Local Animal Shelter Finding Homes for Hundreds of Hoarded Cats

 

BOONE COUNTY (WIFR) – Boone County is in the middle of one of its worst cat hoarding problems ever, with about 400 cats involved in five different cases.

Boone County is crawling with cats and Jacqui Richardson is scrambling to find new owners for nearly 100 which she says were being hoarded and are now feral.

“They don’t know what humans are, they don’t know what we’re wanting. They don’t understand that we’re actually there to help them. It’s devastating to see that so many cats have never been socialized and don’t know what the touch of a human hand is,” says Richardson.

Richardson’s Another Chance Animal Sanctuary in Capron is taking in as many anti-social cats as it can hold, mainly because Boone County Animal Services has nowhere to put them. They rely on the sanctuary and many other rescues in the area to help them out.

“The problem is the local animal services does not have funding or a facility to house a large quantity of cats, so that’s where ourselves and other local rescues are able to step in and help with the cats until they are able to have a budget to help cats,” says Richardson.

Since her felines don’t get along with humans, they will be used as barn cats to fend off mice. Another Chance is even running a promotion through October, where they are giving away their cats for free, simply because there are so many still being allegedly hoarded.

“When we go out and we do our follow-ups o n the cats that have been adopted into their new barns, it’s very rewarding to see the cats lounging around in the grass, running around on hay bales. They’re doing what they really enjoy doing with minimal human interaction. They’ve never had human interaction and they prefer not to which is fine and we respect that. We’re able to offer them a home where they can enjoy themselves,” says Richardson.

Richardson says thankfully, none of the cats have needed to be euthanized. Of the 400 that were originally said to be hoarded, 200 have been adopted. Excluding the ones on Richardson’s property, we’re told the remainder are still in the overflowing homes. Richardson says she cannot reveal any of those locations.

Boone County Animal Services says it’s expecting to move into a new location hopefully by this time next year.
They say the additional space will allow them to take in some cats.

For more information on how to adopt a cat, please click on the attached related links.

Local Animal Shelter Finding Homes for Hundreds of Hoarded Cats