Forgotten Cats of Delaware - Caring for Feral and Homeless Cats in Delaware

Group rescues 4 abandoned NCCo cats

BY NATE DELESLINE III / The News Journal 08/23/2005

Fred, Zorro, Benny and Blackie are safe and sound.

The four felines, left behind in a New Castle neighborhood after their owner moved, were rescued last week by Forgotten Cats, an organization that traps and finds homes for homeless cats.

"They're doing wonderfully," said Charlotte Neuberger, a member of the group. "It's obvious their former owner took excellent care of them. You walk by their cages and they just purr."

Two of the cats, Benny and Fred, have tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus. The condition is common in outdoor cats, Neuberger said, but felines with the disease can still live long happy lives by having safe homes, good diets and attentive care.

The cats' former owner said their lack of a home was due to a misunderstanding, not a lack of caring on her part.

Kim Cline said she left June 25 to take a new job in Cartersville, Ga. She said that as much as she loved them, taking two dogs and four cats to her new home just wasn't an option.

Cline said she had one of her dogs put to sleep due to old age and health problems. The other dog she gave to a neighbor.

She said the four cats she left behind were supposed to be picked up in about a week by another rescue organization.

Another neighbor had agreed to take care of them and coordinate the pickup, she said.

Cline said she learned the cats had not been picked up after her stepson called her.

"My 13-year-old stepson said, 'Your cats made The News Journal.' I couldn't believe it -- I broke down in tears at work," she said.

Cline could not recall the name of the group that was originally supposed to pick them up and was upset that she found out what happened secondhand.

"[My neighbor] let it go at some point after a month and half, with nobody coming and picking them up," Cline said.

When family members attempted to round them up, they were usually nowhere to be found. She said this was probably because they always stopped by at midday, and they were away from the house.