Claire Elliott asked the father of her child to look after her 2 pet cats, Hank and Marvin, as she was in the process of moving but was stunned to find them at the rehoming centre, it is claimed.
The 22-year-old, from Brighton, explained how their relationship completely broke down when she moved to London and claims her ex then took her pets to BDCH.
“I moved to London on the December 8 to try and make my relationship work with my son’s father,” she said.
“On December 29 he told me he wanted me to move out as he didn’t want anything to do with us anymore.”
“He agreed to hold onto my furniture and hold onto the cats while I found a place to live. On January 15th I contacted him to arrange the collection of the cats to find out he had taken them to a shelter and [said] that I was making too many demands of him in regards of money for our son.”
Staff at the Battersea centre told her that they were unable to give her back the pets as they were already due to be rehomed, she added.
“I had to track the cats down and found they were located at BDCH [who] I rang as soon as I could,” she said.
“Battersea have claimed they took the cats in from him on January 12 and said they were already due to be rehomed.”
“They claim that even though I can prove they’re my cats and nothing to do with him they were given to them and are now legally their property and they have been signed over to another family.”
She also stated: “I have reported them as stolen to the police … I want my cats back at the end of this. It’s all I want.”
@BDCH If you rehome these cats, how can can people adopting pets from you in future have confidence that they aren't stolen? @CommunismCatz
— pensive riot dog (@thespyglass) January 16, 2025
Please share @BDCH are rehoming my friends cats that someone stole and took in. They know they are stolen. pic.twitter.com/LwiKcrE2lz
— ZebraCat (@CommunismCatz) January 16, 2025
BDCH says that it took Hank and Marvin “in good faith”.
“As with all animals we take in we sought as much information as we could on their previous home,” a spokesperson said.
“We were given no reason to believe these cats were stolen and we are pleased to have now found them both a new home.”
The Battersea Dogs and Cats Home website Photo: BDCH
The Battersea Dogs & Cats Home website reads that Hank and Marvin says the “adorable duo” were taken to the centre “as a family member was allergic”.
BDCH’s website in regard to the process of taking in pets states: “Owners bring their animals to Battersea for many reasons. This could be because of the arrival of a new baby, relationship breakdown or because owners move home and can no longer accommodate a pet. Sometimes owners take in a new pet into a household which already has a dog or cat and the animals simply do not get on.”
Truly, this is any true cat lover’s worst nightmare.