SPCA staff incensed after cat burglar nabs kitten

Busy staff at Auckland's SPCA are upset and incensed after someone smuggled out a kitten last Saturday, as they coped with record numbers of homeless animals.

"It's lower than low," Auckland's SPCA chief executive Bob Kerridge said yesterday.

"When someone comes in and steals one we've got no idea what sort of home it's going into. It's really very upsetting."

Mr Kerridge said Mangere's SPCA centre had been inundated with stray animals this month - averaging 70 a day.

He said it was lucky more people were coming in to adopt animals because it was Christmas.

The new arrivals were mostly kittens at this time of year, but numbers were higher than usual, Mr Kerridge said.

The missing 10-week-old ginger male had three siblings, who were all brought in with their stray mother.

They had recently returned to the centre after being fostered out until they reached adoption age.

"Because we receive so many animals and we feel for them and what they've been through - being born unwanted and discarded and [going] through traumas - we get pretty attached to them.

"So we're careful who we adopt to."

Mr Kerridge said the thief, someone with "the morals of a lizard", would not have been chosen.

The kitten would have cost $95 to adopt.

Mr Kerridge said the charge covers vaccination and de-sexing costs already carried out by the SPCA, "we don't make a profit".

Mr Kerridge also said that when the holiday season arrived people surrendered their animals - particularly dogs - to the SPCA to deal with.

Either they can't be bothered or can't make provisions for them in the holidays ," he said.

"So much for that human-animal bond we talk about."

- NZPA