We adopted a new cat last week through the CPL. Now it all seems a bot odd to me. Apparently the ladies at the CPL had never seen this cat, I thought that she was 'new' to them - no - Frida Kahlo had been waiting for a new home for 12 months.

Her carers were not taking care of her propery - I don't think it was their fault, they just didn't know how to look after her.

Is this a common thing in the CPL? I was just so shocked that they knew about this cat for so long but never visited or obviously gave any advice.

Frida had a really bad flea infestation and bad skin because of this, she is approx 2 years old and had only just been neutered & was quite thin when we got her. She also had sores on her hind legs & the vet asked if she had been kept in a cage!!!!

I have no problem with the CPL, I think they do a marvellous job, but I was just so shocked by this case.

Go to General Cat Chat Link to rescue charities forum including CPL

ask there

Cats Protection as it is now called, is made up of Adoption Centres, which are run by paid staff, and Branches, which are run by volunteers.

All Branches have to work within CP rules and guidelines.

Some Branches due to a severe lack of volunteers, decided to try and reduce their waiting lists by advertising some cats direct.

We at Newcastle dont do this, as we cannot possibly oversee all the things we would need to.

For example, when we bring a cat into our care, it has to stay for a minimum of 14 days to ensure it is not carrying a virus of any kind and to get to know its personality in order to ensure that the cat and new owner will be right together.

This cannot in my opinion be done without bringing the cat into care, as you would be relying on information given by the previous owner, which in my experience is simply not enough.

Every cat homed by Cats Protection HAS to be examined by a Vet. And once that is done, and the cat has been wormed, flea treated, vaccinated and chipped, then a Re Homing Form from PetPlan can be signed by both parties, thus ensuring the new owner has free insurance on the cat for 4 weeks before deciding if they wish to take out a policy or not.

Not all branches use PetPlan, but ALL Branches have to ensure the cats are Health Checked and Vaccinated.

Most of the cats in CP Branch care have to be kept in a cage... but, that cage is outdoors, and measures over 13 feet in length, and is 1 metre wide. so there would be no way a cat would receive rubbing injuries from those.

If the cat you adopted does not have paperwork, that reflects that all the above has been done, then I would doubt it was a CP cat at all.

If the CP Branch told you they were only acting on behalf of the owner by simply putting you and the owner together, then CP would not treat this as a CP cat.

Either way to have adopted a cat with such problems, should be reported to CP Headquarters, so they can ensure nothing like this happens again..

If this carer, you speak of is a CP volunteer, then something is very wrong.. We are not allowed for welfare reasons to keep a cat in the care of one person, or indeed one Branch, for that length of time... so please, contact CP headquarters, this must not be allowed to happen to other cats..

Phone them on 03000 12 12 12 .. please

Chris