Sun staff
The 65 cats that were seized from a disabled van in Union Township on June 23 have been brought into good health and are available for adoption.
“All the cats, referred to as the Highway 65 cats, have been spayed or neutered,” said Stephanie Pierce, receptionist for Clermont to the Rescue Humane Society, the organization that took in and cared for the cats.
As reported in July, the cats were discovered by police, who were called to the Shell at 653 Ohio Pike around noon on reports of a suspicious van parked in the back lot of the gas station, according to the Union Township police report.
Both front windows were rolled down, the side cargo doors were open and fluid was coming from the left rear of the vehicle. The owner of the van, Dan McFadden, was not present.
Police smelled cat urine and feces coming from the van and saw numerous pet cages containing more than 15 cats each. The outside temperature was in the mid-80s, and there was no food or water in any of the cages.
One cat appeared to have an abscess on the side of its neck, most were matted with urine and feces, and initial reports indicated that two cats were missing eyes.
McFadden arrived shortly after, in another car, and told police his van’s brake line was broken and that he was at Auto Zone getting the battery charged. He explained that he had been living in the van with the cats for at least four days.
McFadden said that he had gone through some unexpected transitions in his living situation, and he planned to move to a new trailer once he got his van working.
He said he had a couple of cats that gave birth to kittens, and the problem snowballed out of control. He explained to police that he loved the cats and never meant to harm them, though he could not give any explanation for the poor health conditions of the cats, according to the report.
Police did not issue a citation, and no arrest was made.
In an interview on Oct. 30, Kimberly Thomas, shelter director for the humane society, explained that while all the cats were in pretty bad shape, none were missing eyes.
“We successfully treated the cat with the abscess, which was probably caused by a cat bite,” Thomas said.
The kittens were bottle fed and nursed to health.
“We do have a large number of kittens available for adoption as a result of the Highway 65 cats,” said Pierce.
She added, “When people called asking about cat adoptions, they knew the story, but they didn’t know the cats in particular.”
The humane society doesn’t differentiate the Highway 65 cats from the rest of its cat population, so an exact number of Highway 65 cats that have been adopted is not available.
In October, the humane society took in 32 cats and adopted out 19, according to Thomas. In June, when the cats were seized, they took in 110 cats.
The humane society continues to request donations to help with the care of the cats, including cat food and cat litter.
To adopt a cat or dog, please visit the Clermont to the Rescue Humane Society at 4025 Filager Road in Batavia. Email inquiries can be sent to adopt@clermonttotherescue.org.