Vets, the law & microchips - help! (cats)

ItsMyCat

Difficult isn't it. Prepared to take to the court, that's not a problem. It's easily done and comms have been in writing as back up. Just seeking the legal aspect of it really and the onus

Pollycat

sheramber said:

Not relevant here as the OR agreed to the FCT taking the cat to return it later, but would a vet have any legal power to keep the cat if the  FTC insisted on taking it away with her/him?

You can take your claim to the small claims court. The threat of legal action may be enough to for FCT to give cat back.

or you could try these people

https://blanchardslaw.co.uk/services/pet-custody/   no experience and not a recommendation.

When did the OP agree to the FTC taking the cat to return it later?

I read that the OP was going to collect it from the vets but was presented with a fait accompli that the FTC had taken the cat between the OR agreeing a time to collect the cat and getting to the vets.

The only agreement I can see between the OP and FTC is after the vets had allowed the FCT to take the cat despite telling the OR that he/she could collect her property.

Isn't this a bit like someone finding a purse, taking it to the police station, the police ring the owner who says 'I'll be along to collect it' and then the finder of the purse turns up and the police hand the purse over to her?

And when the owner of the purse gets to the police station, they say 'Oh, we've given your purse to the person who found it. Here's her phone number'.

If I'd been the vet or receptionist, I'd have contacted FTC and said that the RO was on the way to collect it and I wasn't prepared to let the cat go.

As the OR found out, the police would have said it was a 'civil issue' if FTC had rung them.

At the very least, I would want an explanation from the vets why they had allowed my cat to be taken by someone who didn't own it.

Especially after contacting me and agreeing a time to collect it.

sheramber

But, does the vet have the legal power to seize an animal in such a case.

I do not think they do.



The RCVS advise that unless the client with the animal agrees to release their details to the RO then they cannot release them and should advise the RO to make request the details through a lawyer or the police. They give no advice that the vet can keep the animal.

I also cannot find anything to confirm that the microchip is proof of ownership.  It can be a valuable part of evidence of ownership but is not proof in its own right.

 Handing something into the police as found is very different to bringing an animal to a vet for treatment. 

Pollycat

sheramber said:

But, does the vet have the legal power to seize an animal in such a case.

I do not think they do.



The RCVS advise that unless the client with the animal agrees to release their details to the RO then they cannot release them and should advise the RO to make request the details through a lawyer or the police. They give no advice that the vet can keep the animal.

I also cannot find anything to confirm that the microchip is proof of ownership.  It can be a valuable part of evidence of ownership but is not proof in its own right.

 Handing something into the police as found is very different to bringing an animal to a vet for treatment. 

Are we talking about seizing though?

The cat is at the vets.

The owner is - possibly - on the way up to collect the cat.

I'm talking about delaying tactics until the RO arrives and RO and FTC can argue the toss between themselves whilst the vet steps back.

If the police are called, they may say it's a civil issue or they may say FTC takes the cat or RO takes the cat.

If I was a vet or vet's assistant I really don't think I could let a cat go to someone who isn't the owner even if that person had brought the cat in for treatment.

Especially when the RO has been contacted and has said they want the cat back.

boots_babe

I can't offer any legal advice, but would be absolutely horrified if a vet gave my lost pet to someone else! That's totally irresponsible, after they had called the real owner and confirmed they wanted the animal back. A pet is very much part of someone's family, not a belonging to just be passed around. 

It won't help resolve your situation, but if it was me I'd be raising a formal complaint with the vet in the strongest terms possible.

Regarding actually getting the cat back, the one thought I had is that you say it is being let out by the new owner, can you not wait nearby and take it back once it is let out? I'm assuming the 'thief owner' doesn't know your address, so wouldn't be able to find the cat again?

Wishing you all the best of luck, I can't imagine the heartache of a lost pet, so to find it then have it taken away again must be absolutely terrible for you.

MalMonroe

I love cats, have owned cats for many years and our cat is 12 years old - we found her on the side of the road when she was about 5 weeks old (approximately, said the vet). She was also semi-feral and starving hungry. We wanted to keep her and as we'd had cats killed in accidents in the past, we decided to raise her as an indoor cat. She was microchipped when she was neutered and we all live very happily together now. 

If she decided to leave home we would be devastated. That is, if she got out and wandered away. But if someone else found her, cared for her, loved her and she was happy with them, then we would not want to force her to return to us if it was obvious that she didn't want to. 

The people who found your cat are obviously caring people who love her - even if they have been careless about not having her spayed. (Which you could have done when she was microchipped.) She does need spaying - but not until the kittens have been weaned, obviously.

You appear to have taken offence at the fact that someone found your cat, took her to the vet (and paid the bill) and looked after her and her kittens, found homes for all the kittens and now love her so much they want to keep her. It doesn't really matter about all the ins and outs of what's right and what's legal etc. If your cat wanted to be with you, wouldn't she have been determined to find her way home? Aren't you happy that she has found herself a loving home?

I just think you should be thanking those people for taking good care of your cat rather than considering legal action, etc. Can't you be happy for them and for the cat too? 

If you know anything at all about cats, you will know that they sometimes choose their own homes and they cannot be forced to live with someone if they don't want to. Nor should they be made to because they will be miserable. Think about the cat, she's happy. There are so many other unwanted cats needing homes. You could offer one of them a good home instead of fighting with people who don't seem mean at all to me, just very caring. 

ItsMyCat

IMalMonroe said:

I love cats, have owned cats for many years and our cat is 12 years old - we found her on the side of the road when she was about 5 weeks old (approximately, said the vet). She was also semi-feral and starving hungry. We wanted to keep her and as we'd had cats killed in accidents in the past, we decided to raise her as an indoor cat. She was microchipped when she was neutered and we all live very happily together now. 

If she decided to leave home we would be devastated. That is, if she got out and wandered away. But if someone else found her, cared for her, loved her and she was happy with them, then we would not want to force her to return to us if it was obvious that she didn't want to. 

The people who found your cat are obviously caring people who love her - even if they have been careless about not having her spayed. (Which you could have done when she was microchipped.) She does need spaying - but not until the kittens have been weaned, obviously.

You appear to have taken offence at the fact that someone found your cat, took her to the vet (and paid the bill) and looked after her and her kittens, found homes for all the kittens and now love her so much they want to keep her. It doesn't really matter about all the ins and outs of what's right and what's legal etc. If your cat wanted to be with you, wouldn't she have been determined to find her way home? Aren't you happy that she has found herself a loving home?

I just think you should be thanking those people for taking good care of your cat rather than considering legal action, etc. Can't you be happy for them and for the cat too? 

If you know anything at all about cats, you will know that they sometimes choose their own homes and they cannot be forced to live with someone if they don't want to. Nor should they be made to because they will be miserable. Think about the cat, she's happy. There are so many other unwanted cats needing homes. You could offer one of them a good home instead of fighting with people who don't seem mean at all to me, just very caring.

It is an assumption that FTC is "taking good care" of OP cat - and arguable as FTC has mated the cat to have two litters in quick succession, possibly more.

FTC can indeed find another cat to offer a home to, yes. The reason for this post was for the legal aspect.

If someone took in your pet, wouldn't you take offence?

ItsMyCat

boots_babe said:

I can't offer any legal advice, but would be absolutely horrified if a vet gave my lost pet to someone else! That's totally irresponsible, after they had called the real owner and confirmed they wanted the animal back. A pet is very much part of someone's family, not a belonging to just be passed around. 

It won't help resolve your situation, but if it was me I'd be raising a formal complaint with the vet in the strongest terms possible.

Regarding actually getting the cat back, the one thought I had is that you say it is being let out by the new owner, can you not wait nearby and take it back once it is let out? I'm assuming the 'thief owner' doesn't know your address, so wouldn't be able to find the cat again?

Wishing you all the best of luck, I can't imagine the heartache of a lost pet, so to find it then have it taken away again must be absolutely terrible for you.

Thank you.

Yes, shall I say "things are in place"    The legal viewpoint was being sought to ensure everything to resolve the situation is above board.

Is it ok to take a liking to another persons pet and decide to keep it - in a nutshell really.

Pollycat

ItsMyCat said:

It is an assumption that FTC is "taking good care" of OP cat - and arguable as FTC has mated the cat to have two litters in quick succession, possibly more.

I agree.

There is no reason not to have a cat spayed if she is just a pet.

I wouldn't be surprised if those kittens had been advertised on Facebook for £20 each (or more).

ItsMyCat

Pollycat said:

ItsMyCat said:

It is an assumption that FTC is "taking good care" of OP cat - and arguable as FTC has mated the cat to have two litters in quick succession, possibly more.

I agree.

There is no reason not to have a cat spayed if she is just a pet.

I wouldn't be surprised if those kittens had been advertised on Facebook for £20 each (or more).

Considerably more, given the breed of the cat. With another litter of kittens on the way, I disagree with the person who pretty much said the RO should "get over it and get another cat".