Evening star., 1912-06-14
CAT ORDER. UNJUST"
Death Decree Too. Drastic.
Say Friends of Feline.
ASSAILS CITY HEADS PLAN
Mrs. Henry L. West Says It Means
Extinction Of Pets.
POUND FORCE rs SMALL
Enforcement of Regulation Will Be
Hard Owing to Present
Equipment.

Declaring that the order issued yester-
day afternoon by the District Commits
sioners providing for the impounding of
| all cats found running at large is
ridiculous. unjust and TOO drastic" cat
owners throughout the city. and especial
| ly those who are members. of the Wash
ington Cat Club. are determined to make
| every effort to have the order modified
| The cat owners say they believe the order
| is good one SO far as alley cats are
concerned. but they are indignant that it
| is SO worded as to affect their valuable
Persian and other pet felines.
! Mrs Henry l.. West, wife of former
Commissioner West president of the
Washington Cat Club. is today sending
| out notices to members of the organiza-
ton calling an indignation meeting for
next Monday morning. Resolutions will
| be adopted asking that the Commission
| ers modify the newly issued police regu-
| lation so that 1t will only affect the
worthless and dangerous alley cats and
not their valued household pets.
Dooms Pet Felines.
THE order issued by the Commissioners
| is unjust and Ridiculous" said Mrs. West
| today IF it is put into force 1t will
mean that pet cats will be caught and
| killed and that the worthless alley cats.
| that actually are dangerous and should
| be done away with. will escape. The
alley cats are wild and it will be prac-
| tically impossible for the poundmaster's
assistants to capture them. The pet cats
| on the other hand, are tame. domesticated
animals. and inasmuch as they are ac-
| customed to gentle treatment do not run
| away as a general rule when some one
| approaches them. Accordingly the pet
| cats will be caught and the alley cats.
| the ones which should be exterminated,
will escape.
Opposes Killing Order.
THE order also should be modified re-
garding the killing Of the cats. 1t is un-
just that valuable household pets should
be carried off to the pound and killed
without giving notice to their owners or
even allowing them time to discover that
their pet is missing and start in search
for It,
THE owner Of a cat should have the
same privileges as the owner of a dog If
We are to have a cat-impounding order. 1t
kept at the pound for a specified time be-
fore being killed.
Mrs. West said that, SO far as the al
| ley cats are concerned, the members of
| the Washington Cat Club believe the or
der Is a good one. She said that a year
| ago the club was about to ask the Com
missioners to Issue an order providing
| for the determination of worthless alley
cats but desisted from doing so when
| II was informed that there were no funds
| available to provide for the capturing and
impounding of the stray felines
Situation Still Prevails.
The same situation still confronts the
District officials. notwithstanding the or
1 dop dina farsc
force has about all it can do to keep the
street free from stray and dangerous
dogs. The force formerly consisted of
| because the appropriation for the sala-
ries Of the latter was cut $1,000 only tive
men could be employed during the past
year.
The pound is allowed only three horses
and there is no appropriation available
| for the purchase of more. During the
| winter months three horses are all that
| are necessary to carry on the work OF dog
| catching, but the number Is inadequate
during the summer months, when the
| capturing of stray dogs is far more i'm
portant. In order to save the horses
| as much as possible the dog catching
| expeditions are made at daybreak during
the summer months. when the heat is less
| oppressive.
| Equipment Lacking.
The impounding of cats as outlined in
the Commissioners order. besides neces-
stating additional men and horses. also
will require the use of additional wagons.
| There will have to be botn dog and cat
catching wagons. The latter would have
| to be provided with apparatus different
from that used in the dog catching
wagons. The enforcement of the cat
! catching order also will mean that. addi-
tional cages and pens will have to be
| built at the pound. Cages will have to be
provided for keeping over night the cats
that are brought In too late in the after