The USDA would be better off enforcing the Animal Welfare Act esp. surrounding the hell holes called puppy mills.

As for the USDA……if they haven’t got anything better to do with their time than make a huge case out of this, then they should also be straightjacketed.

Is there no one able to see the big picture anymore?

“A number of those cats were quite talented and there was a bit of an act put on for the sunset crowd to support the feeding station.”

Are you referring here to Debra Schultz (the activist who’s setting up feral feeding stations and trapping the Hemingway cats)? Or do you mean the museum is putting on the “sunset act”?

I have indoor cats, sympathize with the Clara situation, and always worry about cats wandering in the yard…

Nontheless, cats are smart. In this case it is the government and the activists causing a hazard to the cats. Expecting a nightborhood cat not to show up at a neighborhood feeding station is a bit like expecting a politician to avoid a good PR situation.

Chip them, or tatoo the ear, so they are not picked up along with the - certainly many loose cats - in that part of Key West…

A number of those cats were quite talented and there was a bit of an act put on for the sunset crowd to support the feeding station.

Certainly we should cage the activists and politicians to keep everyone safe from them…

http://catdefender.blogspot.co.....-west.html

Not sure I agree with everything he says, but it’s an interesting article nevertheless.

I too have been to Hemmingway’s house, and those cats are healthy, well taken care of, and pretty mellow for the most part.

The USDA inspectors that I dealt with at an old job were happy to see cats kept in shelter situations with room to roam, as opposed to the smaller cages. All the USDA has required in this instance is that the cats be in escape proof areas, which should stop activists from getting them killed. The rules in the Animal Protection Act cover how large an enclosure must be (minimum size), but I don’t remember a maximum size limit.

The first USDA contact with the museum that insisted that small kennels must be used sort of messed up on that one. I doubt the San Diego Wildlife park is rounding up the zebras every night, after all.

“The Hemingway cats are better taken care of than many pets. Dept of Ag, please put my taxpayer $’s to better use protecting our food supply!”

Comment by Deb — July 30, 2007 @ 3:00 am

“Hasn’t the USDA got better things to do, like monitoring puppymills to make sure they’re in compliance with the Pet Welfare Act?

Yup, the same operations that would be the ONLY ones allowed under the recently shelved AB1634 in California.

I keep thinking about how skewed this all is. Let’s take the cats and put them all in little wire cages because some animal activists decided this was somehow “better” for them. Let’s outlaw Responsible Breeders whose dogs live with them in their homes as valued family members and only permit commercial operations that treat dogs as $$$-producing commodities.

Are things messed up or what?