TACOMA, Wash. — After 60 cats were rescued from an abandoned boat anchored off Owens Beach in Tacoma, Tacoma Police say paperwork has been filed against two individuals, the first being the boat owner.
“The conditions of the cats combined with the conditions of the boat - all of that information will be provided to the prosecutor’s office, and they’ll make those decisions on what exactly will be charged,” said Officer Shelbie Boyd, spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department.
The cats were first discovered last Thursday, and Officer Boyd says once a search warrant was obtained, animal control took 30 cats from the boat and planned to come back for the rest.
“The boat was wrapped in crime scene tape; it was under the authority of a search warrant, and there was evidence on that boat that we were trying to protect,” said Officer Boyd.
Camille Sutherland says she’s made 5 trips to the boat to provide food and water to the cats and even transported some of them to the Humane Society.
Officer Boyd says Sutherland was warned several times to stay away from the boat and that her actions didn’t help when animal control returned to the boat on Tuesday.
“The cats were now overfed; there was no incentive for the cats to come out and be with us. We couldn’t hand-grab them; they didn’t want traps, so it delayed us significantly,” said Officer Boyd.
Officer Boyd says a case is now open against Sutherland.
“They boarded that boat and removed property,” said Officer Boyd.
Sutherland says she is aware of the case but maintains the cats were not being properly cared for after their discovery.
“They should be spending their time rescuing cats and not spending time adding me as a suspect in the case,” said Sutherland.
Sutherland says she’s filed a complaint against Tacoma Animal Control and she’ll be keeping an eye on potentially more felines stuck on the boat from a distance.
“There’s a nearby boat that the owner has graciously offered to let me post a camera on,” said Sutherland. “I’ll have a camera pointing at it, and hopefully it’ll catch any cat activity.”
Tacoma Police say they are conducting daily checks in case there are more cats hiding on the 40-foot sailboat, and anyone who spots them should take a photo, mark the time, date, and location, then send the information to animalcontrol@tacoma.gov.
Just a few hours after the 60 boat cats were seized, 20 more cats rescued from an abandoned van were taken to the Humane Society - Tacoma & Pierce County. The shelter told KIRO 7 they now have over 190 cats in the shelter and an additional 230 cats being fostered.
The shelter says they are in urgent need of fosters who can take in cats who have been exposed to ringworm. You can learn more about fostering here. If you can’t foster, you can donate here or check out HSTPC’s supply wishlist here.
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