“One cat just leads to another,” Ernest Hemingway wrote, in recognition of the fact that devotion to the whiskered creatures can soon get out of hand.
But even the cat-loving author, who once kept over 50 feline friends at his house in Cuba, would be shocked at the level of dedication shown by an Arizona man.
By his own reckoning, Paul Rodriguez has spent countless hours over the last 14 years – not to mention around $100,000 of his own money – giving sustenance to the local population of feral cats in his hometown of Gilbert.
Yet instead of being applauded for his selfless compassion, the 64-year-old now faces a hefty fine, or even a stint behind bars, according to a report by ABC 15.
(ABC 15/YouTube)
The feline fan’s brush with the law started back in 2018, after the town passed an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of street cats on municipal property.
However, the resolute Rodriguez simply chose to ignore the ban, and thus began attracting regular police attention and $100 fines.
He was eventually arrested in May 2019, following 5 confrontations with the cops in a single month. On the fifth occasion, Rodriguez claimed he had permission to feed strays on the property of Southwest Gas, although police said the energy company had no idea who he was.
The town asserts that the ban was motivated by residents’ complaints and the need to “prevent unsanitary and unsafe conditions.”
But Rodriguez, a self-confessed animal lover, disputes both its humaneness and wisdom. Instead, he believes that feeding helps to control the cat population, by containing the poor critters to certain areas so that they can be trapped, spayed, and neutered – a strategy also advocated by The Humane Society.
It’s unlikely the cat crusader will be put off anytime soon, as he finds novel ways to get around the ban.
“I’m committed,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve gone to every place where there’s a cat and tried to find out who owns the property.”
He was due in court on Tuesday, although the trial has now been postponed.