With reference to the letter from your correspondent Pauline Shaw (Call this care? July 20).
The RSPCA considers stray or feral cats to be those who exist purely by their own means - their food and water is not provided for them by an owner and they do not live or sleep, either occasionally or permanently in an individual's home.
Therefore as Ms Shaw had been looking after the cat for a year, we would consider her to have assumed responsibility for its care.
Had the cat been a stray in pain or distress, the RSPCA would have collected it and taken it for immediate veterinary treatment which the society would have paid for.
However, in this instance it would appear that while Ms Shaw was happy to feed and name the cat, she did not want to pay for its veterinary treatment, preferring that the RSPCA did that.
The RSPCA is a charity and depends for its existence on the generosity of others. Clearly our funds would not last long if everyone who was content to care or tend' for a cat long-term decided it was no longer their problem when the vet needed to be called.
Heather Holmes RSPCA Regional press officer
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