The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

joanne mcallister — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:21:18 GMT

I work for a re-homing centre so we would then do whatever necessary before re-homing them.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Kate Richardson — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 11:53:22 GMT

What do you do when the 7 days are up? Test then? If so who pays for it?

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

joanne mcallister — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 11:50:42 GMT

We don't investigate/treat strays for the first 7 days if they are bright, eating, toileting normally and do not have any obvious injuries UNLES we think the cats welfare is compromised by not doing so. Old thin cats that are otherwise eating etc are not blood sampled during those first 7 days.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Kate Richardson — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:28:31 GMT

Regarding stray cats- what are peoples policies regarding stray cats that have problems that will require medium to long term treatment or management eg dental disease/suspected hyperthyroid/skin disease but are essentially 'happy' and not in immediate need of euthanasia but are not ideal rehoming candidates or will require a home that is prepared to take on ongoing therapy and costs (compared to the apparently 'normal' stray).

How long do you keep them for? Do you feel comfortable euthanasing them at an early stage or give them the arbitrary 7 days (which I don't believe has any legal basis for cats but please correct me if I am wrong). Even if we have some funding for them, it's meant to be for emergency treatment, so any testing thyroid levels, dental treatments etc doesn't usually come under this remit.

We had a discussion about this at work the other day as stray cats seem to get passed from one vet to another (sometimes depending on what the nurses want to hear) and we need a clearer policy on how to deal with cats.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Kate Richardson — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:28:30 GMT

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Miriam Lodewyks — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:27:21 GMT

I was once faced with a similar situation: emaciated cat, severely matted, sneezing profusely, teeth rotting out of it's head and drinking like a fish! No collar, no chip. I euthenased it, but it's owners turned up a couple of days later and were furious! According to them their 18 year old cat was "happy as a clam" (I guess we all have different definitions of "happy"... In this case eating=Happy, according to the owners). I wasn't aware of the "7-day rule", but I got an awful lot of grief from every possible angle. I now check all animals, admit them, treat them, and let the nursing team or management sort out what happens to them after the 7 days.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Prathayini Parameswaran — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:38:01 GMT

I think it's down to practice policy, we tend to accept them, check and treat as appropriate. Dogs go to the dog warden and cats rabbits etc tend to be kept for 7 days and then are offered for rejoining via Facebook page if CP or RSPCA can't take them. Right now we have a rabbit that's just kittened! Often the MOP who brings them in are keen to keep them if no one come forward. We hope for the chip and return -always the best.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:25:00 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]cats/wildlife put back where they were found[/quote]

Or, of course, dumped on the surgery doorstep on the way out by the ** ** of a MOP who can't be bothered.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:21:12 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]The Environmental Protection Act 1990 applies: for dogs that have gone through the statutory council/dog warden/pound system and are unclaimed after 7 days, they can be rehomed with legal ownership of the dog given to the recipient.
If you just keep a stray dog without going through this statutory process it legally remains 'found property' and never truly becomes the property of the finder;[/quote]

Thank you. It comes to much the same thing in many cases: if the finder says they would quite like to keep the dog, the warden will very happily delegate care of the dog to them for its 7 days.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Rob Loxley — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:16:01 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]There is some sort of legal provision that if a found animal is not claimed after a certain length of time, the finder can keep it if they want to and I rather think that length of time might be seven days but I'm not sure.[/quote]

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 applies: for dogs that have gone through the statutory council/dog warden/pound system and are unclaimed after 7 days, they can be rehomed with legal ownership of the dog given to the recipient.
If you just keep a stray dog without going through this statutory process it legally remains 'found property' and never truly becomes the property of the finder; likewise cats in all cases.

We do much as Evelyn - uninjured stray dogs to the dog warden and cats/wildlife put back where they were found (if the cats are well and handleable then they are likely owned); injured animals treated/PTS as appropriate then dogs to dog warden, cats to a rehoming charity (this avoids all the grief when the original owner turns up so I'd highly recommend not rehoming them directly yourself) and wildlife released.

In the OP's case I'd PTS if that was clinically indicated; I also do consider we have lots of geriatric cats on our books on longterm meds that maybe look a bit 'ropey' but aren't in need of euthanasia, that I'd hope wouldn't be immediately euthanased by another vet if brought in by some concerned MOP.

And ultimately, chipping every animal is really the best way of reducing these problems.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:03:07 GMT

If a member of the public brings it in, I don't mind examining it, checking for a chip and so on.

If it's not ill or injured, I tell the MOP that we don't "take in" strays. Usually it's all very diplomatic and amicable, but if the MOP is the type who just wants to dump responsibilty on someone else I tell them straight.

From there, it depends if it's a dog or a cat.

If it's a dog, the local authority have been given, unequivocally, responsibility for it. (Including paying me for initial first aid and relief of pain, though I don't usually bother to ask for payment). The MOP should phone the dog warden immediately. Sometimes we do that; we have good relations with our dog warden. The trouble starts when it's night or a weekend so the dog warden is off duty: the LA are supposed to have a designated holding kennels, but getting the dog there is easier said than done. Just sometimes I may keep the dog in our kennels until Monday morning, but I am not obliged to by law, only by common sense and a feeling of professional behaviour.

If the dog is sick or injured I usually heave a sigh and keep it in, and what I do next varies with the seriousness of the case. I will euthanase the animal if I really consider that the best thing to do.

If it's a cat, I'll suggest the MOP keeps it or lets it go again! Quite often the MOP doesn't mind "feeding it in the porch" or something like that. I'll keep it in if sick or injured, but not for anything like seven days though.

In the case Aisling describes I'd have no qualms about euthanasing it after one day, or whatever time my local knowledge suggested would be best.

I do not believe that I have any legal obligation to keep a cat for seven days, unless I want to.

There is some sort of legal provision that if a found animal is not claimed after a certain length of time, the finder can keep it if they want to and I rather think that length of time might be seven days but I'm not sure.

My conscience is quite clear that I approach these things professionally. I await severe corrections on my understanding of the law.

Re: The "rules" on dealing with stray animals presented to the practice

Michael Woodhouse — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:43:15 GMT

The responsibility for stray dogs lies with the dog warden via your local district council. They usually have a contract with a local kennels, but I believe some have their own.

We will check over and scan uninjured strays, but we are limited by our number of kennels and we absolutely will NOT admit them. The only exception is if we know the dog and are waiting for the owner to collect.

(rural area so most of clients are known - the last two strays we've seen have both been recognised and owners called).