VIDEO: The SPCA cats you CAN'T adopt (at least not right away)

Your local SPCA often shows off adorable animals ready for a new home. But there are often others that aren't ready for that. Sometimes they can't be adopted for legal reasons relating to their seizure in cruelty cases. Sometimes neglect and mistreatment make them unsuitable for immediate adoption. But usually, with the right kind of handling, they will eventually make suitable pets.

We spoke with Sean Hogan at the Kelowna SPCA about a group of cats his staff are caring for after the recent seizure of about 40 kittens and cats from a local property.

It's been a month since the Kelowna Shelter took-in eleven cats seized during an animal cruelty investigation, and they're all still being cared for at the Casorso Road facility.

"We're not able to adopt them quite yet," said Kelowna SPCA Branch Manager Sean Hogan, "they have to clear some medical hurdles and health hurdles before we can."

The cats have spent the last four weeks in adoption room one, where staff and volunteers are getting them used to people.

"What we have right now are cats that are learning to get used to people, and touching and contact," said Hogan.

At the property they came from, most of their interaction was only with other cats.

"There were over forty cats on the property that were not receiving adequate care," he said.

In some cases, there can be legal disputes which can also delay the SPCA's ability to place the animals in a new home. "They're in our care until any dispute process is resolved."

As for how they wound up in here, Hogan said the circumstances in cruelty cases can be extremely complicated.

"We have to understand that it's really, really far more complicated than simply a person being mean to an animal," Hogan points out. Sometimes it's not just the animals that need help, but the people too. "It involves social work, maybe mental health, it might be the resources the person has."