Carbrain mother won't stop until Precious the cat comes home

A Carbrain women says she will exhaust every avenue to bring her five-year-old daughter's cat home.
Five-year-old Khianna has been heartbroken since her cat Precious disappeared back in JanuaryFive-year-old Khianna has been heartbroken since her cat Precious disappeared back in January
Five-year-old Khianna has been heartbroken since her cat Precious disappeared back in January

On January 20 18-month-old Precious went missing from her home in Stonylee Road, she visited a neigbour’s house on January 29 and was next drawn to the attention of a volunteer for Harvey’s Army on February 5.

Having no microchip Precious was taken to the Glasgow branch of the charity Cats Protection as owner Deborah Cameron continued to search for her.

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On March 10 Cats Protection were contacted by Harvey’s Army having seen a Facebook post about the cat that was brought in.

Deborah was put in touch with Cats Protection in Glasgow only to find they’d rehomed her on February 26 and the new owner is refusing to give her up.

Deborah said: “This would be a bad enough situation if it was my cat, but it’s not, Precious belongs to my daughter Khianna. How to do try to make a five-year-old understand what happened?

“I hadn’t microchipped Precious because she never really went anywhere, even when she was taken she was only two minutes from my house and was wearing a pink collar with a little bell, it baffles me why anyone thought she was stray.

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“Cat Protection is a national charity and I contacted its branches in Stepps, Falkirk and its head office in Fishcross, I never realised I’d have to contact all their branches separately, not that I thought for a moment she’d been taken all the way into Glasgow.

“I was relieved when I discovered where Precious was, but I’m now becoming very upset that the person who adopted her won’t give her back to her rightful family.

“At the time Precious had only been with them for five or six days which is no time to build up a bond and I even offered to pay them £300 and get them a new cat.

“I tried to report it to the police was told it is a civil matter so I will keep exploring every avenue I can to get Precious back, if that means going to court then so be it.”

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Cats Protection says Precious was in their care for 20 days, more than the two weeks minimum before they start the rehoming process.

The charity stressed the importance of microchipping as they have no powers to compel a rehomed cat to be returned.

A statement said: “Precious came into the care of our Glasgow Branch, via Harvey’s Army, on February 6.

“She was scanned but sadly did not have a microchip so we made efforts to locate an owner, including advertising on the branch website and social media sites and sharing her details with other online groups and charities.

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“Cats Protection keeps stray cats for a minimum of two weeks before finding them a new home, to allow reasonable time for owners to come forward and claim them.

“As no one came forward to claim her during this time, she was adopted by a new family on February 26.

“We were contacted by Harvey’s Army on Saturday, March 10, to say they had seen a post on Facebook with a picture of the cat they had brought to us. They put the owner in touch with us so we could explain the situation.

“We have since contacted the new owners to ask whether they would be prepared to give the cat back, but they have decided to keep her. We have relayed this response to the original owner. Unfortunately, we have no powers to compel the new owners to return Precious.

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“This unfortunate incident highlights how important it is for all pet cats to be microchipped.

“We would urge all owners to microchip their cats and keep their details up to date as it will increase the chances of a happy reunion should they go missing.”

Deborah supports Cats Protection with monthly donations to help them in their work and urges people not to cancel their subscriptions on the back of this situation.

For more on the campaign visit www.bringprecioushome.org

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