Abused Cats in Chicago

[A Cooper]

Can someone help me with a situation that involves Cats being mistreated at a pet store in Chicago. There are six cats that have lived in a cage in a pet store in Old Town on Wells Street for over one year. When I went into the store the cats were laying in a liter pan with their arms around each other and they were in their own feces and urine. It smelled so bad that it made me want to break the glass and get them out. My husband and I asked the kid that worked there if they ever got out and he said no because they would claw you. He said that they had come in as kittens over a year ago and that they had never had any contact with humans except when he changed their water and litter box. All six cats were so skinny that they looked like they were starving to death. What is even sadder is that the puppies that don't find homes live in the cages until someone buys them and several dogs were over a year old.

We asked to speak to a manager about purchasing one of the cats. The manager turned out to be a girl around seventeen years old that didn't know very much. She told us that each cat would cost us $750.00. I know that we can't mention names here but lets just say that it has something to do with "collars and a leash". Can someone help rescue the cats before they die without ever having human contact.

[Chan790]

1. Call the ASPCA or HSUS.

If the situation is as bad as you're describing, they'll act. Minimally, they will at-least investigate which will put shop owner on their toes and improve conditions at least temporarily. If you'd prefer, PM me with the name and I'll call the HSUS.

(Generally, this applies to any poster who witnesses animal abuse and can any provide actionable information. Even something as minor as a partial plate or a general description. If you're not sure that's it's abuse, call anyways.)

[A Cooper]

2. I tried to PM you but I couldn't

If you go to yelp and type in collar and leash you will find out about the store. I believe that the owners live in the Orient and they might not know our laws here. Both workers didn't seem to care about the pets that were in the store. I think that their parents might own the store or something of that nature.

The cats birthdates were from 2009 :wow: :mad:

[hamsterjill]

3. How very sad!

Please do follow through with a call to the SPCA in your area or your local media. In my opinion, pet stores (those which sell dogs and cats for profit) should all be put out of business. There are some legitimate ones, but the ones run in conditions like what you illustrate here are by far the majority.

Thank you for caring for these creatures.

[A Cooper]

5. It was very sad

We stopped in for some cat food. The minute that we walked through the door the smell was so unbearable that it almost knocked us down. Most of the puppies in the store were being sold for over a thousand dollars. There is also a bird in the store that is chained down to its cage.

Thank you for also caring about our little babies.

[Brickbat]

4. I second Hamsterjill's suggestion of contacting the media in addition to ASPCA/HSUS. Local TV would

pee all over themselves getting to this one.

[A Cooper]

6. They have reviews of the store on yelp

Please help us get them out.

[Chan790]

7. Done.

I emailed the Illinois state director of the Humane Society and gave them the name and address of the store as well as a brief description of what you described. Also, pointed out that there were several nearly identical complaints posted to Yelp about this shop.

[A Cooper]

8. Thank you

Your a kind person for helping out thank you so much. If you look at one of the pictures on yelp it shows a white pure bred cat with a missing eye.

[Chan790]

10. It's horrific.

and I see too much of that stuff as it is. I'm kind of weak-stomached.

Tomorrow, because I don't think they're in today, I'd like you to call the Animal Welfare League in Chicago (Phone: [phone]) and tell them what you've posted here as they are one of the major investigators of animal cruelty in Chicago...I was referred there by the ASPCA webpage of where to report animal cruelty. They'll take it from there and I'm pretty sure that you can make anonymous complaints and reports.

For anybody else, the search page for this is http://www.aspca.org/adoption/shelters/ I know it says shelters but it's actually a fairly comprehensive list of animal welfare organizations (including non-shelters) searchable by ZIP.

[A Cooper]

11. I wish

What I wish is that there were enough people to complain so that it won't get swept under the rug. I can keep checking back at the store in order to see if the cats are still there but it will be heartbreaking because I can't afford to buy all of them. I would love to see an organization come in and release them to good homes.

[Chan790]

13. It won't be swept under the rug...

I know animal-welfare people, I am one (My area of concern is more wildlife and poaching.). We're relentless. They're going down. It seems from Beaverhausen's link and the Yelp comments that this shop is already on the radar of people who don't mess around. You're an additional voice in the choir. That's the main reason I asked you to call AWL, the more complaints are coming in from different directions, the more pressure there is and the faster law enforcement will act.

[Beaverhausen]

9. I just googled this store- found this

http://www.prlog.org/10795777-the-puppy-mill-project-to-protest-collar-and-leash.html

[A Cooper]

12. They had a protest?

How would I go about organizing another protest in order to get the older dogs and all of the cats out?

[Beaverhausen]

15. I would say try your local humane society and/or look for local animal rescue groups

for instance:

http://www.animalwelfareleague.com/

Google is your friend

[A Cooper]

16. The bird needs help

He is chained down to his cage and he is a large amazon parrot. His feathers were being pecked out which means that the bird is stressed out.

[A Cooper]

14. Would Peta help?

I wonder if Peta would help get the cats out of the store?

[Kali]

17. don't BUY from them, for one thing

call your local animal control office or whatever it is in your area and file a complaint
same with the BBB or any other merchant associations
write a letter to the editor call the local news channel

welcome to DU, BTW

[A Cooper]

18. I wanted to rescue one of the cats

I wouldn't know which one to pick because they are all the same age and I don't care what they look like. I felt like taking my credit card and buying just one of them. I can't afford to rescue them but if I gave one of them a chance I know that I would be doing a good deed and the poor kitty would at least have a loving home.

Thanks for welcoming me.

[Kali]

19. no you will be helping that place to stay in business

offer to adopt when they are put into a rescue situation if you really want ot help one of those individual cats

$750 is ridiculous to spend on a pet cat anyway

[A Cooper]

20. I didn't think about that, Thanks!

He has around twenty puppies priced between $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 dollars each. I feel sorry for all of the little babies that have to live in the cages at the store.

[A Cooper]

21. Yelp

http://www.yelp.com/filtered_reviews/8Rm7OSxZnVZuyCAeo7aQIQ?fsid=KJQdwLHGySOuEhUGVIhQ4w

[kimi]

22. Sounds like a serious situation

but will be taken care of, I'm sure. Horrible situation for these animals, I hope it works out quickly.

[A Cooper]

23. It's very serious

It would tear the heart of of any cat lover. At least the puppies get to come out of the cages if someone is interested in them. The parrot is chained down to its perch.

[A Cooper]

24. Could we all raise the money to get the cats out of there?

:cry:

[Chan790]

25. We don't need to.

I know that is hard to hear but it is true. There is a process and you and I started that process yesterday. Did you call AWL like I asked you to? They will investigate and they will go to the police to file a complaint with iron-clad evidence that not only frees the cats but also the dogs and the bird and sends the people responsible to jail. Then they will take the cats into shelter and rehabilitate them to health and get them into good homes.

All giving these people money for the cats will do is encourage them to keep doing it. If making the complaint is not enough, be a voice for the cats. Tell people what you saw, tell them why they should not frequent this business, write letters to your legislator asking them to support tougher animal cruelty laws.

[A Cooper]

26. Yes, I did call

Thanks for all of the information that you provided. I know that one call will not do it but if several people filed complaints then something might happen.

Your right, once they are sold the owners will buy more cats and put them in a cage. It is so sad :cry:

[Arugula Latte]

27. Thank you for caring enough to take action!

This just makes my heart hurt. I just don't understand people who do these things.

[A Cooper]

28. I love all our little furry people

Something keeps pulling me to the shop and I can't understand why. I hate to see abuse and it is going on at the store real bad. They have tons of new puppies in. When I asked the guy where did he get the puppies at he told me Iowa which is a large red flag because of all of the puppy mills. The poor cats were still there and I don't think that they will ever be free unless we rescue them but like another poster said the owner would replace them with more. The most heartbreaking part is that the cats are very skinny and you can see their ribs. :cry:

[Chan790]

29. The response I got from HSUS.

Verbatim. Nearly word-for-word follows (I excluded my real name):

Thank you for writing to The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

If there is any way you can contact or post back the anonymous poster, it would be best if they handled this issue locally as the person who directly witnessed the conditions in this pet store. There are few things they can do if there is concern about the animals in this store. First, if they see animals who appear sick or in bad conditions, they should ask to speak with a manager and tell him or her about the animals that look sick. I know that sounds simplistic, but this can help the animal get veterinary care as soon as possible if it is needed. Retail stores do want to serve and impress their customers, therefore the person should be firm but polite and ask that they remove the animal from sale and get him some immediate veterinary attention.

If they report problems to the store manager and feel that they are not adequately addressed, the next thing to do is report it to the local animal control department, which can be looked up at www.pets911.com or www.petfinder.com. Call the local animal control and describe very specifically the concerns witnessed.

Please let us know if you have any other questions about this, you can contact a specialist in our Animal Cruelty department directly at: [e-mail]

All the best,

Beau

[Arugula Latte]

30. Suggestion: Can you call local TV/media?

Or perhaps give the name and address of the store and maybe I can make a few calls as well as other DUers. Local news stations sometimes cover animal hoarders and similar stories; maybe one will pick up on this and create pressure for change.

on edit: I see another poster suggested this. Maybe it could be a DU project (?).