- Sep
- 18
Kittens, Kittens Everywhere! The Homeless Cat Controversy
Posted by Scott VanValkenburg at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
A few weeks ago, my cousin left me a voicemail asking me to call her as soon as possible. I was panicked. Was my aunt in the hospital? Was somebody hurt?
The trauma in this case was purely emotional, and it’s experienced by hundreds of thousands of good people who help animals every year. My cousin and her husband were leaving a shopping center’s parking lot when she noticed movement in the grassy area by the street. She demanded that they pull over, and when she got out, she was surprised to see two orange tabby kittens, who ran toward her out of the darkness. She scooped them up, brought them home, and called me.
My cousin is a good person who knows that the streets are full of dangers for stray cats and dogs, and she was outraged that some irresponsible lout had dumped these tiny 3-month-old purring machines by the road, where they could have been run over. But her big concern now was what might happen to them when I took them to the animal shelter where I volunteer. She knew that they were underweight and had something wrong with their eyes. Because I only volunteer or work with open-admission animal shelters, she knew that the kittens might be euthanized.
That’s the dilemma facing so many people who don’t ignore the stray on the side of the street or in their back yard. By taking responsibility, they might be sending the animal to euthanasia. There are always other options: a friend who might take the kitten without thinking about a 20-year commitment, the hairdresser who wants a kitten for her child but hasn’t planned on spending hundreds of dollars a year on vet care, or the family member who just moved into a “no pets allowed” apartment that has “a lot of outside cats in a safe neighborhood.” Most of these options result in more pregnant, homeless, and injured cats and dogs, and in the end, these options cause more suffering and death than the rejected animal-shelter option.
My neighbors consider me the local “cat guy” and bring me feral kittens when they find them in their garages. They have no concern whatsoever about whether the animals are euthanized, which I think is the attitude of most people who aren’t guardians of companion animals. They just want the problem solved in a humane manner. That’s why the attempts to stop all intake and fieldwork involving cats by the so-called “no kill” movement is so extreme. The public in large part gets it: Animals don’t belong on the streets, even if that means humane euthanasia.
Two of the last three kittens my neighbors brought me were horribly sick and were euthanized immediately. My wife and I fostered and socialized the third until he was 8 weeks old. Then he was neutered (thankfully, the surgery can be performed at this young age), and the animal shelter adopted him out. I can’t imagine the suffering that those two sick kittens would have endured if they hadn’t been given to the animal shelter.
There is a disturbing trend among some people-particularly “cat advocates”-to let animals “have a chance” on the streets rather than face possible euthanasia. On the one hand, we’ve made such headway since the 1960s, thanks to the animal shelter reformers who instituted humane-care standards in private and public facilities, promoted euthanasia by injection, passed laws mandating sterilization of adopted animals and fought to establish low-cost spay-and-neuter programs. Those efforts have led everyday people to demand that stray dogs and cats be picked up. But on the other hand, “animal people” are now promoting the same ignorant view that those reformers struggled to change: “They’re animals, so they can fend for themselves.”
When I was a little boy and I looked out the window of my parent’s car and spotted a stray dog or cat, I would cry and ask why that animal was out on the street. Isn’t that the right response? Isn’t it clear that the open-admission animal shelter is safer than the streets?
Posted to Family & Friends | Posted to Tags: Cats, homeless, Scott VanValkenburg, shelter
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Kay Joubert says...
September 18th, 2008, 12:28 pm
Scott brings up some very important choices that happen every day in every community. Cats are an important part of millions of homes all across America, but they are also the species most frequently euthanized because people don’t take responsibility for them, and often let them loose where they can easily encounter harm as those kittens had experienced. Yet there are so many humane solutions that are simple, starting with spay/neuter, education and responsible guardianship. As Scott points out, cats (and dogs) can be ‘fixed’ at a very young age and if more people took advantage of the low-cost or even free services offered by many shelters and animal welfare groups we could end this tragic cycle for so many of our feline friends. Let’s encourage everyone we know to be a part of the solution and take action like Scott’s cousin did to help an animal in need.
Laura says...
September 18th, 2008, 3:22 pm
Great article. I managed an open admission shelter for many years and constantly had to explain to people the problems with “no kill” shelters and try to gently persuade them that euthanasia was preferable to starvation, disease, attack, mutilation, severe injury, slow painful death, etc. and that we tried hard to adopt as a first option whenever possible. Some people get it, others don’t. Thanks for the article.
John Patti says...
September 19th, 2008, 6:03 pm
Friends,
I call your attention to another group that I’m associated with that is advocating another approach to the problem.
Please look at Alley Cat Allies at http://www.alleycat.org These folks advocate the practice of “Trap-Neuter-Return” . . . . . a simple Spay/Neuter program aimed at feral cats.
Chris Hashimoto says...
September 19th, 2008, 10:32 pm
Concerning homeless cats (& dogs) & actually animals in general. I cannot understand the lack of regard many people have towards these animals.They are helpless creatures that cannot speak for themselves.I wish there was more that could be done for them & I give praise to all who try & help these poor creatures. Personally, I do & I thank goodness for all of those who try their best to do whatever they can also.
Danielle says...
September 19th, 2008, 10:51 pm
Sorry, I don’t agree. I understand the points being made, but “euthanasia” is just a nice way of saying kill. Who are we to say that letting an animal live is not preferable to being killed? I really don’t like people that play god. What if it was your life - would you rather live on the street or be killed? I’m quite sure you would choose to live on the street.
I don’t buy the argument that there are too many animals as justification for killing them. There are homeless people living on the street too - are you suggesting we kill them also? Everyone is entitled to live their life that includes cats and dogs. If you try hard enough, there is a way to take care of these animals and let them live their lives.
Elaine Bobula says...
September 19th, 2008, 11:08 pm
I’d like to know of these low cost spaying, neutering places; we are retired and DO NOT bring drop offs to the shelters because they probably be killed.. I had a friend claim that the kittens that I took care of which were born to a feral female are bigger than the ones she has which are older than mine. These will all be loved and well taken care of, but where are these so called low cost spaying clinics. Kane County, in northern Illinois, hum bug.
Andre says...
September 20th, 2008, 12:07 am
Life is the most important and priceless gift we ever get to experience. Everyone wants to live even small bug making way to survive and wants to live. How you can decide for anyone to take their lives away! Its the most cruel things I ever encounter here in United States. Maybe you should start to euthanized people because so many. Look at the eyes of animals, if you heard them talking, they would say “I want to live, let me go. You are americans have no soul and no value
in life by sentencing someone to die. How cruel it can be. Cats can get pretty good adjusting to environment. I travel a lot around the world and see how many cats live on their own of course there are always good hearted people around who would feed them. I discovered many parks in Buenos Aires, Greece where many cats live and they just doing fine, Why to kill, taking life away? This is a sick society with no respect for life of others. We are all created to live in harmony helping each other but not destroying someone’s life especially ones who can’t speak for themselves. Anyone who is taking life away is a heartless and cruel.
behija says...
September 20th, 2008, 1:39 am
Maybe, we should get more attention to build more non-kill shelters and try to work harder on spay/neuter action and education. I think that we still take euthanasia to easy. By using euthanasia we are still taking somebody’s life. Maybe we should think about trying to give a life. I have 4 cats(2 strays and 2 adopted from shelter) and they are part of my family, and do not like thinking about killing my family member in any situation. I would rather fight for any other possibility give good, quality life.Yes, it is better in shelter than the street but maybe non-kill one
Raquel vannucci says...
September 20th, 2008, 8:37 am
I love the article and I am always trying to show it to my friends,
that suffering is much worse than having a humane life end.
I just wish it wouldn’t be necessary, I wish people would be different…but, reality is what we see on the streets every day, millions of animals being ignored and abused by our politics, autorities and heartless people.
Thank you, it always gives strentgh to see that there are people like me.
Sheryl says...
September 20th, 2008, 9:48 am
I work in a veterinary hospital and you can’t imagine the number of people who come in with “free” kittens. The come in asking about the cost of vaccines and neutering and then can’t believe how much it is…we do refer them to a cheaper Spay/Neuter Clinic. People think that because they got these kittens at no cost that it doesn’t take that much to care for them.
I, myself, have 4 beautiful cats who were all rescued. One was born to a litter where the mom was an outdoor stray and was hit by a car, our eldest was found after I heard her little meows for help and found that someone had tied her up in wires! They are all neutered and they have cost me hundreds of dollars and I would do it all again.
People have to look at cats - and dogs - as more than disposable items…they have to look at them as family.
manda says...
September 20th, 2008, 11:36 am
I like this article. That is the right response to have when you see a stray but unfortuneately many people just don’t care. My first dog was a stray. She was a beautiful german shepard puppy and I don’t know how anyone could have left her alone by herself. We found her laying on railroad tracks. I always would sneak food outside for pets when I was little. My parents always yelled at me but I never understood why no one else would try and help them. I even found a stray kitten once and snuck it into my room one night. My mom found it the next day and the kitten grew on her quickly. Sadly, the owner came looking about a week later. I never can understand why people are so rude and uncaring. I look at animals like a baby. Sometimes they are helpless, they can’t tell you what they need or what is wrong, and they need attention. Their not trash to be left on the side of a road. All my cats have come from shelters and all of their stories are similar about being left somewhere in a box, or thrown out of a car to go fend for themself. I’m glad there is atleast some people with a heart who can understand and help.
Jen says...
September 20th, 2008, 1:24 pm
My sister works at a “no kill” shelter because it is the only one in her area. She gets very upset about the number of animals that end up living a
“shelter life”. It’s no life really. Like prison for a human. And the number of animals that get turned away!
What I can’t understand is that for a country as rich as ours, why it is so hard to get people to help animals. We could END the overpopulation of animals in this decade if everyone would help!
kerry says...
September 20th, 2008, 2:07 pm
i can so relate to everything Scot is saying. I had a business trip to Nevada last year, and we stopped at a gas station in rural Nevada. There were starving cats everywhere, trying to drink water from the window washing container. We alerted the authorities who just shrugged their shoulders. We were able to catch two who now are spayed and live happily on a farm with one of our agents, but we couldnt do more because we had to leave to fly home the next day. I can only imagine the horrible death the rest of those kitties faced. I try to remind myself that you cant save them all, and concentrate on trying to save the ones I can. I totally agree that a humane death is preferable to a life of suffering.
Diane says...
September 21st, 2008, 12:18 am
I agree with every comment regarding the stray animal situation. There are many homeless cats in my neighborhood, Brooklyn, New York, and I am very concerned about each and every one of the cats. I feed the cats that come to house in the morning. Every morning around 5:00 am, two cats and sometimes three cats are waiting for me on my door step. One cat gets so excited that he constantly rolls over in a playful gesture so I named him or her Rolley. I am going to ask a co-worker if she would consider adopting Rolley because winter is approaching, and I do not desire to leave Rolley outside. A few months ago, I took in one of the strays and I named him JJ. Yes, he had his shots and I had him neutered. JJ was one of the cats that I fed so he began to remain on the side of my house, and he never left. Whenever I walked my dog, JJ would follow me. One day, a man who was walking by and he said, “auh, how cute, you walk your dog and cat too.”
Therefore, I just had to take JJ in. I had some apprehension about my dog, but it all worked out. In any event, some people get annoyed because the cats are being fed. Could you imagine how cruel these people are because they do not want me to feed the cats? I guess that they don’t know what hungry is, but I hope they will someday. I wish that we could come up with a solution for all the strays. Please put on your thinking caps! Thanks much.
veronica says...
September 21st, 2008, 10:16 am
i have gained insight on this article. recently i found a very emaviated weak cat. he was also very friendly although he has been abandoned by his previous family.. i presume. & its not his fault , i am unable to adopt him as my own with 3 cats and 3 dogs already. i have been feeding him 4 about a week and his coat seems to be shedding to the sking as if he could have mange or other disease so other than allow him to stay on the streets & suffer any longer.7 after much contemplation of doing so or bringing myself to calling the local shelter & chancing him being euthanized. i find it in his best interest to take him into the shelter & hope for the best. i refuse to watch him die slowly or have him live miserably ill if the solution is better to do otherwise, where he may even have the chance of being adopted out at the shelter if hes extra lucky. .. thank you for the perspective. i can breathe again & will sleep lighter knowing what im doing is right.
Regina McNeill says...
September 22nd, 2008, 2:30 am
I have 5 cats,they all were unwanted, because people wre moving back to the states or from a shelter.I live in Germany. In Trier they have a nice animal shelter. outside cats get put in this area fenced in, net over it, a few big trees and lots of tittle houses. there are only a few cats that walk along the fence and feel trapped, the others are fine. In this city people are looking more for inside cats. The cats dont get put asleep, unless suffering. even leucose-sick cats are in for adoption as a single household cat for inside. lots of places here neuter them and take them back to their envirement. I am worried about the caserns when the Americans close them and leave the stray cats behind. Regina
Scott says...
September 23rd, 2008, 2:37 pm
I want to thank everyone who has taken time to respond to this column thus far; it isn’t surprising that visitors to PETA Prime would exhibit such compassion for our feline friends!
I’d like to confine my comments to socialized cats rather than ferals, for now.
It isn’t just shelter workers who “play God” when they care for animals who were out on the street. Anyone who puts cat food out is making a choice that can cause deaths, too. When one feeds, one increases the chance of a successful pregnancy and the size of the litter. I know people who spend hundreds of dollars a month on cat food but say they can’t afford to pay for spay-neuter, even when it is offered for less than $50. It is a human choice that causes the cat to start using that location as a feeding station or who increases the chances of more kittens.
I have pulled quite a few cats and kittens out of car hoods after they were sliced open when seeking warmth from the engine during winter. I ask my family and friends to bang on the hood once it gets cold, because I’m forever haunted by the suffering those poor animals endured. Once a cat or kitten goes to a shelter, they won’t experience such a fate, and I’m more comfortable making that choice than leaving them on the dangerous streets. And the shelters that spay-neuter adopted animals before release to new homes don’t add to the problem!
Cats (and dogs) are domestic animals, and they need our care. I’d never put my geriatric cats to live outside; why do some folks think it is ok to condemn other socialized cats to that existence?
Kathie Newton says...
September 23rd, 2008, 11:15 pm
My cat Dudess escaped from my home years ago by clawing out a screen. I would never purposely let her out because I knew what danger lurked out there, and sure enough, she succumbed to one of them. A pack of stray dogs shook her to death. I didn’t see it but my roommate did - she was horrified and helpless to do anything. This is just one of the many horrible scenarios that “outdoor” cats can face. Run over by a car. Slowly debilitated by disease and/or infection. Starvation. Chopped up in a car engine. Tortured by sick humans (I once had a neighbor who punished her children by wringing the necks of stray kittens in front of them). Then there’s euthanasia. Which would you pick? Make it so we don’t have to pick and spay/neuter your pets. Until then, humane euthanasia is the best option.
Scott says...
September 25th, 2008, 7:48 am
Elaine in Kane County, there is an excellent program in the Chicago area: http://www.anticruelty.org/site/epage/36617_576.htm and given the wonderful Anna’s Law that was passed in Illinois, more funding should be available throughout the state for organization’s to expand or launch programs. Everyone can check with their local shelter to see what resources they offer, and if they don’t have spay-neuter programs check out HelpingAnimals.com to see what you and others can do to help them expand their services!
Barbara Clayton says...
September 25th, 2008, 5:30 pm
Hi, I have been a animal lover all my life and my nickname is cat lady. I have read your opinions and I think that every point is of value. All I can tell you is what I do to help me sleep at nite. I have made a safe haven at my home for stray cats especially. Because a cat is a free spirit and doesn’t really need to be controled. There are those who need homes and others who don’t. I supply shelter and food for all the strays in my neighborhood. Sometime I may have two and next day maybe six.They come and go as they please. If I could afford it I would have them all medically taken care of but I can’t. But I do what I can.
rachel says...
September 25th, 2008, 6:11 pm
i help out at a no-kill shelter, but no-kill is more for the people than the animals. some people cannot bring themselves to help a cat while knowing it might be killed for lack of space.
if we cannot take an animal in, it goes to a kill shelter. we try to get as many as we can, but there is always a limited amount of time and money and help available.
death in the arms of a kind person is better than a life sick on the street. it is better than years in a cage to be adopted. it is better than kittens again and again and again and more suffering.
it is heartbreaking for animals to be put down for space and money and time, but until people can care for them, it is the only option.
Claudia says...
September 25th, 2008, 10:35 pm
This kind of situation (cats dumped in the street) happens so frecuently that it really hurts. I was a proudly mom of a 1 month tabby kitten, almost 17 years ago. My life with that lovely cat was wonderful, but our story began in the street just because a stupid one dumped my Kitty and her brothers and sisters like garbage. In several ocassions I rescued some kittens and I hope they are fine… we might think on eutanasia only as a last option and educate our society to be good with our four-paws friends.
sara says...
September 26th, 2008, 2:51 am
Unless the stray cats/dogs are suffering from a disease or are badly hurt with no option of recovery, they should not be euthanized. I have seen cats, dogs living peacefully in public parks and being fed by the community in countries like Greece, Turkey, Syria and Iraq (before they the occupation). When I was vacationing at a seaside town in Turkey, for example, the local government collected the stray cats and dogs, neutered/spayed them and returned them to the streets. Each street or a block had their own group of strays that were taken care of by the people living in the neighborhood. Feeding the strays was a way of socializing almost. Why can’t we do do the same in US instead of playing God and killing the strays?
Kristen says...
September 26th, 2008, 9:25 am
With all the earmarks with this money in the government, you would think that our politicians could all request money for their states to help with this issue. We need more no kill shelters and more funding for free spay/nueter programs. It is just so very very wrong to kill a perfectly healthly kitten or cat or puppy or dog, just because there are too many of them in someones opinion. Maybe there are too many people in the world, should we kill all the extra people that someone thinks are a problem in the world? All animals are beautiful, loving and precious. It is up to us to do everything in our power to always do the right thing and preserve their lives. They need our help!!! Let’s stand up and help. Please do not close your eyes when you see an animal in trouble or in need. K
Billie Jo Beckman says...
September 26th, 2008, 10:17 am
With the cost of vet care…who can afford to take any animal??!! I found 7 kittens by the river in Pittsburgh where I live. I called and to bring them to the vet was $45 for the first animal and $15 for each additional. And that was just the office visit. The shots and all would have been a horrible expense not to mention trying to spay/neuter them. In my area - you can’t find a vet that will do the procedure for less than $90. THIS IS WAY THESE ANIMALS ARE OVER POPULATED. YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO FIX THEM!!! All the money vets make and they can’t perform a monthly clinic to make this process more affordable. I just paid $2000 for my dachshund to get a back surgery. This clinic in pittsburgh said they perform about 10 of these a week. You can’t tell me that places like this can’t give back. Offer 1/2 off spay/neuter clinics. Base the fee by income. PEOPLE CAN’T AFFORD IT. Our Humane Society (Beaver County) is just pretty much useless if you ask me. They never answer the phone - never return calls, and I have been on the so called “Waiting List” to surrender the babies I found for 4 months!!! Same thing with the Animal Friends no kill shelter. I have been on their list also for 4 months. Lastly - my parents called our local Animal Control officer on monday to come to their home to aid a sick cat. He took her and SAID he was taking her to our Beaver County Humane Society. I went to the shelter on Tuesday to check on her and she wasnt’ there. He never brought her in. The girl in the office said that he might have Euthanized her himself and proceded to tell me that shooting an animal is an acceptable means of putting an animal down…WHAT!!!??? She was sick - that was all. AND - this so called Animal Control officer has NO VET TRAINING WHAT SO EVER had the authority to make the decision. He is a retired police man!!! This is what is wrong with our society. Our own local shelter sits back and lets this type of behavior happen. I am only one voice for animal like that stray cat. And I’m sure many of you that are reading this get the same treatment that I do “Oh, she is just that crazy animal lover - she’s nuts”. No one will help AND no one cares that things like this are happening…
Maura says...
September 26th, 2008, 10:23 am
I’ve been a member of PeTA for 15 years and this is one issue I don’t agree on. TNR works in my city. The local group rounds up any ferals they are told about and gets them spayed/neutered and vaccinated at free clinics where vets offer their services for free once a month. If there are times clinics aren’t running, the feral group pays their own money to have them spayed/neutered at a low cost place. After that, they do not just abandon them back onto the streets. They adopt out those that can be socialized or maintain groups by feeding and monitoring them. I myself care for a group of eight gorgeous healthy cats. If any medical problems arise, I make sure they are taken care of. And I am just one of many people who do that. I know not all cities have this kind of organization. But I want to show that TNR does work.
Nancy Lion-Storm says...
September 26th, 2008, 11:40 am
Elaine Bobula is looking for a low cost spay clinic in Kane County, IL. FREE spay/neuter of feral cats is being offered to residents of Kane County, IL (Elgin area). For more information email gcody@andersonanimalshelter.com
Scott says...
September 27th, 2008, 1:27 pm
Thanks again to all for caring and commenting; especially thanks to Nancy for listing that free spay-neuter clinic link in Kane County, IL. Billie Jo in Pittsburgh; there are $70 spays and other low-cost options listed at http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/pw/html/spay_neuter_program.html
I’m still not going to address the feral cat issue at this time, except to say that contrary to misinformation circulated by some extremist groups PETA is not opposed to TNRM (note the M for Monitor) programs in all cases and the PETA spay-neuter clinic altered 440 feral cats last year, as noted at http://www.peta.org/feat/annualreview/numbers.asp
Maura says TNR works in her city, and that socialized cats are adopted out after spay-neuter. Great! But TNR is simply never appropriate for socialized cats, and that is who we’re discussing right now. If a socialized cat is on the streets, he or she needs to be removed to safety, and that is with a caring person in their home, a rescue group (that spay-neuters and doesn’t hold in a cage forever or throw back out on the streets), or an open-admission shelter where they can be adopted out or humanely euthanized; the alternative is suffering and please don’t doubt that death on the streets will come but it will be painful and lonely for the cat. Surely you wouldn’t put your socialized cat out on the street?!
Amanda says...
September 29th, 2008, 11:01 am
It’s so sad that some people are more interested in their own happiness than helping animals. Sure, no-kill and TNRe-abandon might make people feel better about themselves, but I thought rescue work was about doing the right thing for homeless animals? How selfish….
Kathy says...
October 4th, 2008, 8:23 am
Since I was a little girl I have had cats. My mother fed strays and would also take cats to the local SPCA. She only kept two cats but did try to find homes for others. As I got older I had my own cats and got into cat rescuing and other animals. The biggest problem I saw being in a more rural area at the time were the farmers who got two or more cats for rodent control and did not get them spayed or neutered would turn into a population of twenty and so on. Then as farms were being sold the cats had no where to go and spread out to the new developments and shopping centers jumping in dumpsters to feed and or local trash. As I drive to and from work I always see strays and find dumped kittens. The only way to really help is to always make sure the young cats or kittens are spayed and or neutered.I have of my own right now sixteen rescued cats. There are a few local strays where I recently moved to that I make a shelter for on my porch with hay. Hay makes a great shelter for outside cats. I have made many hay houses using lots of bales and wood in between for levels for the cats to sit on. I have had cats that wanted to live outside and as long as they had shelter the oldest lived to be eighteen. So cats can be outside as long as they have decent shelter and I know most people do not go to the extreme as I have to take care of cats. I have a neighbor that has a mother cat that is not fixed that keeps having kittens and then they throw everyone outside with no shelter. Which I am sure is how I ended up with two more cats this past year. But when I get the chance I will catch her and get her fixed along with the kittens.I am at my saturation point and I know right now it is going to get worse given the financial mess our country is in. Someone left a cat which I now have in a plastic container with a scribbled note about not being able to keep because of having to move at a PetSmart I go to outside of the store. My reason for buying a house last year was for my kids and cats.Where I was living the landlord let the house go to foreclosure and we had lived there for eighteen years. I was really lucky to get this house and move to a cat friendly neighborhood. Anyway one cat at a time if everyone helps to spay/neuter and finds them a home.
Kim E says...
February 26th, 2009, 5:54 pm
Hello,
I used to be unsure about this issue. I absolutely LOVE cats. I have adored them ever since I was a toddler and the idea of any of these wonderful creatures being killed pains me deeply.
However, I have decided that PETA is right on this issue. Read this story below:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090226/ap_on_re_us/tortured_cats
Euthanizing is better than this. Feral cats don’t have a chance, unless perhaps in a very rural area, but in cities . . . FORGET IT!
I tried contacting PETA with this link in the hopes that they would send out an Action Alert about the story, but it bounced back. Spread the word. This man MUST BE STOPPED!
Kari says...
May 8th, 2009, 3:41 pm
I have lost so much respect for mankind, womankind or what ever is left in this world.
My fixed 5 year old cat was bated & trapped in my neighbor’s back yard, that S.O.B. put my cat as well as three others in his grudge. I called the police the officer that came out could herself hear my cat as well as the others… she tried to get that S.O.B. to answer his door but he would not & the officer bound but the so called law could not make him open the door… she put in a request to have the sheriff’s animal control come out to help us get our property (cats have no leash law true but they are your property just the same) that cruel horrible excuse for a human bean went over to that S.O.B. house & when in his backyard to see his F-ing garden & that is the only thing that thing could talk about. One sheriff’s animal control (in the town next to ware I live) says it is animal cruelty & if I can get proof of this then there is something I can do to prosecute this S.O.B. & make him stop…. I get recorded proof that he is batting & trapping & dumping the cats in our neighborhood so I call to try to get this going to make him stop this & the sheriff’s animal control (in the town that I live in) say that there is nothing that I can do even with the proof. I don’t know what to do he was caught trapping a cat just last night & still there is nothing I can do & no one will help me to find my kitty & to stop this why