Cause 4 Cats in Lebec got a visit from Kern Animal Control (KAC) and the Humane Society of the U.S. on Thursday, May 6. The non-profit cat rescue effort was over the limit of their conditional use permit which allowed them to keep up to 150 cats on the premises. Cause 4 Cats had 216. 134 cats were hauled away and 82 remain.
Lolette Robrahn of the cat rescue told The Mountain Daily News that this was a help to her effort and not a negative confrontation by animal authorities. However, KAC lowered the number allowed by the conditional use permit to 85. Lolette said this was based on the square footage of her property.
It was documented that many cats were getting sick from the over-crowded conditions. The Humane Society said many were dealing with treatable respiratory and skin conditions. Feline leukemia is also suspected.
Asked where she gets the cats, Robrahn says she traps them in the Mountain Communities when residents call. Others suspect that she is picking them up in Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Lolette said they did at one time but no longer; saying there are enough in our local neighborhoods.
Some neighbors complain about the smell coming from the Robrahn's home citing too many cats. Some are worried about health issues this could cause for the neighborhood. Lolette dismissed this as hearsay but photographer Chuck Noble said he picked up an eye-watering smell two or more doors down from the Robrahn's when he took pictures for The Mountain Enterprise.
