Woman Relinquishes 42 Cats To Local Shelter
This is the story of a woman who decided, too late (but better late than never) that she didn’t want her cats anymore and made the decision to dump them at a Newark animal shelter. The shelter manager says that she could have asked him for help at any time.
Last Monday night after the shelter had closed, an animal control officer was dropping off an animal at the 124 Evergreen Avenue facility around 8 pm when he spotted a woman in a red pickup truck attempting to abandon her cats. The unknown woman had 42 cats stuffed inside of five standard sized carriers, Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey shelter assistant director Scott Crawford told FIOS1 News. The Society is in charge of the local shelter.The cages were so full of kittens from a couple of weeks old to cats as old as six or seven, and packed so tightly they were bulging out of the cages.
Video
The video below explains the story, along with a photo of the woman being sought. If the video won’t play, below it are some screenshots.
Video screenshots – the cats shown are the ones in the best condition
Cat hoarder relinquished 42 cats
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The animal control officer managed to snap a few photos of the woman, who may face animal cruelty charges. The officer approached the woman and asked about what she was doing. The woman said she was no longer able to care for the cats. When the officer told the woman the shelter was closed and she’d need to return the next day with the cats to fill out paperwork, the woman said she’d need to get a ride back in an hour or so to pick up the cats. She became upset when the officer began taking her picture.
This woman should definitely face charges of animal cruelty and animal abandonment. The cat carriers were full of urine and feces, and the cats were sick with upper respiratory infections. Some of the cats had such severe eye infections their eyeballs had popped out of their sockets. Crawford reported seven cats with their eyes popped out, eight with eye infections and another dozen with URI’s. The shelter wants to find this woman. Not only to consider animal cruelty charges for abandoning her cats at the shelter, but because they fear she has a house full of more cats wherever she lives.
Crawford told FIOS News
“It is inhumane to have that many animals in a carrier that’s made for one or two animals maximum.”
Had the animal control officer not been on site, these cats could have died from the heat or from suffocation before morning. Crawford says they wouldn’t have lasted the night.
The shelter normally takes in two to three dozen pets per day, so receiving 42 at one time has created a stressful situation for AHS. The cats have survived their ordeal (hopefully none have died) according to the report originally posted July 9 by FIOS. They’re being treated and the shelter plans to transfer some of them to the society’s Tinton Falls and Forked River facilities. Hopefully rescues or fosters in the area will step up to take in some of these cats.
Be sure to share this article with friends, especially those in the Newark, New Jersey area. She needs to be found and charged and her home searched for more cats. There is a phone number in the video.
Elisa, here is a link to the shelter site, if anyone would like to donate toward the care of these cats.
http://www.ahscares.org/showarchive.asp?id=12323
Thanks Brenda.
Did those poor cats live in those crates I wonder? Its so Alien for cats to have to live like that 🙁 they like their space and they love to be clean so crammed like that in their own faeces must have been hell utter torture!!! I hope they jail that woman then she will know what its like to be crammed into a small space!
Exactly, I know some Cats like living in Crates. What a horrible life for them it be. Even my Cats dont like the Cage. They automatically think its for the Vet.
Ours love napping or cat watching from the feeding cages. Then again they can come and go as they please. We used the cages for transport when the cats were spayed and neutered so we didn’t have to disturb them when we brought them home. Lola has discovered Sealys cage now.
Cute photo. I’m probably going to be in Lots of trouble tomorrow with Jasmine. As its that time. Hopefully she will cope with it well.
Furby sleeps on the way and back. He enjoys riding. The worm and temp check up the bum are a different story. Last time he looked at me like he couldn’t believe I let the vet do that to him.
Jasmine will be fine Kylee but I know it’s horrible having to leave a cat to be spayed, you’ll not be happy until she’s back home with you. It’s the responsible thing to do though, so well done you for booking her in.
Yes, its been hard keeping her in room. Yes I always want to do the responsible thing. Its the right thing to do.
And in between the cat abuse I’m still writing on dogs shot by police. A 10 yr old boy was shot a few days ago by an officer trying to shoot a dog. Then a drug raid where officers beat down the door andd killed the family dogs as the kids 9 months pregnant mama threw herself over her 2 children. This country is scary to live in these days.
Ever since 9/11 the US (and to some extent the UK) has gradually become more of a police state with less democracy. It is fear driven. The world is more fearful now than 20 years ago.
I hope that woman is found and charged with neglect and abandonment of those poor cats, the RSPCA here would throw the book at her for all her neglect and then just dumping the cats in such an awful way for them, squashed in cat boxes.
The number of cat hoarder stories lately is frightening, what cruel fate makes cats end up with those people!
When will everyone see cats as the living feeling creatures they are!
Its just so destressing. I cant believe anyone can do such a thing. Its had in itsself seeing Kitties on DeathRow some as young as 3 months old. Just breaks my heart so much. 🙁
Cat hoarding stories are linked to unwanted cats which are linked to mass euthanasia in shelters. It is all part and parcel of the same problem: neglectful behavior by people in relation to the cat and a devaluing of the cat. These stories as you say are often in the news.
Another tragedy.
But, I have to give this woman just a little credit for having the forethought to take them to the Humane Society (I presume) as opposed to a county kill shelter. I’m sure some won’t be saved, but their fate is slightly better there.
You’re right, Michael, everything about hoarding or even abandonment is all tangled up with so many unwanted cats and irresponsible caretakers permitting them to breed. This has to be cleaned up before we can ever see the end of kill shelters that I scream about so much.
But, as long as kill shelters exist, hoarding and abandonment will never end either, because people do not want to take cats there. These people wind up taking in more than they can handle and, some people, really feel that dropping a cat in the forest is better for them than dropping at a shelter.
It’s all a vicious cycle.
This lady is part of a wider problem. She is a symptom of it. There needs to be a rejigging of our relationship with the domestic cat which reduces the number of unwanted cats and respects all cats.
Not again :'( :'( I cried watching that Video Clip. When’s this going to end??
I meant :'(
I hope this lady gets charged or found. Its just so disgusting. Its been hard with the previous JW and now something new. Those poor cats and kitties. 🙁
They must find her because her photo is plastered all over the news.
Yea just very disappointing. I saw a Photo of her.
It reflects the nature of human behavior. A lot of these people don’t think they are doing bad things.
Thats true Michael, life is certainly uncertain in light of all Animals than what it used to be.
Bizarre and happens only in America !Excellent video explanation of a tragic “CAT HOARDER”.In India we had such a tragic situation with “RACE HORSES” where a once reputed stud owner of “Aligarh Stud Farm” abandoned his farm and race-horses to starvation as he couldn’t afford to maintain them.In a total 6 race-horses died of malnutrition and 40 discovered abandoned.This topic is away from cats but i am conveying the fact that at times “Monetary” problems affect pets and farm animals the worst.
People do get out of their depth but why do they wait until it is too late to ask for help or simply abandon them? It is very cruel behavior.
Relinquishes is Michaels word. I still call it dumped or abandoned or thrown away. You get the idea. At least she didn’t kill these. I only hope there aren’t more at her house.
I changed he word from “abandon” to “relinquish” because abandon indicates leaving them in woods or something like that. Also she gave them up willingly albeit way too late. It was a half-hearted attempt to do the right thing.
Not so sure Michael perhaps she just got sick of them but better I suppose to take them to a shelter as opposed to just opening the carriers and letting them out in the middle of nowhere.
All the words are suitable. I wanted a contrast between the more genteel word “relinquish” and the cruelty.
I really am worried she has more at home. I hope readers share this story and someone recognizes her.
This is not racist but just of interest: she’s the first black woman I have seen as a cat hoarder.
Most black women I’ve talked to about cats believe cats are evil. I do have 2 black friends who love their cats. My daughter was surprised to see a black woman as a hoarder.
Not racist either however when collecting for CPL yesterday only 1 kind Black lady and 1 Asian man donated. Out of about 30 – 40 people of different origins who donated they were the only ones who weren’t white European. The kindest were the children who were asking their parents for money for the ‘pussycats’.