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Zoe checks the cats as she puts them in a carry cage. If they show signs of cat flu or feline aids - both deadly and highly contagious diseases – they will be immediately placed in quarantine to be put down by a veterinarian.

EVER wondered what happens to an animal once it arrives at the Whangarei SPCA?

Around 3000 animals are brought to the centre each year. Some are signed over by their owners while others have been dumped or abandoned, anonymously left in the drop in box or seized by SPCA inspectors. Each animal undergoes an intensive, and sometimes expensive, process to assess his or her mental and physical health – a process that everyone who works at the SPCA hopes will end in the animal finding an excellent new home. But sadly this isn't always the case.

Read what happens when Leah Miller followed the plight of four animals left at Whangarei SPCA.

Monday, December 4, 2006
Inspector Zoe Cook arrives at work to find three kittens and a cat in the drop in box. One form has been filled in with details about two of the kittens and their mother. But whoever left the third kitten, a black male, in the box did not fill in any paperwork.

It is helpful for staff to know as much as possible about each animal, especially where they came from in case the animal is diseased.

Zoe checks the cats as she puts them in a carry cage. If they show signs of cat flu or feline aids - both deadly and highly contagious diseases – they will be immediately placed in quarantine to be put down by a veterinarian.

Animal Field Officer Jackie Howe also checks the animals before putting them in cages in the isolation area, separating the black kitten from the others. Animals stay in isolation for seven days during which time their physical and mental health is checked by a vet and they are closely monitored by staff.

The animals are fed before being assessed by vet Kristy McDonald, who visits the centre twice a week. She looks for any signs of disease or physical problems before she weighs, worms and de-fleas the animals. Each animal has paperwork with details such as their estimated age, sex and history.

Tuesday, December 5 The cats stay in their cages, which are cleaned twice a day. There are 16 cages in the isolation unit and 15 of them are full, some with up to 6 kittens.

In the main cattery the 12 cages house 19 cats and kittens. Donated toys, soft bedding and cat treats are used to make their stay as pleasant as possible.

Wednesday December 6
Kristy checks the cat and kittens again. She is concerned as the black kitten is losing hair - a sign of ringworm, a highly contagious fungal disease.

Friday December 8
The black kitten has lost more hair and is showing all the symptoms of ringworm. Because he was left in the drop in box with the other animals, they will have picked up the disease as well. A decision is made to put down all four animals.

"It's expensive to treat ringworm and it takes four weeks of treatment during which time the animals are highly contagious to humans and other animals and require strict quarantine," manager Francine Shields says. "At this time of year when cats and kittens are pouring in everyday, to have an animal with a serious disease puts all the other animals at risk and we do not have the physical space to hold them."