Someone's killing cats on Caroline Street. At least three homeless cats are known dead, and residents in the Key West Bight area are concerned that small children and pets could also become victims.
"I've never heard of poisoning around here before," said Eleanor Walsh, a long-time board member for the Lower Keys Friends of Animals, and a strong supporter for Monroe County's SPCA. "I've lost two cats, but I know Lori has a suspect."
Lori Kelley has been feeding cats for 12 years in the 700 block of Caroline Street, just across from the convenience store. "For years, people who lived in one of the nearby apartments helped me care for the cats," said Kelley. "But they moved a few months back, and the guy who moved in didn't like the cats hanging around."
Three weeks ago, no cats showed up for their regular feeding, and Kelley says all their water bowls were gone:
"For four days, not one cat came around. A week later, I found three of them under the house next door. Dead. And last week, Dr. Cross put three more cats down because they had been poisoned."
Kelley says she called the police, but they said without "catching someone in the act", the police can't do anything. She then inquired around the neighborhood about poison.
"The new guy in the apartment near where I used to feed the cats held up a white plastic bag, laughed sarcastically and said `Why would I do that when I feed them, too'?" said Kelley.
"These cats don't hurt anyone, and I'm just now beginning to get the survivors to trust me again."
Sun-up is one of the survivors. "Three weeks ago, when he showed up on my deck, I knew immediately he had been poisoned," said Barbara Bowers, a resident on nearby William Street. "Although Sun-up has a vast territory and he belongs to the universe, he comes to my garden for two meals-a-day. That morning, he was drooling, foaming at the mouth and gasping for breath?this was one very sick pussy cat." Bowers says she tried to catch him to take him to a veterinarian, but he "sliced my arms up pretty badly before he got away and disappeared under my house. I expected him to die there, but I think because he eats two square meals each day at my house, he only had a few bites at Lori's feeding station, and that saved has life," she said. Kelley says she has been feeding Sun-up at the Caroline Street feeding station for more than five years, and Bowers thinks he was poisoned again, just last week. "This cat is one of the island's great survivors," said Bowers. "He's survived a broken hip and, I'm sure, untold cruelties. I'm afraid a build up of poison in his system will overcome him if something's not done soon about this." Neighbors in the Key West Bight area are organizing a neighborhood "watch" to try to catch the culprit. And Mary Powell, editor of KWTNs Critter Page offers some safe alternatives to people who want cats to stay away from their property:
1. Don't put food of any kind outdoors
2. Keep garbage can lids shut securely
3. "Keep Off" is a granule or spray product that can be purchased at Keys Pet Market. It worked for a lady who wanted to keep cats off her car.
4. Use squirt bottles with water to spray the cats.
"Cats are creatures of habit, and they are very trainable," said Powell. If you don't want them around your property, it's easy to keep them away without harming them, or some other unsuspecting creatures."