Monday, September 18, 2006
Wandering cat's tale has 'happy ending'
Misty the cat no longer is the Scourge of Briargate. From now on, she'll be the Darling of Manitou Springs.
The 2-year-old patch-colored cat was given up for adoption by her Briargate family after neighbors - some of whom live blocks away - complained of her wandering nature and trapped her in their yards.
Specifically, they objected to Misty using their yards as her toilet and stalking birds at their feeders.
"Misty was surrendered by her owner to Dreampower Animal Rescue Foundation," said Cynthia Bullock, executive director of the foundation.
"Her new owner, who lives in Manitou Springs, was told all about Misty's notorious past and vows to keep her indoors," Bullock said. "It's a happy ending for Misty."
Her new owner describes her as a "wonderful, sweet pet."
Misty's new situation is how it should be for all pet cats, Bullock said.
"Dreampower Animal Rescue does not advocate cats wandering free," she said. "They can attack wildlife and get into mischief. And outdoor cats are at far greater risk for injuries and diseases spread as a result of catfights."
The foundation strongly urges new pet owners to keep their spayed or neutered cats indoors with distractions such as a window perch, scratching post and a cat tree to climb on.
Although the saga of Misty appears to be over, complaints and suggestions about wandering cats continue pouring in to Side Streets.
One Gleneagle reader notes some neighborhoods don't have to worry about itinerant cats. Cougars, bobcats, coyotes and foxes take care of them.
Neighborhoods with active homeowner associations and strictly enforced covenants, another said, can be useful in controlling wandering pets.
And then there's the federal government, which has ordered cat owners to restrain their pets if they live in the habitat of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, declared threatened and protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
But most readers contacting Side Streets don't enjoy any of those options. They are people such as Luise Manley, 77, who has lived in her Stratmoor Valley home since 1967.
She can't let her great-granddaughter play in the back yard because a neighbor behind her on Maxwell Street feeds 15 to 20 cats.
"I can't even open my kitchen window - it stinks so bad," Manley said. "They get on my roof. On my balcony. They poop all over my yard. On my car. They kill the birds. It's terrible."
Manley was reluctant to complain to her neighbor: "I didn't want to cause her problems." But when Manley came out one recent Sunday morning to go to church and found cat poop all over her windshield, she had to say something.
Her neighbor's response was disheartening. "She just smiled," Manley said. "And she started laughing. She thinks it's funny. I think it's awful."
The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region has trapped some of the cats, but more keep coming because the neighbor keeps putting out food.
In all fairness, not everyone hates wandering cats.
"For my part, I have four wonderful and loving cats that I let freely walk indoors or in my fenced back yard in Briargate in order to protect them against 'wandering humans,' " said Therese Cloutier, who scolded those complaining about cats.
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