And if she keeps the animals, even if she manages to turn the taking care part of them around, they're going to grow older in what is almost definitely a tiny cage.
If someone thinks they are doing enough for their pets, and they aren't, that's on them. I'm not arguing that. But if they think they're doing the best for them, THAT'S where the issue is. If this lady came on the forum now, and saw us saying that basically her pets aren't going to live and that's that, I know I'd say "screw it" and leave it at that.
Get someone into a proper routine of taking care of their pets. That includes the welfare checks, the health checks, the feeding, the cleaning out. Get a time to do it on a specific day. Treat it as learning by rote if you need to, but get someone physically doing the things that they need to do. Sometimes it won't sink in otherwise, and even telling them won't be enough. We were all new owners once, we were all at a point where we didn't know really what we were doing, we all had to learn. Some of us learn sooner than others. But if someone hasn't had a chance to learn, taking into account how they live on a daily basis, then they won't learn. And getting rid of the pets now won't change the fact that down the line, they'll still want that company and they'll almost certainly repeat all the same mistakes. But you know what they won't do? Ask for help after the first time around. And there's a possibility they won't have someone like
@Jaden to help them out again either.
Jaden, the social worker - you said you had their details. Do you know them at all, have you ever met or spoken to them before? I'm wondering how sympathetic they might be, because if they're the sort of person who might be able to help, enlisting them might be a good idea. They won't be able to help physically clean the pets out or anything, but there's something they might be able to do like get a routine going, talk about hygiene, you get the idea.
Edited by mod
