Colorado Springs has a limit on the number of cats you can own: it’s four. Happy Cats was part of a rescue this evening that involved 157 more cats than that. More of an intervention, the rescue was coordinated by Life is Better Rescue of Denver.
One of their fosters, Laura Lampley, became aware of the situation when she was laid up in the hospital recovering from a cat bite, trying to entertain herself by skimming Craigslist. The owner of the cats needed to move in a week and her friends and family were trying to help her by seeking help online.
Life is Better moved quickly and efficiently. The agreement was that LIBR could come in and take care of the cats on the condition the owner’s identity was not revealed. They quickly contacted all local rescues for assistance.
Happy Cats Vice President Allison Duval and volunteer Barb Jones arrived at the staging site in a grocery store parking lot, along with volunteers from 13 other groups, including Lauri Cross of Wild Blue Animal Rescue. Only two LIBR volunteers and a veterinarian were allowed at the actual hoarding site. It was a cold wait, but the LIBR van arrived back at 5:30 pm.
The cats had been housed in a garage in cages separated by sex. None were sterilized. This may give us an answer to the title question. An intact male cat has a range up to 3 square miles; it’s half that for an intact female.
Without being neutered or spayed, they are hardwired to breed and fight for their territory. With this many intact animals jammed into this small a space, it must have been exactly like prison, the females constantly going in and out of heat and males constantly exposed to that. It was likely a psychologically damaging kitten mill, if an accidental one.
It appears the living conditions were relatively clean and the LIBR team says most of the cats were socialized. The LIBR vet had randomly tested 5 cats for FeLV and FIV, which none had. The owner was not present at the time, which was also part of the agreement.
Happy Cats now has a Siamese, 5 tabbies, a dilute tortie and a black kitty from the rescue. Four are being housed at the shelter and the others are in foster care. We had just filled our Isolation room with new intakes, so we had to break out the metal cages. One of the tabbies has a head wound that will need attention. We hope to get them better accommodations by tomorrow.
The cats are of course shell-shocked and will need emotional reassurance as well as medical care. Allison says, “The LIBR group is a class act, very professional and compassionate. It was great to see all the other rescue groups step up to help in this unfortunate situation.”
For more info, you can see the story on the KRDO website.
I am looking to take in a white kitten when they are ready to go to a new home, please contact me if there are any white kittens available.
i am looking for two cats that i think may be in this bunch. a male neutered gray long hair and a short haired all white neutered male with a black smudge on the top of his head.. i live in the neighborhood of this person and think she may have unknowingly ‘adopted’ my cats. please help
Hello Tyler,
As far as we know, there were no kittens rescued from this situation. We didn’t end up with any white cats in our group, but you could contact Dreampower, 9 Lives or Wild Blue (see our Intake page for a link to these other rescues) to see if they have any white cats.
how old is the Siamese that was recovered and what is the sex?
I would like to know the sex and age of the Siamese please
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Hello, She’s a girl and we’ve named her Dora. We don’t know her exact age but she’s probably no older than 8. We may know more when she goes in for her spay. She does have a hold on her.
A TNR lady named Barbara who traps cats at Cheyenne Mountain Estates Mobile Home Park spent months begging to take my house cat named Tiny to have him neutered for free. Each time I told her I would take him and have him neutered myself she would say, “But I can have it done for free.” She told me stories about taking other house cats and ‘always’ returning them. She finally built my trust in her and I believed she would bring him back to me. Didn’t happen! Once she had him she informed me unless I caught 4 kittens (from a feral cat) underneath my shed I wouldn’t get my cat back. It was awful. This lady named Barbara (don’t know her last name) called me and called me every name in the book and told me, “DO NOT mess with me…YOU WILL NOT WIN!” This lady’s behavior was shocking to say the least. She ranted and raved at me. I called the Sheriff’s Department who informed me she would be charged with theft. She made up lies and told the sheriff my husband was violent, etc. It was the most helpless feeling. Only after the office manager told her to give my cat back to me did she give him back. I’m writing this as a warning to others. Please don’t fall for it like I did. I was promised a 100% guarantee not only would I get my cat back but she would place him in my arms. What she did was evil. I saw none of the love she claimed to have for cats once she had my cat. All I saw was arrogance and the need to have power over someone. Her behavior was awful to say the least. I know this lady told me she works the South Fountain Area. BE WARNED! I’m not saying all TNR people are like this lady but if you come across a lady named Barbara who pretends to be the sweetest nicest person ever watch out! Things or people aren’t always what they seem.