Reports are sometimes made by neighbours who have their own agendas. A report was received that someone renting the top of an Umbilo home was not feeding his dogs. This owner turned out to be a chef, and his dogs, aged 8 and 10, were, if anything, rather overweight. One was a Border collie and the other an elderly German Shepherd. The chef laughed when he heard that the accusation was that he was not feeding his animals. He reported that he was trying to find another place to live because the owner wanted to bring his own dogs onto the property and that he felt that the owner was attempting to use the SPCA to solve the problem.

 

Umbilo cats
An elderly Umbilo woman was reported to be spraying neighbourhood cats with Doom because “they sit on the wall”. Since the cats immediately fled, little harm was probably done, but owners were angry. She was issued with a written warning, although she claimed that she “wouldn’t do anything like that”. However, there have been no further incidents. 

In another Umbilo incident, someone living in a dingy flat was accused of throwing boiling water onto a cat that went into her kitchen. Jacqui went to see her. They spoke in a kitchen piled high with dirty dishes and she said she had only thrown cold water at the cat! No further action has been taken.

A tortoiseshell kitten in Umbilo imprisoned itself under a rockery feature near a swimming pool. The lady of the house called Jacqui to help after her husband had been unable to get the little creature out. After hours of trying unsuccessfully to find a way of releasing it, they decided to try food. The lady fetched a Vienna from her fridge and gave it to Jacqui. The kitten got a whiff of it through a small hole. Then Jacqui found a bigger hole in the water feature. The kitten was extremely hungry, and she eventually lured it out, although it was rather a squeeze. It was in good condition and is in the cattery for adoption.... more reports »