\n \t\t\t \t\t\t
![\"NM](\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/plugins\/rss-poster\/cache\/a3b79_3450563177.jpg\")
<\/p>\n \t
\n \t\t\t \t\t\t <\/p>\n
INLSA<\/p>\n
Five-year-old Demi Scott (in the background) and her kitten, Thomas, who is now at the centre of a legal tussle. \tPicture: Sbonelo Ngcobo<\/p>\n
\n
\t\t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t \t\t <\/p>\n
Tania Broughton <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SIX MONTHS after cat lover Juliette Botha handed over a rescued kitten to a Westville family, she has gone to the Durban High Court, seeking an order that \u201cGeorgie\u201d be returned, saying she should have heeded her \u201cinner voice\u201d and has had a change of heart. <\/p>\n
However, in what is turning into an ugly catfight, the Scott family is refusing to give up the kitten \u2013 which they have named Thomas \u2013 and say she is \u201cwasting the court\u2019s time\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe allegations she makes against us are a joke,\u201d says Road Traffic Inspectorate officer Duane Scott. <\/p>\n
\u201cThomas is one of the family and I will not upset my kids over something like this.\u201d <\/p>\n
Botha, a professor employed part-time at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a member of Kitten Action, made the \u201csemi-urgent\u201d application after trying for months to get back the kitten which was rescued on the South Coast in April. <\/p>\n
In her affidavit, which came before Judge Rashid Vahed on Friday, Botha said \u201cGeorgie\u201d was in a terrible condition when he was given to her and she had bottle-fed him and paid his vet\u2019s bills. <\/p>\n
In May, she had met someone who had recommended the Scotts, who \u201cwere ardent animal lovers\u201d. <\/p>\n
Botha said she drew up an adoption form, with a clause stipulating she was allowed to make a follow-up visit to ascertain if the cat was being properly cared for. <\/p>\n
On visiting the Scotts, she was \u201cshocked\u201d because there were no shrubs or trees, and they also had a pet pig. <\/p>\n
Georgie was in a room with the children \u201cand he (Duane Scott) did not even thank me for him. His wife said Georgie was feisty and the thought struck me that they perceived him to be a handful\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI left with a heavy heart\u2026 I wanted him back.\u201d <\/p>\n
She called Scott on a few occasions, but he said his children loved the kitten and he had nothing further to say. <\/p>\n
\u201cI suggest you stop bothering me,\u201d he said in a final SMS. <\/p>\n
An attorney suggested to Botha that she write a reconciliatory note to Scott, in which she would ask for the kitten to be returned. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Her attorney advised her that Scott had broken the \u201cadoption contract\u201d by refusing a visit and she was entitled to get the cat back. <\/p>\n
A lawyer\u2019s letter was sent to Scott in June, cancelling the contract and demanding Georgie\u2019s return, but Scott did not respond. <\/p>\n
Botha claims in her affidavit that she is concerned for the kitten\u2019s safety and that he might be \u201cmaltreated, abused, neglected\u201d or deprived of food. <\/p>\n
Scott, who refuses to hire a lawyer or put up papers in court, says the allegations are nonsense. <\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot believe what she is accusing us of. We adore our animals; they are no different to our children. Thomas plays all day with our two other cats, one of whom was also rescued about three months ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a special bond with our five-year-old daughter, Demi, and jumps on the trampoline with her. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we have a pig. We also have a large garden and lots of trees and shrubs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The case has been adjourned and Scott says he has no idea what will happen next. <\/p>\n
Botha\u2019s attorney, Tashya Giyapersad, told The Mercury that she was sending Scott another letter, confirming the cancellation of the contract and again asking for the kitten to be returned. If this was ignored, the matter would be placed back on the court roll. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INLSA Five-year-old Demi Scott (in the background) and her kitten, Thomas, who is now at the centre of a legal tussle. Picture: Sbonelo Ngcobo Tania Broughton SIX MONTHS after cat lover Juliette Botha handed over a rescued kitten to a Westville family, she has gone to the Durban High Court, seeking an order that \u201cGeorgie\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[29,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-5425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban-2","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}