Cats disappearing
Owner noting disturbing trend in parts of Westville
Elysse Green is pictured with one of her cats while her son Darrell holds a kitten and her other son Spencer looks on. The family has had two cats go missing in the last month, a trend noted by other pet owners in Westville.
Cats are disappearing in Westville. When Debbie Cormier’s cat Angel went missing on Sept. 6, she thought it was nothing more than a personal tragedy. But as she searched for answers to her cat’s disappearance, she noticed a startling trend. She was not alone in her grief. From what she’s been able to discover while searching online and talking to people in the neighbourhood, at least a dozen others are missing their cats in the area of Office Street, MacKay Street, Spring Garden Road, and Cowan Street in Westville. While their owners are still holding out hope for a happy ending, some pet owners are fearing the worst. No one seems to know for certain, but with a large number of cats missing from the same area, some fear that wild animals such as coyotes and foxes may be killing the cats. Some question if maybe someone in the area is targeting them. Cormier said her son, who lives on Spring Garden Road, had a cat that became ill and when he took it to the vet, he was told that it was rat poison. Cormier wondered if someone had intentionally done that. But then she’s talked to others who said they have seen foxes and coyotes in the area and are blaming the wildlife. “I’ve called DNR about coyote and fox sightings and haven’t heard back,” Cormier said. “I would like to see some attention brought to this as my 15-year-old cat never left the yard until Sept. 6 and hasn’t been seen since.” While she lets her cats outside, she said they always stayed in the backyard and enjoyed playing around the catnip plants she had in the yard. In the past she’s had cats who became ill and she had to put them down so they wouldn’t suffer. “I had the chance to take them to the vet and put them in my arms and let them go peacefully,” she said. This is completely different and the thought of her cat being killed by another animal troubles her. “To me it’s unnatural. It might be natural in the world of the survival of the fittest, but it’s not for me. This is my backyard.” Every day she gets home from work she’s been walking the streets around her home hoping that Angel will pick up her sent and come home. She even has posters up offering $100 reward. Elysse Green lives on Cowan Road and said she has had two cats go missing in the last month. The most recent was about two days ago. She said she too has heard about coyotes and foxes in the area, although she’s never seen or heard them around the area. But she is troubled by the fact that “so many cats are missing.” The most recent cat she had was Carmen who was actually caring for kittens of the other cat who went missing the month before. Chief Don Hussher of the Westville Police Department said that while foxes are a normal sight in the area, they haven’t had any recent reports of coyotes. He said earlier this summer there was a report of a bear in the Cowan Street area. Robert MacNeil lives on Spring Garden Road and keeps his cats inside for fear of predators attacking them. He said he has a friend who has seen a fox in the area. He has also seen eagles in the area fairly often. “I’ve seen them take a dog one time in Ontario,” MacNeil said of the eagle. “That’s just food for them fellows.” Whether or not she’s ever reunited with Angel, Cormier hopes that something can be done to help protect pets in the area. “I hope she is alive. If she’s gone, I don’t want to see others gone.”