A family has been left devastated after their beloved pet Persian cat was taken to the Animal Welfare Centre in Ta’ Qali as a stray and then put down before they had a chance to claim it.
Perhaps the sadness stems from guilt at allowing the cat to run loose in the dangerous streets
They say they were informed by San Franġisk Animal Welfare Centre that the cat was put down because it had feline AIDS, but this diagnosis is strongly disputed by the family.
The cat, named Percina, belonged to Carlo Grima, who kept it in his garage in Wardija. Mr Grima’s 10–year-old nephew, Roberto Spiteri, lives opposite and treated the cat like his own.
Percina disappeared on October 7 after it followed Mr Grima and his nephew as they went for a walk in the area. They were aware the cat was following them, as it often did. But when they realised the cat had not returned they began a search that lasted the whole weekend.
The following Monday the family say they were informed by a reliable source that Dun Manwel Attard Special Needs School had called the Animal Welfare Department to take away a cat matching Percina’s description after it had wandered into the school grounds on Friday.
The family says they then contacted Animal Welfare, which informed them that the cat was taken to San Franġisk. However, when Mr Grima and Mr Spiteri went to collect it, they allege they were shown photographs of Percina in a cage. When they identified it they claim they were abruptly informed it had been put down because it had feline AIDS. No evidence of its medical condition was given.
Roberto’s father, Robert Spiteri, is angry about the incident and the effect it has had on his devastated son.
“I was stroking and playing with the cat with my son just a few days before it disappeared and it was perfectly happy and healthy – there is no way it was suffering from any condition that necessitated it being killed,” he told The Sunday Times.
Turning his anger towards the San Franġisk centre, Mr Spiteri said: “A vet should be there to cure, not to kill. If a cat has AIDS – and I definitely don’t believe this cat did – does that mean it deserves to be killed rather than treated? Would a doctor do the same to a person with AIDS?”
Mr Spiteri was at pains to point out that the cat was well looked after and if it had required any sort of treatment the family would have happily paid for it.
When contacted, Dr Trevor Zammit, who runs the centre, said owners are legally responsible for the welfare of their animals and they would be guilty of negligence if they allowed their pets to run loose in the streets. Once an animal is collected by the Animal Welfare Department, Dr Zammit said it becomes the responsibility of the government.
Only sick or injured stray animals are supposed to be brought to San Franġisk by the Animal Welfare Department after collection. The veterinary service is supposed to be given for free to all these animals and the department only pays for the medicines, according to its website.
But Dr Zammit said if an unidentifiable suffering animal is brought to the centre, it can be euthanised at the discretion of the vet.
However, if the animal can be treated the centre is legally bound to do so up to a maximum expense of €50, or more if otherwise approved by the Animal Welfare Department, Dr Zammit said.
“If we cannot identify an animal brought by Animal Welfare (through chips or tags) and it has to be euthanised due its suffering we would only need to provide medical and treatment records to the Animal Welfare department, no one else,” Dr Zammit explained. He claimed he could not recall the Persian cat in question, “as we receive around seven such animals per day, and all vets work non-stop”.
But it would be standard policy to euthanise an unidentifiable cat with feline AIDS, Dr Zammit said, as there is a risk it could easily spread the disease.
“It’s sad if a family are going through a bad time because an animal has died. However, if this is the case perhaps the sadness stems from guilt at allowing the cat to run loose in the dangerous streets,” Dr Zammit said.
San Franġisk hit the headlines due to the death of another pet this year. A Facebook group and website were set up by a grieving dog owner after his young dog Codie died last August after being given two jabs to combat supposed poison ingestion. The owner claimed many questions about the death were unanswered.