Angry Cat Owners Demand Answers From North Charleroi Borough Council

NORTH CHARLEROI (KDKA) -- Their cats are gone and where they went has remained a mystery for more than a month.

On Monday night, angry residents in North Charleroi went to Borough Council demanding answers about their pets.

"Where are they? What happened to them? Why can't I get an answer to that," said Cathy Lisovish, a North Charleroi resident.

A month ago, the Borough Council hired an animal control officer to trap feral cats. Unfortunately, he trapped people's pets as well. The officer was asked to attend Monday's meeting, but didn't show up.

"I had asked him to come and he declined his appearance," said Christine Cardinale, the North Charleroi Borough attorney. "He's not here tonight."

Cardinale says under law resident would have had 48 hours to claim their missing cats. But Council got an ear beating from residents who said they were never informed of the trapping program in advance.

"How [are we going to] know we got 48 hours to reclaim these cats if we don't know you're trapping them," said Chuck Bruce, a resident.

Council members said it was announced at their August meeting.

"If you were so interested, you would have found out about why we're starting to trap," said one council member.

And they were not without their supporters.

"I just want to say that before you hired this guy, cats were everywhere," said Bob Bercamin, a resident. "Now, you don't see them like I did. That's all I want to say. So, it did help."

Council vowed to adopt an ordinance giving owners 10 days to claim their cats, and others 10 days to spay and neuter strays if they want to adopt them.

There can be little doubt that the missing cats are now deceased, but the Borough does intend to pass the ordinance, which will give cat owners and cat lovers some protection going forward.

RELATED LINKS:
North Charleroi Residents Want Answers About Missing Cats (10/1/12)
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