I recently “rescued” what I believed to be a very old, stray cat wondering around a park in East Vancouver. She was long-haired and so badly matted that it was like lifting a cardboard cat. She was also unbelievably light and I suspected she was starving or had an overactive thyroid, something a few of my older foster cats have had, that can usually be controlled with medication.

I brought her to the nearest shelter in the vicinity, which I did not know very well, and that happened to be the SPCA.

I was assured by the person who checked her in that she would immediately be shaved to relieve her distress and given what ever other medical attention was needed. She would be kept for 6 days while they tried to trace the owner (she had a tattoo ID) and if unsuccessful would be placed for adoption.

I made it clear that I would only leave her with them if I could be sure that she would be helped and not just routinely put to sleep, as otherwise, I would try a different organization.

I also said that if it came down to it, I would foster her and try to raise money towards her expenses; I wanted her to have some comfort after all the suffering she appeared to have been through.

I was assured that unless she had an untreatable illness, she would not be put to sleep.

They said that recently, a lady had adopted a cat with kidney disease that only had months to live (that definitely reassured me). It was suggested that I should wait until Saturday, or preferably the following Tuesday to see how she was doing.

I ended up contactng them on the Saturday already, just 3 days after she had been admitted, and was told that just hours earlier she had been put to sleep. I was upset and had questions, but they said they weren’t allowed to tell me anything as I was “only the finder”. One person did let it slip that her owner had come in and authorized it.

I was later told that she had actually belonged to the live-in caretaker of the very park I taken her from, and that the SPCA was considering a prosecution for cruelty against the owner and that I would be contacted as a witness. Weeks passed and I was never contacted.

I still don’t understand why she was put to sleep in under 72 hours when I had offered to help and if there was a good reason for it, why did they refuse to explain? It was confirmed that a contributing factor was thyroid and that she “wasn’t getting better”. But those statements conflicted with the one that said her neglectful owner had authorized it. I know from experience that the 69 hours or so, over a public holiday, was NOT sufficient to assess if she would get better, unless she had a terminal illness, and it was implied that she did not.

Though I believe this cat is better off dead than in the pain she was in before I found her, I also feel awful, that my “rescuing her” only lead to her death. When I worked for the Cats Protection League in the UK, at least I had the peace of mind in knowing that everything that could have been done, had been done, even if it ended in euthanasia. I am haunted by the memory of this cat as I have no way of knowing that this was the case. I am very disappointed with the secrecy and lack of care shown by an organization I might otherwise be contributing money to, but would still like an explanation if there is one.

No explanation has been received.