No Communication (As Expected)

A few days ago we emailed the National Cats Protection, we told them about our refusal for re-adopting Hudson and our response to it. Especially that they used several things against us that were not true (e.g being in a Orkney housing house and exceeding there pet numbers, of which we are not as our house is not owned by them!).

We were hoping they would have the politeness to reply but still we have received no response, sad to say its not surprising as throughout all of our fight to get Hudson back home they have barely been in touch with us at all. Which I personally think is rather appalling, they should at least have the politeness to reply and get in touch with us in some way.

Hudson, our cat is still not back at home where he belongs. Its been several weeks now and the poor boy has been stuck in a foster pen when he could of come home to us and been a lot happier. We have no idea how he is doing and its hard, we hope and pray to god that he has not been re-homed as he already has a home and its here. We will continue to fight to get him home where he belongs.

Its my wife's birthday soon and do you the only thing she wants for her birthday? for Hudson to be back. I am not sure if I can make this happen but I will do my best, if you can help in any way to make this wish come true I'd be really grateful...we both would.

We wont and can't give up on the fight to get our cat Hudson back, we got a yes from the local branch and for them to go back on there word is wrong and they shouldn't get away with it. All we wanted is for our cat back, of which we asked less than 10 hours after he left. Then the National Cats Protection did a press release saying we could apply to re-adopt him, even though we didn't feel this was fair we would do anything to get Hudson back so we did what they asked. We went through the home visit only to be refused on some very unfair points and since then we've heard nothing, we deserve some communication with National Cats Protection at least don't we?

This Blog has never been about Slagging Cats Protection off. All it has been aout is telling our story. Telling people about a promise that was broken (To Return Hudson). As I have said on a few occasions if we had not Trusted Cats Protection we would never have gone to them in the first place. I know of other places on-line that people are gleefully ganging up to make personal attacks on us while avoiding our central argument (We were promised our cat back). We have not got involved in these and we will not. We could quite easily get personal and publish many a incriminating fact but we are not those sort of people. Our argument is with the organisation Cats Protection (both local and National) not with individuals. Not with some of the fundraisers or fosterers that do such good work.

I have always thought that when people start resorting to personal attacks it proves that there argument is failing. I hope that the people out there who read this even if you do not like us as people will be able to look at the facts behing our argument and see where a charity has failed to take into account the people behind the cats.

We were in a situation that I would not wish on anyone and had to make hard decisions. In this we made a mistake (as humans do). If this situation has happened to us similar things could happen to others. No matter what happens we will continue our campaign to bring Hudson home. We will also continue to campaign to stop this situation happening to others.

More Press

I never managed to post an update yesterday as Rosie's condition worsened. so I did not have much time. This was probably due to the stress that this has all caused.

We have had an article that should have appeared in the Orcadian. The text which is below. I have not managed to go out and get a copy yet so I have not seen the pictures.

A Stromness couple have started an online campaign in a bid to have
their pet cat returned to them. Duncan and Rosie Coombes have accused
the local branch of Cats Protection of being “callous and unfeeling”,
after the charity refused to hand back one of their cats which had
been put forward for rehoming. The couple said that as soon as Hudson
was collected from their home at Hamnavoe they realised that they’d
made a mistake and asked for his return. But so far, the cat has
remained with a foster family and the couple have hit out, saying
their lives are being ruined by the stress. Hudson was one of four
cats that Mr and Mrs Coombes asked Orkney Cats Protection to re-home.
Mrs Coombes suffers from the condition ME, also known as chronic
fatigue syndrome, and is currently unable to get about due to the
illness. When it became clear that she might be confined to bed for
some time — as a precaution Mr Coombes asked that four of their seven
cats be re-homed. However, he said that shortly after the cats were
collected he realised that they would miss one of them — Hudson — a
particular favourite of his wifes, and they asked for his return. Mr
Coombes, 40, a radiographer, claims that after being told initially
they could have Hudson back — the charity is now reluctant to return
him. The Cats Protection headquarters in Sussex have issued a
statement: “Duncan and Rosie Coombes recently contacted Cats
Protection’s Orkney branch to give up their cat, Hudson. “Following
their request, the cat was signed over into Cats Protection’s care,
with the aim that the charity should find him a new home. “Hudson is
still in Cats Protection’s care, and should Duncan and Rosie wish to
re-adopt him then they are encouraged to contact the branch.” However,
the couple then received a phone call from the Orkney branch offering
a home check, which was carried out at the weekend. They are still
awaiting the result. Mr Coombes said the situation is nothing short of
ridiculous. “It’s not like we are trying to adopt another cat. All we
want is our cat Hudson back. He has lived with us since four-weeks-old
and he is presently around two-and-a-half years old. “He has always
been very happy with us and loves the fact he can get love and
attention 24 hours a day. He is a very much loved cat, accepted by our
remaining cats and even our dog.” He added: “We’ll do anything to get
Hudson back, as much as we feel that we shouldn’t have to go through a
home check, due to the situation, we will do it in the hope of the
return of our beloved cat.” The couple said it was a wrench to decide
to give up some of their cats, but felt that it was in the animals’
best interests, with his wife’s deteriorating health. “I know we
signed him over into their care but we made a mistake, everyone makes
mistakes and we are paying dearly for this. We just want him back and
we can provide him a good and loving home. “We were told twice before
by members of the Cat Protection in Orkney that we could have Hudson
back, then it changed. I see it as a mixture of stupidity, lack of
compassion and bloody mindedness. “We have been told that if we
continue this, we could affect the welfare of future cats in Orkney.
If the welfare of any future cats is compromised it will be due to
Cats Protection's refusal to do the right thing and stick to their
promises. “We have a fine home for Hudson — it has been fine for him
for two years, so why not any longer?” The couple have set up on
online blog, calling for support in their “Free Hudson Campaign”,
which can be viewed at freehudson.blogspot.com.

We have also emailed National Cats Protection with our comments on the obviously biased and inaccurate home check. We are not expecting a response as one of the continuing aspects of this campaign is National Cats Protection refusal to talk to us.

Sometimes it gets lost in the story that the basic premise was not that we want a new cat. We wish our own cat back (as promised by Orkney Islands Cats Protection). The same cat who has been well cared for for over two years.

I do think that Cats Protection think that this story will just fade away now they have refused. I am afraid it will not. There is still a quite a lot of interest in both national and local press.

If you google our name. The first four links are to do with our campaign. If you google Free Hudson the Cat numerous more links appear. I have noticed that other popular blogs and News/Animal sites are starting to link to the story. This means that it is still growing and spreading so more people will hear of the injustice that has been done.

We have also had some Snail mail from the Mainland which is encouraging showing that our story is reaching out there. The campaign continues until Cats Protection do what they promised and return OUR Cat

Summary

Home check results on previous post.

We would just like to summarise the points of this story to make things clear/for new visitors.

1. We rehomed 4 cats with Orkney Islands Cats Protection as a precaution, not because we could not care or provide for them.

2. Less than 10 hours after Hudson had been collected we realised we'd made a massive mistake in letting him go. We contacted a co-ordinator ( Monday 16th) who said we could have him back, the next day we also received an email saying he could be returned just not that day.

3. Tuesday afternoon (17th) we then received an email telling us Hudson would not be returned.

4. We tried to discuss this matter with them (Cats Protection, local and national) till the following lunch time (Wednesday 18th 2pm). They were refussing to talk to us on this matter even when given several chances.

5. We were left with no option to contact the press in the hope of help to get Hudson returned home.

6. No one would talk directly with us, through a member of the press we received a statement saying we could apply for re-adoption.

7. We contacted the local branch as asked to apply for re-adoption of our cat Hudson. No response. Finally late Friday evening we got a call saying they would do a homecheck on Saturday.

8. Home check complete, we were told we would get the response on Monday. Monday came and went and we heard nothing. We did not receieve the result until this morning (Wednesday 25th) by email.

9. We were refused for reasons stated in prevous post, we are now fighting against those reasons as they are spurous at best.

10. In the email contact that refused us re-adoption of Hudson they clearly stated this would be the final communication on this matter.

11. Our only option left for communication and to fight there reasons given is via the press as we have been told we are not allowed to discuss it with Cats Protection any longer. The press is our only option left, we'd talk to them if we were given the chance but they are refusing.

12. We do not wish to adopt a cat, we want our cat back. The one that has lived here happily for over 2 years.

The Home Check Result

This morning we finally got a email from Orkney Islands Cats Protection, we check our emails regularly at present and as soon as we woke up we checked our emails. We found an email from them with our home check result, we were expecting a no with reasons but nothing like what we received.

Well the answer was, as we thought it would be a NO. They gave reasons for there decision and also told us we were not allowed to get in touch with them to discuss it any further. So to continue to fight the only avenue we have is the press and hopefully they will continue to help with our fight to get Hudson home where he belongs.

Myself and my wife are very upset by the decision, when I read the email to my wife she started to shake. Safe to say the email has shaken us both up, we are very annoyed with the reasons they gave and we will not give up our fight. If anything the reasons they gave has given us re-newed energy to continue this fight. Not only to get Hudson back (main reason, of course) but to also stop this from happening to others and for them to have to go through anything like what we have.

We'd just like to say thanks to all of the support we have received, we are so grateful and we hope you will continue to support us and do anything you can to get Hudson back home.

Now onto the reasons they gave, we would never normally publish an email but so that we can address the points given for our refusal we are quoting there points only. We will then respond to each one. Our response will be in green for easy reading.

1 It is not our policy to home cat(s) where the numbers of pets exceeds the guidelines and restrictions of Landlords and Housing Agents and/or Property Management Agents managing or administering such property.

Please see point 2.3 of the following document:
http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/ORKNEYHOUSING/Documents/Pets%20Policy%20pdf.doc.pdf


Our house is not owned by Orkney Housing, it is a privately let property of which we have lived in for nearly 3 years. The landlord of the property has allowed us to have one dog and as many cats as we wish. During the home check they never asked us about this property, so they assumed the answer which is of course wrong.


2 It is not our policy to home cats to multiple pet households in a built up residential area. Even if you suggested swapping Hudson for another of your cats we could not agree to this as the total would still exceed the recommended number.

We have always owned multiple pets and we have lived in this area for nearly 3 years. We would not describe Hamnavoe as being a built up residential area not compared to Kirkwall for example. Hamnavoe area is quiet and the traffic is minimal, we also have a massive playing field next to us. As for exceeding the recommended number, well if they are refering to there first point we are not over our allowed number of cats. If they are talking about a policy held with OICP/National Cats Protection we know of many people who have adopted a cat/cats and they have more pets than we do at present (4 cats, 1 dog). We even know of someone in the branch that has over 12 cats and adopted 2 kittens from OICP after they came into her care for temporary fostering. Another point we would like to mention is, when one of the previous co-ordinators was in charge of OICP we had 4 cats. She allowed us to home Hudson, he was a feral found in our garden and we adopted him and he is now a very socialable cat. She also allowed us to adopt Lucy (who sadly died over a year ago) with no problems or hesitations, at that time we had 5 cats.


3 You have been extensively advertising to get some of your cats rehomed for several months and it is not clear that anything has changed in relation to this issue.


Yes we did advertise to get some of our cats re-homed, we tried to do it ourself as this is the way we prefered. However no suitable homes came forward and so we decided to take up the kind offer from OICP (which we now regret and realise the charity has not changed at all in the last year or so). They should of also noticed we only advertised 3 (originally it was 4 but after a few days it was then changed back to 3) cats in the end, we gave up 4 into OICP's care. So one extra than we had been advertising for. The reason we wanted to find them new homes is not because we could not look after them but as a precaution. We were trying to do the right thing, and still to this day we believe we did the right thing for 3 out of 4 cats. We obviously regret using OICP after all that has happened the last week but our decision to home 3 of them was the right thing to do. Its such a hard decision to make and under such huge stress and upset, we made a mistake with Hudson and we just want him back. We got a YES less than 10 hours after he left and then they went back on there word. Yes we both have health issues but we can still provide a very good home to our remaining pets and to Hudson also. He has always been happy with us, he has been with us since he was a baby. Hudson will get 24 hours a day attention and love, this is just what he needs as he is a very social cat. He hates to be on his own and likes to be with someone, with us he would have this from both of us and how is that not in his best interests?


4 Importantly, Hudson and Sonic are doing very well together in foster care it would not be beneficial to either cat to separate them.

No wonder they are doing well together, they have been in a foster pen for over a week together and so they are of course going to form a bond...its not surprising concidering what they have been through. We can only imagine how hard it must of been for them to be taken from there home that they knew and loved. We never advised they put them in the same pen together, in fact they never told us they would and implied they would be seperate. Those two cats together are not the best match, Sonic is a hyperactive kitten, he loves to cause chaos and run around like crazy. He loves the outdoors and will often be gone all day. Hudson is a relaxed cat who never leaves the house (he hates the outdoors, even tempting him to try it he just runs away and shows no interest), he likes to get lots of attention and needs company. If they were to be homed together Sonic would be out all day and leave Hudson alone. When they lived together with us they were never close, Sonic never showed any interest in him or wanted to relax with him. Now in foster care they might be showing this as they are scared and in somewhere totally different but given a home all that is mentioned would be shown. To be honest I wouldn't be suprised if Sonic has been driving Hudson made with all his energy in a small pen and not being able to have access to outside like he is used too. Sonic is also a very adaptable cat, he'll be fine without Hudson and given a little time will adapt well. OICP have made there bond closer through all this by putting them together and the fact they have now been in foster care for over a week.

I'd also just like to state that when we began fighting for Hudson to come home they tried to use point 4 against us and we gave them all the reasons we have above. They have both lived with us for quite a while and we know them best so surely they should be listening to our advise?!

I hope I have explained everything clearly, both myself and Rosie are very upset by the decision and we just want our cat Hudson back. We never wanted to adopt a cat and we never plan to in the future, we just want our cat back. We agreed to the home check as a method of getting him back, we did not feel in our case and curcumstances we should have to re-adopt him but it was the only way they were giving us and we'll do everything to get Hudson home.

Orkney Islands Cats Protection have been against him coming home to us so of course they were not going to give us a good result with the home check. They said how they had to pass on the details to the national branch in relation to our home visit and the national branch would make a decision. Well if you read the reasons given the points are very much coming from the local branch and not nationally. The home visit was not fair, it was done by someone at the local branch who never wanted to give Hudson back to us so we never had a chance. She also said at the time she would pass her recommendations onto the national branch, so its her thoughts and opinions. Seeming as we are in dispute with them a home check run by them doesn't seem very impartial does it?

We are devastated and wont give up the fight to get Hudson home, he belongs here with us and its not only in our interest but in Hudson's also. He will get everything he needs by coming back to live with us, attention and love any time of the day or night. He'll never be left a lone and will always have company, he would continue to have a good quality diet and all the vet treatment he needs. We have always kept his vaccinations, microchip, worming and flea treatments up to date and will continue to do so. We have always done everything for Hudson's best interests and health.

We do feel this is happening because its us, if it had been someone else things would of turned out differently. All we want is for our cat to be returned and for all of this to end. We have a good home for Hudson, that is what they are looking for and seeming as we have such a history with him we are the best thing for him.

Apologies for this being so long but we wanted to fully explain everything. We will not give up our fight and we really hope that you can support us in our plea to get Hudson home. If you can do anything at all please get in touch, if you haven't already done so. I would also just like to say again that we would go to Cats Protection about these matters if they hadn't stated in the email that it was the final communication on this matter. The reason we are going public with this, not only in our blog but the press is because how else are we meant to communicate?

Please, if you can help us get Hudson home we would be so grateful. If your thinking of homing him please think again, refuse the cat if your asked as you know how much we want him back and can provide a good life for him. We're his original owners and surely if he is able to come back to us its the best thing for him. Or if your going to home him, please return him back to us. Our email details are on our profile page, all we want is our cat back and if you can do anything to help we would be forever grateful.

Thankyou.

Homecheck complete

The home check was done at 3:30pm and they left at 3:36pm. We had 2 ladies come for the home check plus ourselves. We did not manage to get a witness to be with us unfortunately but hopefully the fact there wasn't one wont be a problem.

The main home check lady spoke to myself, filled in a form and asked several questions. I answered them all calmly and asked what happened next.

She told us that the national branch had told them to do the home check, that she needs to forward her recommendations onto the national branch who will then make a decision. Hopefully we'll find out the result of this on Monday but who knows.

We have no idea how it went, we currently don't feel positive due to all we have been through this week but all we can do is hope and pray.

Just to remind you, its not like we are trying to adopt another cat. All we want is our cat Hudson back, he has lived with us since 4 weeks old and he is presently around 2 1/2 years old. He has always been very happy with us and loves the fact he can get love and attention 24 hours a day. He is a very much loved cat, accepted by our remaining cats and even our dog.

In the meantime please keep fighting for Hudson's return, we still need your support and all we can hope for is this all works out....

Will keep you updated and thanks for all the support.

Suprise, homecheck

We've just had the most surprising phone call from the local Cats Protection branch, asking if they could come and do a home check tomorrow. We of course said yes and its been arranged for the afternoon.

We can only hope we are starting to get somewhere with Hudson's return, we are optimistic about how the home check will go though. Due to all the bad treatment so far from the branch we are worried they will try and find some silly reason to refuse on.

We're desperately looking for a witness to be with us when she comes over for a home check, just in case any problems arise and she says things about the home visit that is not true. If you live locally and think you can help with this then please email us, you can get this address by going to our profile. Thankyou.

We'll do anything to get Hudson back, as much as we feel that we shouldn't have to go through a home check due to the situation we will do it in the hope of the return of our beloved cat Hudson.

Even though it will be hard to have the lady in our house we will remain calm and relaxed, all we want is our cat back and for this we will stay polite no matter how hard it might be.

I wish I could say we feel hopeful but we don't, after all we have been through we are just worried they'll find a way out of giving Hudson back to us/re-adopting him to us.

We'll keep you posted but in the mean time please keep fighting with us to get Hudson back home.