RSPCA's around us when we were looking and found the same problem in all of them. It almost put us off and sent us to the Cats protection instead.
So I give the floor to you PH pet owners!
We picked up a cat last week from the RSPCA and although the establishment clearly had a lot of money invested in it and the animal wings were very well set out, the staff were definitely the weak point. They seemed to think they had more authority than they probably actually did and were asking questions that they had no right to ask but it seemed that if they weren't answered then they wouldn't let us take our new kitty home. Strange as you would think they'd be glad to see it go to a good home....
We visited 3 RSPCA's around us when we were looking and found the same problem in all of them. It almost put us off and sent us to the Cats protection instead.
So I give the floor to you PH pet owners!
I called them a few months back regarding a lovely, very firendly black lab that just "appeared" outside our house one afternoon, after a little research he had followed a neighbour home across miles of fields and moorland, so we were pretty sure he must have come from a farm somewhere in the next village. They werent interested in the slightest and I remember they told me to call the local community police officer. The dog sat outaideour front door for a couple of hours at which point I rang the wife and told her I was going to bring the dog in an give it a bath...
I opened the door and he was gone!
I opened the door and he was gone!
hedgefinder said:
I called them a few months back regarding a lovely, very firendly black lab that just "appeared" outside our house one afternoon, after a little research he had followed a neighbour home across miles of fields and moorland, so we were pretty sure he must have come from a farm somewhere in the next village. They werent interested in the slightest and I remember they told me to call the local community police officer. The dog sat outaideour front door for a couple of hours at which point I rang the wife and told her I was going to bring the dog in an give it a bath...
I opened the door and he was gone!
cynically - no opportunity for them to claim they brought a prosecution ( when the prosecutions are often beought by the police or the LA as the bodies with the actual legal responsibility)I opened the door and he was gone!
My Mum tried to adopt a cat from them a while ago. They came for the house visit, but because it was a first floor flat type residence they said she couldn't have one in case it fell off the balcony. You'd think they would be a bit happier as it was going to be an indoor cat, so less (no) chance of being run over. But no.
So instead of giving a needy cat a new home, she gets a bengal (that is mental) which wouldn't have struggled to get a home.
Backwards thinking.
So instead of giving a needy cat a new home, she gets a bengal (that is mental) which wouldn't have struggled to get a home.
Backwards thinking.
RSPCA have no interest in anything but collecting money,they are on the whole in my opinion and experience, only interested in animal welfare when there is a media opportunity.
They alledgedly put down more healthy animals than all the organisations all together.
My mum is at this moment, looking after a stray cat,she phoned the RSPCA they didn't want to know.
I told her it was a good job they didn't take the cat, they would have probably put him down by now.
They are the ultimate jobsworths, who really think the badges and uniforms they wear actually mean something.
I cant stand the money grabbing bds.
They alledgedly put down more healthy animals than all the organisations all together.
My mum is at this moment, looking after a stray cat,she phoned the RSPCA they didn't want to know.
I told her it was a good job they didn't take the cat, they would have probably put him down by now.
They are the ultimate jobsworths, who really think the badges and uniforms they wear actually mean something.
I cant stand the money grabbing bds.
highflyer said:
RSPCA Totally rude, arrogant, useless
its all about donations and money now, NOT the welfare of the animals
This.its all about donations and money now, NOT the welfare of the animals
They are a political activist party.
And no longer an animal charity, time to pull the royal part of the name, and also time to lose the registered charity status.
backwoodsman said:
highflyer said:
RSPCA Totally rude, arrogant, useless
its all about donations and money now, NOT the welfare of the animals
This.its all about donations and money now, NOT the welfare of the animals
They are a political activist party.
And no longer an animal charity, time to pull the royal part of the name, and also time to lose the registered charity status.
I do feel the need to defend the rspca a little. I think theres a lot of variation at local level, depending on the staff, but some of the inspectors are very good and do a lot of work to prevent animals suffering. The central part does at least provide funding for vets to examine strays which are ill and take basic steps to treat them.
Yes there have been some questionable prosecutions, but overall I think the rspca still takes a more active active approach to stopping animals suffering than the other animal charities or the authorities like the police or the local authorities who are meant to enforce animal welfare.
Yes there have been some questionable prosecutions, but overall I think the rspca still takes a more active active approach to stopping animals suffering than the other animal charities or the authorities like the police or the local authorities who are meant to enforce animal welfare.
'Stole' a colleagues cat from the garden and after weeks of failing to contact them, they spoke briefly trying to 'arrange' an interview, always with my colleague chasing them - even though he had left a contact number. They then put the cat down early last week with no warning to my colleague, the owner..
I will avoid at all costs following his experience.
I will avoid at all costs following his experience.
When they bring a stray in to a vets to be checked they do provide money for the vets fees. However in my experience the amount has only been £60 so just enough for basic tests and one or two medications but any more than that has to be authorised by them. At that point they basically have to decide whether they can debone this cat once it is well or if it's not worth it. I've not even qualified yet but have seen practice at a lot of different places and at each one that took any RSPCA cases there were some that could have easily fully recovered and gone on to be rehomed but they weren't will g to pay so it had to be put down. A lot of the time the vets didn't put the tests they ran on the bill because they want to give the animal more of a chance
I appreciate it's a charity with limited funding but it still wasn't nice to see.
I appreciate it's a charity with limited funding but it still wasn't nice to see.
Dromedary66 said:
Most cat lovers find the idea of "indoor" cats utterly repugnant.
Yes, I know. But even if she could let it out she lives next to a busy road, so it would probably be dead within a week anyway. Where we lived when I was growing up, had a quiet road, and we still lost 3 cats (that I remember) to cars. We had a blue persian cat at one point that came to us having been an indoor cat for a few years. She was understandably nervous of going out, but this worked to her advantage as she stayed clear of the road. She was run over by a neighbour while "sunbathing" on their driveway. Poor Toyah.
Dromedary66 said:
RB5Bird said:
You'd think they would be a bit happier as it was going to be an indoor cat, so less (no) chance of being run over. But no.
Most cat lovers find the idea of "indoor" cats utterly repugnant.Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff