Vet who put down my cat thought it was a stray

Gillian Whitehouse, of St Mark's Close, claims a local vet surgery put down her cat, Small Black, thinking it was a stray.

She says the Claremont Veterinary Group, in Wainwright Road, made no attempt to find Small Black's owner and the cat was kept for an insufficient length of time to allow anyone to make enquiries about her.

Remarkably Gillian says the same vet had seen Small Black just weeks before and said she was fit and healthy.

The family admit the cat was not microchipped but "very distinctive."

Gillian adopted Small Black, whose owner had moved away, when she moved house six years ago.

She said: "Because of her history everyone in the road knew Small Black and I was told that she was over 20 years old, which is quite old for a cat. Because of her age she was very thin, despite eating several hearty meals each day. Last year, Small Black had an accident and broke her leg - the vet thought she had probably been hit by a car. Although it was badly broken the vet said he thought he could mend it successfully, so he operated on her and pinned the leg with wires. However, when the plaster was taken off he found that, although the leg had healed, it was at the wrong angle and she would be lame. Nevertheless she was able to hobble around and was still a very happy cat."

Gillian's daughter, Corinne, returned home recently to find Small Black had disappeared only to be told by a neighbour a woman had found an injured stray cat and was taking it to the vet.

After calling the local surgeries the family discovered their pet had been destroyed.

Gillian said: "Despite the fact the vet was the same person who had seen Small Black a matter of weeks ago and pronounced her well and not in any pain, it seems that he now decided she was a stray and in such pain he felt he had to put her down immediately. This despite the fact her fur was brushed daily and that we had clipped her claws two days before - a treatment I would think not many stray animals would have received.

"Everyone I have told about this has been horrified such a thing could happen. I have written to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to ask whether there is a minimum time (the animal should be kept) in these circumstances.

"If people wish to do good deeds they should ensure they are not in fact causing pain to others by their thoughtless actions."

Claremont Veterinary practice declined to speak to the Observer about the matter only to say they had spoken to the owner and would be willing to do so again.