12 cats were discovered and rescued from Hopwood’s rural property near Winchburgh in May 2025.
Four kittens who were discovered in a dark, unclean shed at a property in West Lothian are now thriving after being given a fresh start in life.
The group were discovered alongside eight other cats at an address near Winchburgh in May last year. All of them were being kept in poorly ventilated sheds and chicken coops within the detached property’s grounds. They were taken into the care of the Scottish SPCA and have since recovered and been rehomed.
Clayton Hopwood and his mother Deborah pleaded guilty to failing to meet the needs of the 12 cats. Clayton was fined £730, plus a victim surcharge, and banned from dealing in animals for eight months. Clayton also pleaded guilty to breeding kittens without the required licence. Deborah was admonished.
Two of them, affectionately known as Aurora and Thomas O’Malley to the Scottish SPCA centre team and now named Maya and Casper, are living with owner John Boyle. The mum and son pair are doing well and have settled into their new home.
They have become the most cuddly, fun and rambunctious kittens
Another two, Billy Boss and Toulouse, were initially fostered by Caitlin Starr – who is originally from Canada. She said: “The first night that I met them, I sat in the living room with them and I decided then and there that I had to keep them.
“I got in touch with the Scottish SPCA the next day and applied to adopt them and since them officially being my cats, they have become the most cuddly, fun and rambunctious kittens that you could ever meet.”
Caitlin moved to a small cottage in the Trinity area of Edinburgh in January with her boyfriend. While Billy Boss and Toulouse are still very much indoor cats, they now have a garden to watch the birds.
“They have their very own adventure space”, Caitlin continued.
“We thought that Toulouse was going to be the shy one but he’s turned out to be really adventurous and outgoing, whereas Billy Boss is the one who waits for his brother to figure out what’s going on.
“When I was born, my parents actually had two rescue cats named Cosmo and Kramer and my dad then adopted a cat called Wink. Wink has grown up with so many people around the house so I learned to spot what a cat needs.
“It’s nostalgic to have two cats of my own now. The best part is when I went home to Canada at Christmas, my mum still had the two food bowls that she used to feed Cosmo and Kramer so I brought them back to Scotland and now Billy Boss and Toulouse are fed from the bowls that my childhood cats were fed from.
“It’s this full circle moment for me which is really nice.”
How you can give an animal a second chance
Just like these four cats from the Hopwood case, there are other animals in the care of the Scottish SPCA who are desperate to find a loving home after enduring neglect and abuse. Visit our Find a Pet page to find out how you can give an animal a second chance at life.
