CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Cats Are Us, a local nonprofit animal shelter, had 94 cats seized by Montgomery County Animal Care and Control recently, and animal cruelty charges were filed against the shelter’s director.
Animal Control Director Dave Kaske told Clarksville Now that his office, with assistance from Clarksville Police, seized the cats on Friday, Feb. 18. Upon inspection, many of the animals were found to be ill or in states of distress.
“They’ve all been impounded in our facility. They’ve all been examined by one of our veterinarians,” Kaske said. “Right now, they’re all just trying to decompress and get treated for various ailments and illnesses that they had.”
‘It’s hard work to be in cat rescue’
Marcia Till, a longtime volunteer for Cats Are Us who has adopted several cats from the organization, told Clarksville Now that Cats Are Us has long been a lifeline for cats and cat owners.
“It’s hard work to be in cat rescue. It’s physical work and mental and emotional work,” Till said.
Till spoke highly of Cats Are Us president and founder Suzanne Harpel. “Suzanne is the person in this town who has taken care of homeless cats and taken in needy cats longer than anybody else, I believe.
“I have never met anyone who is more knowledgeable about, or kinder, than Suzanne when it comes to taking care of cats. She did many things for people in this town that are never publicized,” Till said. “People call in and say, ‘I’ve been sick and I’m off work and my paycheck isn’t coming in, and I think my cat needs to go to the vet,’ and Suzanne says, ‘What vet are you close to?’ and that cat goes to the vet.”
Clarksville Now has reached out to Harpel for comment.
What’s next?
After the cats are treated, Kaske said, they will begin looking for homes for the cats, but not all of them have an adoptable temperament. Some could be candidates for adoption alternatives such as the barn cat program.
“There were quite a few of them that were FIV-positive and in various stages of illness. A lot of them are – I don’t want to say feral – but aren’t very friendly, so to speak. We’re just trying to allow them to decompress and get acclimated to their surroundings here before we decide how we’re going to disposition them. Some of them might be candidates for barn cat programs because they’re too angry to be adopted.”
Kaske said that concerned Clarksvillians can help by donating supplies to Montgomery County Animal Care and Control. Donations of cat food and pine pellet cat litter are needed, as well as towels and blankets.