The Marin Humane Society is exhausting all its efforts to find those people responsible for dumping over 100 felines at the shelter in Novato for the past eighteen months which would include the 24 cats that were dropped recently.
"We're not looking to get them in trouble," said spokeswoman Lisa Bloch. "Obviously they're not spaying and neutering these animals."
The series of cat dumping in the shelter brought an unexpected influx of cats which had placed a strain on the shelter as they are now faced with taking care of almost 200 cats. This number is deemed as double the normal amount. Officials at the shelter say that there's no crime committed as far as cat dumping is concerned.
Based on the shelter's surveillance video, it all happened on Monday at around 4:30am. A small white SUV was spotted and it was seen pulling up to the shelter's back door. Within just a few minutes, the occupants have successfully brought out the boxes of cats and kittens, left them by the door, rang the bell, and drove off.
Officials confidently expressed that they were the same people that had been leaving the boxes of cats within the last 18 months as the same type of car was seen in the surveillance video. They also added that the tuxedo cats, so-called because of their distinctive black and white markings, seem to be related.
"It would be so helpful to have some information about the cats and kittens," said Samantha Winegarner, manager of Animal Care. "We noticed one of the female cats was lactating but we weren't sure which kittens were hers or if her kittens were even a part of the group that was dropped off.
All the tuxedo cats, whose ages range from kitten to full-grown, seemed to be in good health and has no signs of diseases nor fleas infection. It's just that the humane society is keeping more than its allowable capacity of cats.
"Every cage is full and our staff is overloaded trying to care for them all," said Bloch. "It's putting a big strain on us."
The shelter is now doing its best to find the felines their new home. The fees on adopting the cats and kittens are waived until the end of the month. Normally, they would cost at $125 for the kittens while $100 is charged for getting a full grown cat. The shelter is located along Bel Marin Keys Blvd and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm (until 6:30pm on Wednesdays). They can be contacted at 506-6225.
