Cheyenne Animal Control has rounded up 22 cats from a hoarding case at a home in town with unlivable conditions, where the cats were left to their own devices after their owner died.
Fortunately, the cats and kittens could also get outside through a window.
Neither Animal Control nor the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, which now has the cats, knew exactly when their owner died.
But animal control personnel started rounding up the cats in “safe” traps with food bait Sept. 5, eventually collecting 22 of the animals ranging from adults to tiny kittens over the next week, Elizabeth Wagner, supervisor of Cheyenne Animal Control, told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
The traps grew consistently empty starting Sept. 10, and animal control quit collecting them Wednesday, Wagner said.
She said they had free reign to go in and out of the house, so even after their owner died they could get into the home through a window.
The conditions in the home were not fit for habitation, Wagner said, adding that she believed the home was “generally” unlivable, meaning the conditions may have been poor even before the cats’ owner died.
“I can’t go into too terribly much detail on that, but it shouldn’t have been inhabited by humans,” said Wagner.
Tuxedos All Around
Most of the cats are black-and-white “tuxedo” kitties, or completely black, Kayla Hahn, spokeswoman for the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, told Cowboy State Daily. The youngest kittens are about a month old and will eat meat pâté.
Hahn said they did a good job fending for themselves and are generally healthy.
“They’re also non-aggressive, which is great,” said Hahn.
The cats are timid. They have had little contact with humans other than their lone hostess. But they are likely to “bloom” socially once they’re adopted, Hahn said.
Wagner said a few of them have colds — upper respiratory illnesses — but that the condition is treatable.
Two-For-One
People have been trickling in to adopt the cats, but the shelter is still inundated with them and is touting a promotional through Saturday: A person can adopt an adult cat for free or take two kittens for a single adoption fee.
“We are super grateful for animal control working with us and their partnership in helping these kittens and cats make their way off the property, and helping them find homes that will give them the care they’ve deserved,” said Hahn, adding she’s grateful for the devotion of the shelter team also.
People who would like to help but cannot adopt may give donations, she said.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
