‘Ridiculous’ reason woman’s lost cat given to new owner

A woman whose lost cat was rehomed after a pound mix-up has blasted the “ridiculous” situation and is pleading with the new owner to come forward.

Kirsty Burton's lost cat Delilah.

A Ballarat woman whose lost cat was rehomed despite her making multiple calls to the pound to claim her is hoping the new owner will voluntarily come forward and return her pet, as the animal shelter insists it has “not done anything illegal” in the “unusual situation”.

Kirsty Burton explained her dilemma in a viral post in a community Facebook group last week, saying she was “absolutely distraught” after her “beautiful cat Delilah” went missing last month.

“The past few years have been tough on everyone but she was my support through some extremely tough times, as many people‘s pets are,” she wrote.

Ms Burton said Delilah was microchipped and registered, but she came across the black-and-white shorthair on the PetRescue adoption website listed as “on hold” – despite having phoned the Ballarat pound multiple times and being told there were no cats matching Delilah’s description.

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Kirsty Burton’s Facebook post last week.

When she phoned again, the Ballarat Animal Shelter directed her to Strong Hearts Farm Sanctuary where Delilah had been held – but Ms Burton said she received no response, and was subsequently blocked from mentioning her cat on the rescue group’s Facebook page.

“We believe she has been adopted in Elwood and would ask whomever has her to please reach out,” she wrote. “Delilah has a loving home and a sister Atticus and I miss her so much.”

In an email to Ms Burton this week, a representative from Strong Hearts Sanctuary said she understood it was a “very emotional and difficult time for you” but that ultimately it was the fault of the pound.

“Given Delilah had a severe bacterial infection and progressive ringworm she could not be easily rehomed as we are in the midst of kitten season and there are more cats than the pound know what to do with,” she wrote.

Email from Strong Hearts to Kirsty Burton.

Email from Strong Hearts to Kirsty Burton.

Email from Strong Hearts to Kirsty Burton.

She said Delilah had been “destined to be euthanised within 24 hours” when they took possession of her on January 24, and was “already rehomed when we were informed by Ballarat pound that a previous owner had come forward”.

Delilah was impounded at Ballarat Animal Shelter on January 13 and “she legally was no longer your cat on January 21, which we understand will be frustrating to hear”.

Ms Burton claims she phoned the pound looking for Delilah on January 15, 17 and 21.

“If you tried to reclaim Delilah during the impound period and are displeased with how it was handled while she was impounded please take that up with the Ballarat Animal Shelter,” the Strong Hearts representative said.

“Our understanding from Ballarat Animal Shelter was that Delilah’s microchip was registered to a disconnected number. We … have to rely on the pound to do their part before animals come to us. We have consulted with our lawyer and we have not done anything illegal.”

She added, “We understand this is not what you want to hear but hope it offers you some closure. All we can do is assure you that we take rehoming very seriously and Delilah was placed in an especially outstanding home after a clean bill of health from our vet.”

Kirsty Burton says Delilah is ‘my child’.

Ms Burton told news.com.au it was “ridiculous” that Delilah could not be returned to her original owner of six years.

She said Delilah never had ringworm but would have had irritated skin as she was “allergic to a plant that grows in the backyard”, and couldn’t take her tablets because she went missing.

“They’re acting like I mistreated Delilah which is far from the case – that cat is my child,” she said.

The pound disputes Ms Burton’s version of events and says it only received one phone call about a black-and-white cat.

It’s understood she made an appointment for 2.30pm on January 21 to come and look at the shelter but was unable to attend.

“Our Animal Shelter staff did their due diligence in this situation by ensuring the cat received medical attention and also following up on enquiries when scheduled appointments were missed,” City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King said in a statement.

“The Domestic Animals Act 1994, Section 84M states that a person may recover their pet within eight days of impounding and after this period, the animal may be rehomed by the Ballarat Animal Shelter. The City of Ballarat always encourages owners to get in touch with the animal shelter if they have a missing pet, by either phoning [phone] and making an appointment to come visit or taking a look at the information on the lost pets section of our website.”

In a statement, Strong Hearts Sanctuary said the new owner of Delilah was “fully aware” of the situation.

“Delilah was in Ballarat Pound with a bacterial infection and advanced ringworm, as well as facing euthanasia,” the shelter said.

“For these reasons and others, Delilah’s owner does not want to return her to the previous owner. As a rescue that stepped up to save Delilah, and given the state she was in, we respect the decision of her current owner.”