This is an interesting story with a legal connotation but it is not complicated. It took place in South Salem, America. A lady, Janice Claflin, owns a grey, tabby-and-white, female, indoor/outdoor cat, Ziva. She is micro-chipped. Janice is known at the Willamette Humane Society and has done some voluntary work there.
One day Ziva left the home and did not come back. It may have happened because of a commotion at the home on the death of Janice’s mother. If the reason wasn’t that, then it could be any reason because it is not that uncommon for even well cared for domestic cats to wander off and not return.
Somebody picked Ziva up and took her to a local veterinary clinic called “No-Frills” Pet Clinic. The microchip was scanned and it was discovered that the “secondary contact” was Janice. In other words Janice was not listed as the first owner which is also not uncommon because Ziva was a rescue cat from the Humane Society who had microchipped her before Janice adopted her (6 years ago).
At the time that a good Samaritan took Ziva to the veterinary clinic she was underweight. In fact an employee at the veterinary clinic described her as “emaciated, and in just awful condition.”
The principal vet at the clinic refused to return Ziva to Janice on the basis that there had been wilful neglect and cat abuse by the owner. There appears to have been no consideration to the fact that Ziva had been missing for several weeks and therefore it would be normal to be underweight and in poor condition.
Veterinarians do have a legal obligation to report neglect or abuse to the authorities. This is a good thing. However, this duty must be exercised with an incredible amount of care for obvious reasons and veterinarians should not make rash decisions and guess whether an owner has been neglectful or abusive as it could lead to illegal behaviour and distress.
You don’t need a lawyer to tell you that, under the law, the rightful owner of Ziva has to be Janice Claflin. It is tantamount to theft if the vet insists upon retaining possession of Janice’s cat, which is exactly what is happening. There is also a possible civil claim (tort of conversion).
Regrettably, under the current law, we all know that domestic cats are considered property just like any other item in our home and if “it” goes missing and is found it is still under the ownership of the person who lost the property. Losing property is not abandoning property which is a different thing altogether. Deliberately abandoning property is a declaration that the person no longer wishes to retain ownership and possession. Janice did not abandon her cat.
The only way the veterinarian is allowed to purse this matter is to return Ziva to her owner and then, if she is convinced that Ziva has been abused, she can report the matter to the authorities whereupon they would take up the problem but she has no right to hang onto someone else’s cat.
This is a story of an error of judgement by a well-meaning veterinarian who genuinely has the concerns of this cat at heart but who has overstepped the mark and been overzealous in the discharge of her duties to protect the welfare of domestic animals.
Janice is filing a complaint with the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examination Board. Ziva is not at the veterinary clinic and is probably somewhere hidden away by the veterinarian who at the time of writing this insists on retaining possession.
I read this article 3 times and can’t find any proof that Ziva just disappeared for several weeks, as Janice alleges and that she was worried sick, as most of us would be. If she had evidence to present, she should have done so.
I don’t see any evidence that she sent out flyers or put out ads to find her beloved cat. How many miles did she pound the pavement in search of Ziva?
Wouldn’t any of us have done that?
In this case, I have to agree with the vet. He needs to be certain whether Ziva was, merely, a runaway, or seriously neglected.
Michael_You may have a legitimate argument about this cats condition, as it may have some undiagnosed health issues which prevent it from gaining weight? Some put on extra lbs. & others loose due to illness.
As for the microchip-it is of no value who owned this cat before Janice claimed her. The vet in question has a bone to pick ?
I would also like to mention my two cats from a previous divorce. They would have become another statistic; if I had not taken them when I left the marriage. My ex.___listed them in the property assessment/settlement>between the furniture and goodwill bin storage. Eva
ftnt:a cat or dog will often attempt the great escape just to find their original owner to say goodbye one last time if they are ill. This has nothing to do with the newest owner -Janice- and usually has little reflection on her caregiving abilities.If she is found guilty of neglect , & I have no real evidence of it from what has been stated so far; then maybe the vet should return Ziva, especially without proof of foul play.
I had a situation with my cat when I was unable to give her anti-biotic pills, and brought her back to the vet for assistance. The vet said that they were going to keep her for a week to make sure she got the medicine. Then she said “We might just keep her as an office cat, or take her to the shelter!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I left her only because she needed to get the medicine. When I called to make an appointment to visit her, they made me wait an hour in the reception area.
Once I got her back, I decided that I was going to look for a new vet!
This pisses me off,I posted this on their facebook page and wot they are saying about Janice is mean and wrong….
Why are ye spreading lies about Janic and her care for Ziva,I am a former vet tech and have seen cats come into our clinic looking starved and uncared for but never judge a book by it’s cover,my own cat “Storm” was gone for 8 1/2 weeks and finally was found by a kind woman,took my cat to her vet and scan for a chip and she is chipped and my Storm looked exactly the way Ziva does in the photos,ye are punishing Janice for something that was not her fault,give her back Ziva!
Their facebook page…
https://www.facebook.com/KueblerNoFrillsPetClinic?fref=ts
Irish: Are the police or the Humane Society unwilling to get involved?
Surely their intervention could quickly have Ziva reunited with her owner?
Well said Irish. It is a very bad decision by the vet to take this cat from Janice. It is obviously bad. She has no right to do it without proof of neglect of the cat. Just because the cat is skinny it is not proof of neglect as you say.
This is techinically theft of property and perhaps an accomplice is in possession of stolen goods. Why can’t or won’t, the local police get involved?
I appreciate the vet may have had concerns about the welfare of Ziva, but she should have followed the correct procedures for reporting suspected neglect. Even if she didn’t want to return Ziva to Ms Claflin, she could have handed her over to the Humane Society who were listed as the primary owners. Instead she made the mistake of acting as judge and jury.
I do hope her suspicions are unfounded and that Ziva is returned to Ms Claflin.
Cats being legally classed as property may not be everyone’s ideal, but in cases like this it can help settle disputes more easily. Had my ex continued to refuse returning Sophie to me, then I would have resorted to using the same legislation in order to force him to hand her over. (He didn’t want her, he just did it out of spite because he knew how much she meant to me.)
Your personal experience of your ex. trying to keep your cat is so typical of the emotional problems that beset the split up of two people. Children and pets are the primary victims.
The irony being that when Merlin was microchipped, the vet asked whether to register him in my name or my partners. I jokingly said to register him in my partner’s name, so that if we should ever split up we each had legal claim to one of the two cats. Little did I know at the time how prophetic that comment would be.
It’s sad but true, that sometime pets and children become emotional hostages when human relationships break down.
This breaks my heart, having had almost the same thing happen to me….except there isn’t a well meaning veterinarian in my story but someone trying to protect his business reputation due his unethical staff