In these times of animal conscientiousness and awareness, the monumental effort animal lovers have made over the decades has been heroic. Most people these days have been educated that animals are feeling, loving creatures and should be treated humanly and protected and helped to survive. But there is a very disturbing and sad atrocity happening to cats who have inhabited and been part of a community that are being systematically destroyed. Watch the video here on YouTube.
As occupants of the community for over 40 years, the cats hold the record as some of the eldest members of the Rancho Los Amigos community. In fact, the cat’s inhabitation of the community dates back to the early 1960’s when nurses, doctors, and staff of the now forsaken rehabilitation center would feed and take care of them. Over the years, with the assistance of Fail-Safe for Felines, the cats have been well fed, trapped, neutered, and then returned to keep the cats healthy and to stabilize the size of colony by preventing new litters. Another member of the Rancho Los Amigos community states, “These are not wild animals. These are cats that were born outside, abandoned by their owners, or lost. Most of them, even though not owned, still exhibit the temperament of a pet”.
Needless to say neighbors are justifiably distraught by the chain of events. Many residents have invested time into getting the cats out of the center and setting up cages and crates to house the cats, and some have even opened up their own backyards. L.A. County refuses to compromise in giving residents any more time to get the cats out.
Residents in the Rancho Los Amigos neighborhood, located in the city of Downey, are slowly losing the cats that over time they have come to love and greatly cherish. Employees of Los Angeles Animal Control are actively trapping cats living at a deserted one-time national rehabilitation center in Downey, which has become a make-shift sanctuary for feral, abandoned, and lost cats, and impounding them into the local shelter. Although the cats are jointly cared for by members of the Ranchos Los Amigos community and Fail-Safe 4 Felines, a non-profit organization, a compliant filed roughly a year and a half ago by a nearby crime lab stating that there were fleas inside the building has funneled an aggressive campaign led by the Los Angeles County supervisor, Don Knabe, to get rid of the animals. Since then, residents have been understandably spurred into panic, fearful of what may happen to their beloved cats.
Although actual proof of the cats contaminating the crime lab was small, simply amounting to one sticky paper containing a handful of fleas, the L.A. County Health Department nevertheless cited the cat safe-haven, stating in their report that there was an insurmountable amount of raging diseases such as rabies, which left them no choice but no trap and relocate the cats to the shelter. This is not to mention that the crime lab is located over 400 feet away from the crime lab, the equivalent of the size of a football field. To make matters worse, residents are left desperate and desolate, knowing that if the cats are not adopted within 5 days, they will be destroyed. Monica, a Rancho Los Amigos resident states, “each [cat has their own individual name and personality and they know their names. It’s very rewarding to see them come up to you and you can pet them and know that they’re happy and healthy, yet they’re being treated like dangerous vermin]”. Another Rancho Los Amigos resident states, “They’ve depended upon being fed [by us] and they do not understand why this is being turned upside down and why they are putting traps out”. Watch the video on You Tube here…
To put a stop to this inhumane process:
Contact L.A. county supervisor Don Knabe at:
E-mail Don Knabe at: [email protected]
Contact Don Knabe’s press secretary at:
For more information:
Contact Monica at:
Or Donate to Fail-Safe 4 Felines:
I think that there is more to this issue than just a few fleas on sticky paper.
Don is a person apparently with very low self esteem, determined to make a name for himself. He has a personal interest in the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and supports its new Pediatric Arts Program for youth. The center was named in “honor” of Don Knabe.
I get the impression that Don considers the cats disgusting vermin and presents a health risk to those in nearby buildings.
Any civilian who would commit a large scale cat extermination like this would be promptly arrested and jailed.
Don Knabe has no clue and this is all about politics. Why, after 40+ years are these cats a problem?? Doesn’t he realize that he will never get rid of the cats, they will be there long after he is gone and forgotten.
I will bombard his office with phone calls and press him for answers.