Dear Readers

Below an email from the new owner of Camp Kitty. It was obtained by the hard work and dedication of one of the petition readers, Googie B.

It is not pleasant reading, but self explanatory. I am sure that this will be very upsetting to you all, as it is to me.

This poor animal suffered greatly in her life. Kept captive for 6 years, solitary confinement, in a small enclosure. She had to endure bitterly cold winters and blistering hot summers. In Cowra it can drop to -4C winter and up to 45C in summer.

The photo is the last one I had of her. RIP.

Hi

I received the below email from the owner of Camp Kitty. I do not have a copy of the email I sent the owners, but among other things I did ask if they were aware there might be a cat on their property. Clearly she found this offensive as you will read. The email is in its entirety and the only thing I changed was my name, and replaced  it by my user name Googie. The person who sent me the email was called Toni. 

Dear Googie

Thank you for your concern over the black and white cat that was residing at 230 Conimbla Rd Cowra.

My husband and I purchased the property in December and were very aware of the black and white cat that lived there. In fact before we officially purchased the property, we were witness to the  gentleman whom  fed the cat every 2nd day and ensured that it had fresh water and was in good health. The cat was never neglected in any way and indeed could have escaped the enclosure anytime he so desired. He was not contained in a cage.

Once we took over the property we continued to feed and care for the cat. He was impossible to rehome as he was basically a feral cat and the only way to catch him was to set a trap and he wasn't suitable for a farm shed cat either as he had not been socialised with any other cats.

However, at the end of January I noticed that the cat had a problem with his mouth/jaw and called Richard to come and have a look at him. On the 11th February, my husband organised a cat trap for Richard and Richard came to Cowra, trapped the cat and took him to the vet. He was found to have a type of cancer in his jaw and unable to be treated, the cat was euthanased on the 12th February.

So, thanks again for your concern however miss placed it may be. We have lived and owned a business in Cowra for more than 2 decades and I find it a little offensive that you would believe that any new owner would not know that there was a cat here at time of purchase.

Richard has a illness that has been medically diagnosed that makes him want to save any cat that he thinks needs saving. He was extremely traumatised by his father who murdered his pet cat in front of him when he was a kid and he never got over it.

He had the utmost care for this cat, paying someone to feed it over the few years he couldn't. 

Some people may not know this but Richard had a stroke, causing him to have a car accident. He broke his neck in the accident and has been unable to drive since. He resides in Sydney and it cost him an arm and a leg to care for the cat in his absence.

If he was indeed an animal abuser, he would have left the cat to fend for itself instead. He was very upset when it had to be put down. 

I don't fully understand and most people don't as to why he would spend all his money on cats. They totally destroyed his little home ( we are now re building it), but the man has coped enough flack over all this.

So, please put your mind at rest and also Mr Climpson's. Close your petition and move on.

Regards