St. Anthony Cats Page
    On Tuesday, February 10, 130 cats were taken from a mobile home in St. Anthony, Minnesota. The couple who lived in the home reportedly surrendered the cats to the Animal Humane Society. Offers of help from other shelters and rescue organizations in Minnesota and elsewhere were ignored.

    AHS senior staff told members of the public and the media that the cats would be kept for 2 - 3 weeks in order to complete their medical and behavior evaluations. For the next few days, AHS executive director, Janelle Dixon was quoted in the press saying the cats were, "unlikely to be adoptable."

    On Valentines Day, Saturday, February 14, Dixon appeared on WCCO television and announced that the cats had been killed, and cited common, treatable and manageable ailments as the rationale for killing the cats. Early the following week, KSTP Eyewitness News broke a story in which a shocking timeline was uncovered. In the story Eyewitness News reported:
    Kathie Johnson, director of animal service with the humane society, said it would take weeks to determine the cat's health.

    "We're giving them time to settle down and we're hoping after a few days, we can start fully evaluating them," Johnson said on Feb. 11.

    But now, the humane society said they were uthanized - not weeks later, not days later - but just hours later that same day.

    In the wake of these revelations, animal welfare advocates across the state have been asking for some accountability from the staff at the humane society responsible for killing these felines, and, evidently, misleading the media, members of the public and their donors.

    Animal Ark followed the story as it unfolded. Below are links to the stories, videos and blog posts that were made as the story unfolded.

    The St. Anthony Cats - What You Can Do

    Check Out This Story by Eyewitness News Relating to the "Rescued" St. Anthony Cats


    Who Offered What and When in the Case of the St. Anthony Cats Killed by Animal Humane Society?

    Featured Link: Nathan Winograd - Senseless Slaughter Causes Anger and Despair

    Deaths of St. Anthony Cats Were as Predictable as They Were Preventable

    I have to admit that I was not surprised today to learn that all of the cats, more than 130 in total, supposedly "rescued" from a mobile home in St. Anthony Minnesota by the Animal Humane Society had been killed. I had, after all, predicted this would happen, even though the deaths were totally unnecessary. Even still, I was disappointed. The volume of response Animal Ark had received when we offered to care for the cats was overwhelming. Volunteers, donors and other rescue organizations were ready to step in to provide care for cats they felt faced unnecessary but certain death at the Animal Humane Society.

    The fact that no one at the Animal Humane Society returned emails or phone calls offering support for these felines was also not much of a surprise. In spite of the fact that AHS representatives had said the cats would be kept for 2 - 3 weeks so they could be evaluated, many people involved in animal rescue believed the felines would be dead within 24 - 48 hours after arriving at AHS. Though we hoped and planned for the best, we expected the worst.

    The excuses used by AHS director Jannelle Dixon to justify the killing of these felines were as predictable and unjustifiable as the deaths themselves. Dixon told a WCCO reporter that the cats could transmit disease to people; that they were sick; and that some of them had "behavior issues". Read the Rest.

    Offers of Support Coming in to Animal Ark to Help with Rescued Felines at Animal Humane Society

    Animal Ark Asks Animal Humane Society to Consider Non-Lethal Options for Rescued Felines

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