One of 20 cats that were rescued by the Westfield Homeless Cat Project this past weekend. (Photo Submitted)
WESTFIELD – Volunteers for the Westfield Homeless Cat Project discovered a large colony of abandoned, purebred house cats over the weekend, several of which are expecting litters.
The organization received a phone call and began a rescue effort Sunday.
“So far, 15 cats have been retrieved and there are at least five more that have been seen,” said Kathy Meyer, who has volunteered for almost four years with the group. “They were dumped at a vacant lot in a rural area.”
20 purebred Maine coon and Siamese cats were rescued from an undisclosed location this weekend by the Westfield Homeless Cat Project. (Photo Submitted)
Meyer declined to say the exact location of the lot, as they are unsure at this time whether there are any more cats remaining other than the five they are aware of.
The cats are currently being taken care of at the shelter by veterinary tech students from Holyoke Community College.
“They’ve begun inspecting the cats, and they said the ones they checked were obviously emaciated. They had ear mites, and the first ones they checked hadn’t been spayed or neutered,” Meyer said. “We don’t know how long they’d been there. The cats were all together when we got to them, however, their condition looks like they hadn’t been fed for two weeks, so they had probably been somewhere else before.”
When asked if the shelter would be seeking for authorities to investigate the situation, Meyer said that they’re just seeking to help the felines.
“The authorities don’t usually do much about this sort of thing,” she said. “We’re asking for people who may have information that may lead us to be able to gather more facts that we would need in order to report this.”
Meyer said that cats are abandoned often, but usually on a smaller scale.
“You’ll see cats get abandoned in apartments. We get calls from landlords all the time, you know, there are two, three, five cats, where a tenant moved out and left them behind,” she said. “It’s very common, maybe once or twice a month, and I’m sure there are more calls that we just can’t respond to. We’re just a little local, non-profit, not city funded, private organization.”
The founder of the shelter, Denise Sinico, said yesterday she is seeking justice for those responsible for abandoning the animals.
“I’m putting up $1,000 for anyone with information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible,” said Sinico, adding that she has an idea of who dumped the cats, which were purebred Siamese and Maine coon mixes. “Whenever something happens to a dog, people do something. But somebody abandons a cat, and nobody gives an (expletive).”
Sinico, whose shelter has saved over 5,000 cats since 2007, concurs with Meyer’s statement about the city’s treatment of felines.
“You have no idea how much abuse and neglect we see of cats,” she said. “We are committed to helping these beautiful homeless cats. How could someone be so cruel?”
Anyone with information regarding these homeless cats is encouraged to call the Westfield Homeless Cat Project at (413) 568-6964 or email Sinico at [email protected].
