“Mr No Ears” is a famous semi-feral cat who used to live in a well-known colony of cats, the Peneco Beach Colony, in Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal. The colony was under the protection of the Albufeira Municipality. The colony was cared for by a registered street-cat charity called Amigos dos Gatos do Algarve (AGA). They have been supporting street cats in the Algarve for 15 Years.
Everything was settled and in reasonably good order until along came a couple whose names are Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista. Their photograph is shown below and tellingly Andreia Martins has a mask over her face and Paulo Baptista wears sunglasses and a hood. Clearly they want to mask their appearance which may indicate that they are aware that what they are doing is immoral and possibly illegal.
The couple from the north of Portugal trapped and abducted Mr No Ears from his territory. We are told that within one hour of abducting No Ears they had sent private messages to 50 people on Facebook asking for money to treat the cat for “cancer to the bone”. The request accompanied a photograph of the cat with a scratched nose and freshly blooded ears. At this stage in the story I can’t help but be compelled to believe that the abduction of this cat was an attempt to exhort money out of the public because of their sympathies towards this well-known cat who they projected as requiring urgent medical treatment. A very powerful motivator to give money.
They requested that donations be made direct to Paulo Baptista’s private bank account. You’d be mad to do that without checking very carefully beforehand.
In what appears to be an attempt to mask these alleged immoral intentions they stated that they did not know who the cat was until they looked him up on the Internet. However, having looked him up they failed to contact AGA.
It is stated that people who saw No Ears before he was abducted say that there were no signs of blooded ears and nose at that time. More damning evidence as to this couple’s intentions.
Over the following months this couple took No Ears to 6 different veterinary clinics for treatment. It is said that these treatments have left Mr No Ears with injuries: kidney and liver failure, cardiac arrest and possible neurological damage. These medically created injuries were caused, it is said, because of alleged negligent or poor veterinary treatment. The question is have these treatments been fabricated so that this couple can get more money from the public (bad) or are they real (also bad).
The first of these treatments took place on 14 September 2015, three days after he was abducted. The veterinary clinic was 223 km away from the feral cat colony where he had lived.
The veterinarian cleaned his ears and issued a report stating that he was in good health and did not have cancer to the bone. However the cat had skin cancer as I understand it. This is quite possible for white cats living in hot climates when delicate ear flaps are exposed to the elements and where they can be sunburnt and in cold climates be frostbitten. Mr No Ears had lost his ears beforehand, I presume to sunburn related issues including cancer.
The veterinarian prescribed painkilling patches (fentanyl) which are very strong. There are reports that this painkiller can cause kidney failure in cats.
Subsequently, Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista posted more information on Facebook in which they claimed that they were telling the truth and that his previous carers, AGA, were guilty of animal abuse and the misappropriation of funds. These are completely false charges, it is said. No action has been taken against AGA which would indicate that the allegations on Facebook are indeed false and an attempt to smear the charity.
They appear also to have posted comments on the Facebook pages of The Friends of Mr No Ears and AGA. These posts were abusive and attacks on the people who ran these webpages.
Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista also featured on their Facebook pages a photo gallery of white cats. Mr No Ears is featured as the sixth white cat that they had acquired recently one of which was another cat called “Sunshine” (see FB page).
There is evidence to support the fact that Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista knew about Mr No Ears before they abducted him.
It appears to have been claimed by Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista that Mr No Ears had been adopted into a normal, caring, loving environment by them. This appears not to have been the case because Andreia Martins had reported in various other Facebook postings that she had upwards of 40 cats, most of whom were sick, all living in a small home where No Ears had been taken.
It transpired that in one of the veterinary clinics where No Ears had been taken, he had been subjected to a Cat scan after which he suffered a cardiac arrest because he was given the wrong anaesthetic which resulted in neurological damage. There is an allegation that he can no longer walk properly.
Facebook reports also indicate that he appears to be suffering from kidney and liver problems and was readmitted to a veterinary hospital but in this confusing story there are further allegations which suggest that he never left the clinic at which he had a cardiac arrest.
No Ears ended up in a municipal kennel where the vet stated that he was in a serious condition. The vet also said, apparently, that he was threatened by a lawyer representing Andreia Martins.
At this juncture AGA applied to court for an order for No Ears’ release from the municipal kennel. The judge ordered that the cat be given back to his abductors (they had had him microchipped to claim ownership) and suggested that they return the cat to his original home, the feral cat colony; not a great judgement under the circumstances. It is said that the judge did not have all the facts before him when he made that judgement. Further legal action was taken out by AGA to have him returned home. This appears to have been ignored.
It subsequently transpired that there is plenty of evidence to suggest on Facebook pages “damning animal-related activities” of Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista.
That in general terms is the sorry saga of a much loved semi-feral cat who is all white and who had odd coloured eyes (one of which was removed before the abduction) which is quite typical of white cats.
My conclusion is that he became a celebrity and as a celebrity, two opportunists, Andreia Martins and Paulo Baptista, saw a way of making money out of him. As a result they abused this cat and he suffered probably emotionally and as described physically.
The saga continues. No Ears is an elderly cat and the person who is fighting for his rights and I would say is a wonderful cat advocate, Caroline Lee Ferreira, writes that he needs to come home to the Algarve to live out the rest of his life in peace and without being subject to exploitation. I am indebted to Caroline for all the information on this page.
It is not clear how much money the two abductors exhorted from people. It’d be nice to find out. If anyone can add to this, correct any errors and update the page, I’d be very grateful.
They need to give “Mr. No Ears” a new name. A more fitting and truthful one would be “Cash Cow”. Who yet hasn’t in some way financially benefited from reporting on it (not to mention any vets involved). Every last person who perpetuates this information has done just that in one way or another. Use another suffering cat to promote your cash-flow! Then you wonder why the rest of the world looks down their noses at your existence for doing what you do.
I’m confused. How is this any different than any other individual, group, or organization that traps unwanted cats and injured cats and then parades them in the media for donations for themselves? (You know, just as you too are now using a suffering cat for click-bait to line your own pockets.)
The only difference I see now is that two groups (instead of one) are making a fortune off of an unwanted suffering cat. If you follow this reprehensible and amoral business-model correctly then you can even become a multimillionaire just like Becky Robinson of Alley Cat All-lies did.
I can only curse this couple who should be behind bars.
If what the reports say are true, that he’s now suffering from multiple life threatening ailments caused by these two who took him to various vets. I would be surprised to see any documentation of any vet treatment. I think that it is fabricated.
But, all in all, if no loving person would step forward to give No Ears a stable and loving home that he deserves, then he needs to return to his colony where he is content to live out whatever life he has.
Well said Dee. He should be back at his colony if his health is good enough. He may have to be cared for in a decent home. He appears to be adequately domesticated. The story is fascinating. It is an unusual version of celerity cat exploitation.