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"The CarMax of Cats" (nice story)
http://www.ajc.com/saturday/content/...8f0a9002b.html
RELOCATING 75 CATS IS PURR-FECT FOR MAN GWINNETT PET LOVER THRIVES IN GIVING FELINES A HOME Mark Davis - Staff Saturday, March 20, 2004 Dayn Riegel and his 77 roommates are between addresses right now. He recently left one home in Lawrenceville and hasn't moved to his new one yet, so Riegel is staying with friends. With him are his girlfriend, Phyllis Iffrig, and Akuma, their agreeable white Samoyed. His 75 other roomies? They're staying with other friends --- in garages, on beds, sitting atop cars and curling between legs. They're cats. Seventy-five cats. You could call Riegel the Car Max of cats: He's got 'em all. A 2003 tabby? Sure. A black-and-white female, vintage 2001? There must be one around here somewhere... Seventy-five cats. In the nine-life universe of felines, that's 675 lives. Seventy-five cats. Many people don't have 75 of anything. But Riegel does, and, until earlier this month, he had them in a three-bedroom, two- bath ranch home in Lawrenceville. "They all mean something to me," said Riegel, 33, a self-employed information technology consultant. It began with Khaos, a black, domestic shorthair Riegel discovered at a Delaware mall. When he headed to metro Atlanta eight years ago from West Chester, Pa., little Khaos came with him. They settled in Gwinnett, where Riegel discovered stray cats were as commonplace as fast cars. Rather than cuss 'em, he coaxed 'em into his house. They came singly and by the family, surly old toms and skittish young moms. Word about the cat man spread, and Riegel's feline inventory grew. Rogue, Thumper, Minnie: Khaos reluctantly made way for the newcomers. Dennis, Dot, Cracker, Gateway: They crept in on little feet. Noodle, Danzig, Fuzzy, Jackie, Squunk. Riegel began a computer database to track his cats, noting each creature's acquisition date, health needs and other characteristics that distinguish, say, Thumper from Squunk. Riegel estimated he has taken in more than 300 cats since moving here, adopting out at least 250. Since not all got adopted, Riegel's personal supply grew. Some cats staked out space in the two-car garage where vehicles never venture. Others selected favored spots where the sun would shine. When Riegel turned down the covers at night, six cats sometimes jumped up to join him --- more, if the night were chilly. Anyone who sat in a chair usually got a cat in the lap. Riegel and Iffrig, 29, bought two 30-pound bags of cat litter a week, distributing them in "tons of litter boxes." The felines got fed twice a day: the regular crunchy stuff and a second meal featuring a mix of vegetable meal and olive oil that Riegel said made them more purr-prone. He had an arrangement with a Lawrenceville veterinarian to neuter the cats for little more than cost --- a group discount. All the care and feeding, admitted Riegel, "wasn't cheap." Not cheap, but certainly remarkable, said Randall Lockwood, a psychologist and animal behavior expert with the Humane Society of the United States. Lockwood has studied animal hoarders, people who amass so many animals in their homes that the creatures often sicken or die from neglect. But Riegel's computer inventory and feeding regimen, Lockwood said, indicate that the Lawrenceville resident is not a hoarder. He's apparently just someone who loves cats. A lot. "If he's not living in 3 feet of cat poop, I'd say . . . he's OK," Lockwood said. "My friends," said Riegel, "know I'm eccentric." His mother, Mary Ann Ransom of Lake Lure, N.C., offers a gentler observation: "He's loved animals all his life." Yet love alone cannot keep a roof over so many heads. Riegel and Iffrig were evicted last week from their rental home. The forced move, he said, arose from a disagreement over the purchase of the house he'd leased for nearly three years. He planned to buy it, he said, but the company representing the homeowner got a better offer. As evictions go, the parting was amicable, Riegel said. When authorities showed up to serve eviction papers, Riegel said he and Iffrig were ready, their possessions packed and in storage. And the cats? "It sounds silly, but relocating 75 cats nearly calls for an act of God," Riegel said. Riegel turned to his friends. The furry exodus went smoothly, with Gwinnett County Animal Control officers observing the removal of Noodle & Co. They counted 60 felines, said Sammy Jeanes, who oversees the department. "The cats looked good," said Jeanes, who noted that Gwinnett County has no ordinances setting limits on the number of pets per household. The house? "It didn't look nasty at all," Jeanes said. Riegel is hoping to be reunited with his extended family next month, when he plans to buy a Lawrenceville split-level. Not all the cats have to make the move. If someone wants to lessen the extent of Riegel's feline family and take a cat or two home, he's willing to listen. He has a few to spare. Except for Khaos, the little Delaware cat who was there at the beginning. Yeah, she's sort of crabby, Riegel said, but that's OK. "She has her moods," he said. "But she's my cat." |
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CajunPrincess had something important to tell us on 29 Mar 2004
14:17:14 -0800: http://www.ajc.com/saturday/content/...8f0a9002b.html RELOCATING 75 CATS IS PURR-FECT FOR MAN GWINNETT PET LOVER THRIVES IN GIVING FELINES A HOME My goodness! I can't imagine one (or two) people looking after that many cats... it sounds like he's doing a good job though. I hope he can find a good home for them all SOON so he can go on with his good works. -- Karen AKA Kajikit Here kitty kitty kitty... visit http://www.catslaves.org! Come and visit my part of the web: Kajikit's Corner: http://www.kajikitscorner.com Allergyfree Eating Recipe Swap: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Allergyfree_Eating Ample Aussies Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ampleaussies/ |
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RELOCATING 75 CATS IS PURR-FECT FOR MAN
GWINNETT PET LOVER THRIVES IN GIVING FELINES A HOME I used to think you had to be nuts to have that many animals. I used to think that you must be a hoarder and your place must be a stinky pigsty. BUT, now that I rehab animals, I can easily see how you can take care of a lot of animals very well. Right now I have 25 baby opossums, 24 baby squirrels, 12 injured adults. They're all in clean Fish & Game regulation caging, all healthy, nice and fat, my place smells good, they're quiet. I've seen other rehabbers with even more animals and they do a great job taking care of all of them. It can be done with organization. My first season I only had 3 and I thought that was a lot, now it's nothing. I think people should be able to have as many animals as they can adequately care for. Some shouldn't even have one animal, some could have 100. Some kennel people can care for tons of animals, why not a private person if they're devoted. |
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