The Animal Pro Cruelty League

oday, 04/09/2026, my cat went into labor with serious complications, and I want to share what happened when I turned to the Animal Anti-Cruelty League for help — because other pet owners deserve to know this before they end up where I was.

My cat was first seen at an animal hospital in Bellville, who placed an IV and kept her overnight. They could not perform the surgery she needed, and referred me to the AACL, telling me these are people who genuinely look after animals properly. That trust was not met.

I first went to the AACL's Bellville branch, where I was turned away and told they could not help me. At that branch, I was also told that their policy is to end all remaining kittens during this kind of procedure, regardless of whether they are still alive — not because saving them isn't possible, but because it is their standard practice.

I then went to their Epping branch, and that is where my cat was mistreated. When I arrived, my cat was in active labor, in visible pain, with kittens still inside her. Instead of treating her first, the focus was immediately on payment. I told staff honestly that I had 200 rand available, and offered a payment arrangement, showing I'm someone who reliably pays what I owe. I was told I needed to pay half the bill upfront regardless, with no room to negotiate.

I was told the same thing here too — that all remaining kittens would be ended regardless of whether they were alive. Two separate branches, the same stated policy.

When I asked for my cat back so I could find help elsewhere, I watched a staff member take my cat, who was mid-labor and clearly suffering, and put her back into her carrier roughly. I will not forget that.

I drove her, in that condition, to another vet, who told me the kittens dying inside her was not the only danger — my cat herself was dying. Not just the kittens she was carrying, but my cat's own life was at risk. That vet told me plainly that if I had arrived any later, she would not have survived. The vet was shocked by what I was telling her on how the AACL treated my cat.

During surgery, that vet also found internal damage. Given what I personally witnessed of how she was handled at the AACL, I strongly suspect that treatment is what caused it.

That vet treated her immediately and sorted payment afterward. My cat is alive tonight only because of them, not because of the organization whose name claims to stand against animal cruelty.

This isn't about affordability being used as an excuse. I was upfront about what I could pay and asked for exactly the kind of arrangement any reasonable emergency care provider offers. What I got instead was a policy of payment first, and a stated practice of ending kittens regardless of whether they could be saved — while my own cat's life hung in the balance the entire time.

I'm sharing this so other pet owners know what actually happens at the AACL before they trust them with an animal's life.