SPCA finds foster home a house of horrors for cats

The Boksburg SPCA has launched an investigation after nine cats from a ‘foster home’ were rushed to a vet by two volunteers who happened to stumble across the sick animals on March 12.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that a local cat rescue organisation gave these animals to the ‘foster home’.

According to the Boksburg SPCA manager Vicky Finnemore, the volunteers reported the incident to the Boksburg SPCA on March 12 after they took the cats to a vet.

“These animals had to be euthanised.

On March 14, we went to the home to conduct a full inspection.

“They discovered nine severely ill foster cats locked in the kitchen.

They were all taken to a vet where three of them had to be also euthanised,“ said Finnemore.

The animal welfare organisation urges reputable animal shelters to work with SPCAs, report cruelty cases, ask for help when needed and even welcome routine inspections from inspectors.

“We hope we have learned lessons from this incident and we welcome comments from the public on how they think we should monitor fostered animals,” Finnemore added.

Overpopulation
According to the SPCA, the overpopulation of cats is becoming a massive problem in Gauteng.

As a result, more and more feline ‘rescue’ groups are popping up to save and re-home as many animals as possible.

“While some of these rescue groups and even individuals (in their own capacity) are doing tremendous work trapping, sterilising and releasing feral cats, there are others who are doing more harm than good,” said Finnemore.

“Given the little help from the government controlling the overpopulation of domestic animals in South Africa, it is no wonder we have so many ‘pop up’ shelters, rescues and individuals wanting to foster.

However, this needs to be done with strict measures to ensure good husbandry and responsible re-homing.”
Irresponsible
“People often criticise the SPCA for not fostering out animals, but there is a good reason for this, which is often overlooked.

“Fostering out animals to strangers is extremely dangerous and irresponsible,” she said.

“Fostering puppies and kittens is often done on impulse, or out of desperation.

Many fosters do it with no knowledge of animal diseases or how to wean underaged puppies and kittens.

“WhatsApp groups circulate photos of homeless puppies and kittens.

The litters are collected from whomever and taken home by whomever, with no contracts signed and no property inspections or daily follow-ups done.

“Many of these animals fall ill to disease from being unvaccinated and they even left some to breed.”

Animal cruelty
The SPCA deems the following practice as cruelty to animals:
• Hoarding animals beyond capacity and confining them to insufficient space.
• Spreading disease from sick animals to healthy animals.
• Failure to render veterinary treatment for sick and injured animals.
• Allowing animals to breed in animal shelters.

Also Read: Adopt a pet from Boksburg SPCA

Also Read: Pet Care Corner: Reporting animal cruelty to the SPCA