AR-News: (US) Woman who abandoned cats for months only pays $75. fine

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'Cat lady' pleads guilty, pays $75 fine



Tuesday, 11, 2004 
By Heather L. VanDyke
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

A Norton Shores woman charged last year with abandoning her cats for months in her home without food, water or heat has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. 

Linda Williamson, formerly of 2120 Forest Hills, had been charged with the misdemeanor in December. 

Muskegon County 60th District Judge Andrew Wierengo III on Thursday arraigned Williamson and fined her $75 in court costs and fines, according to court records. The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor charge is 90 days in jail. 

County animal control officers in December rescued nine cats from Williamson's home, and a judge in February ordered the home to be demolished due to its "unsafe" condition. 

Animal control officers said in December that the home was covered in garbage and cat urine and feces. Pipes were damaged as well, according to city officials. 

The home was demolished this month, but the garage still stands. 

Williamson said at the time that her 19-year-old son, John -- who moved out of the home in November -- was responsible for feeding the cats when she left for Florida to pursue work. 

In the meantime, Kris Brantner, a neighbor, witnessed cats clawing at the window in December and called police. 

Weeks later, the cats were rescued. 

Brantner said Monday that Williamson's punishment wasn't harsh enough. 

"I don't think it's right, not for the abuse that those animals went through. I don't think it was a stiff enough penalty," Brantner said. 

At the time of their rescue, the cats were malnourished, sick, and in some cases, missing hair, according to animal control officials. Officials from the animal shelter where the cats were being treated said the cats had resorted to eating paper toward the end of the ordeal. 

Brantner had also contacted the Norton Shores City Council earlier last year, prior to the cat abandonment, complaining that the cats were roaming freely in the neighborhood, killing wildlife and defecating in neighbors' yards. 

The city council is in the process of drafting an ordinance to limit the number of cats a resident can legally own. 


© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission