Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Cat Ladies Society - Youngstown, Ohio

Sept 22, 2010: Vigil Held for Cats Taken in Cat Ladies Raid

Dozens showed support tonight for the Cat Ladies Society in Youngstown after they were raided.

The shelter is responding to accusations of animal hoarding and neglect.

"Come on down. Take a look at our shelter. Talk to our volunteers. Look around and judge for yourself," Cat Ladies co-founder Kimm Koocher said.

Wednesday they got word that 64 of the 80 cats taken during the raid were euthanized..." More


Sept 16, 2010: Humane Agents Raid Cat Rescue Facility

The Cat Ladies Society has been in operation for about two years. Its mission is to provide a rescue center for cats, and it does not euthanize.

"We started the Cat Ladies Society to give cats a chance that might not otherwise have a chance," said Kimm Koocher, who owns the facility. "Generally cat shelters are very overcrowded, and cats that come in with special needs or other issues are euthanized."

But on Wednesday, their operation was shut down. Just as they were preparing to celebrate the grand opening of a new facility, they were raided by the humane society.

"Complainants were reporting to us that animals were living in filthy, substandard conditions and being deprived of proper veterinary care," said Stephanie Bell, a representative with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA officials said they received those allegations last week and informed local authorities. Youngstown humane agents conducted a raid Wednesday and seized around 80 cats..."
More & video

3 comments:

Edie Goetz said...

It's a shame that PETA didn't do their homework before writing that letter. They could have saved themselves some embarassment by checking out their sources. The Cat Ladies Society adopted over 700 cats in 2009 and still may surpass that number in 2010. The cats are cared for by a veterinarian and the shelter is cleaned from top to bottom every day. Read the comments about them in the Vindy.com blogs posted by hundreds of residents in the community. The Cat Ladies Society is a well-loved and respected gem that provides an amazing service to Youngstown.

Unknown said...

My boyfriend and I have adopted several of their cats and love each and everyone of them. Thank God for the Cat Ladies or I wouldn't have my Gabby or Queenie and Lucky surely would be dead.

Anonymous said...

My family and I visited this shelter many times. It was never a wonderful place, but at least the cats and kittens were cared for. Sometime in the summer months, something happened. We stopped in and donated items on a regular basis. Many of the cats were VERY ill and dying. The people in charge did not seem to care at all when we mentioned it to them. All of the very ill cats were mixed in with well ones. Cats had ringworm, diareeha, major upper respiratory, abcesses, bleeding wounds. This was in the old shelter. The place had litterboxes filled to the brim with feces. The poor cats were stepping in it and walking around with it on their feet. All the while, three of the owners of the shelter (as they called themselves) were sitting up front laughing and eating, ignoring anyone that came in. What a bunch of pigs. They are not fit to run a shelter for roaches. My heart goes out to those poor cats and kittens.