Pet cat's euthanization by Toronto Animal Services devastates family

"Even if you didn’t know him, you would know right away that he was not a stray cat": pet-owner Mehry Hadi

Torontosun.com
April 12, 2022
Scott Laurie

A Toronto family is mourning the sudden loss of their 17-year-old cat, which somehow ended up with Toronto Animal Services and euthanized five days later.

“It’s very, very heartbreaking. My kids grew up with him,” said Mehry Hadi of her black cat Neo, who loved the outdoors.

“The way it happened, it’s hard. I know he was old and we knew that one day he would pass in the coming years, but not like that.”

Hadi let Neo go outside -- as he usually did for short periods most days -- the afternoon of April 1.

It was the last time she would see him.

When he failed to return after a short while, she began to worry.

The next day she drove around searching for him.

For several days, she reached out on a neighbourhood app, put up posters, and asked neighbours close to her home near Sheppard Ave. and Bathurst St.

Then someone suggested checking with Animal Services on Sheppard Ave. W.

That office told her someone took Neo to their shelter in Scarborough, and that after five days he was euthanized.

“I was shocked and I couldn’t believe it,” she said about finding out about Neo’s sudden death.

“Everybody knew him in the neighbourhood. Even if you didn’t know him, you would know right away that he was not a stray cat.”

Toronto Animal Services (TAS) confirmed that a cat was turned into the East Shelter in Scarborough on April 3.

“TAS confirmed that the cat was approximately 17 years old and extremely thin and dehydrated; supportive care and fluids was provided to the animal,” TAS said in a statement.

The city said it made several attempts to locate his owner, but the cat did not have a registered microchip, and was not wearing a license.

“After treating the cat, as well as exploring several options to find a home, the cat was humanely euthanized five days after being in the shelter. This decision was made to ease the pain and suffering of the animal.”

Under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, shelters are required to keep a stray or lost animal for a minimum of three days.

Hadi wonders why it was deemed necessary to put Neo to sleep just five days after he was turned in.

“I keep thinking about how he was feeling when someone picked him up,” she said.

“For me it was shocking. And at first I felt guilty. I kept thinking, ‘I shouldn’t have let him go out’.”