Wednesday Cat News: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Around the world, cats are making news, one way or another. Here's a sampling today:

The Good

Anonymous Ohio cat lovers have enabled the Summit Animal Coalition to establish a mobile veterinary clinic in Lakemore. The $50,000 donation, on top of a $300,000 donation in 2006, have made it possible for hundreds of cats to be spayed or neutered, Since September 2 alone, more than 500 cats have been altered, according to the Ohio.com article. Failure to spay and neuter is the single most cause for the huge crunch in animal shelter overflow, so this project will pay off eventually for the Summit county shelter.

The Bad

Armed with a search warrant, Two SPCA officers, two Delta police officers, and two outside veterinarians visited the Forgotten Felines animal rescue and seized almost 50 cats. Forgotten Felines is apparently a one-person rescue group, and includes the farm home of Penny March, and an enclosed barn. Two kittens deemed beyond hope were euthanized on the site and the 49 seized cats are now receiving veterinary care. Approximately 150 cats remain in the barn, and the SPCA has issued orders to have the remaining cats examined by a vet within 24 hours.

According to the Delta Optimist article, the SPCA will continue to work with March, to help ameliorate this situation. SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk was quoted as saying,

"This is a rescue group... we always want rescue groups to succeed," she said. "We'll continue to work with Forgotten Felines... we have for a number of years, we want them to succeed."

There is sometimes a fine line between "rescue" and "hoarding," when passion is overcome by financial limitations.

The Truly Ugly

Cat owners in the U.K. fear a copycat killer, as nine cats in Weston-super-Mare have died from anti-freeze poisoning in recent weeks, according to Sky News. Prior to that, 19 cats died the same way in Bridgewater, Summerset. The distance between the two towns leads authorities to suspect a copycat killer.

Customs vary in different parts of the world. In the U.K., it is generally believed that it is cruel to keep cats indoors, while in the U.S., the trend has grown toward keeping cats inside, for their protection, and for the protection of wildlife. At the very least, the only positive spin I can put on this piece of news is a reminder to keep anti-freeze out of the reach of cats (which should be doable if you keep them inside your home.)