SLOBODIAN: Fort Sask mayor promoted drowning, killing feral cats with exhaust

Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur’s solution to getting rid of stray cats is to torturously kill them by throwing them in a bag in the river or “just put them on the exhaust pipes.”

Like the good old days on farms, she recalled.

Meanwhile, an unsympathetic councillor Brian Kelly figured overwhelmed shelter staff — many are volunteers — who suffer emotionally from having to put down many healthy cats, should just get another job.

Why, just give him a call, he blustered. If they’re not tough enough to take it, he’s man enough to head over and kill all those cats.

To call these two ignoramuses morons would be far too charitable. To say they aren’t fit for office is no stretch if cruelty, indifference, and mocking the compassion of others is the best these two elected jackasses can come up with to deal with a municipal issue.

Calls for them to resign over “cruel and disgusting” comments that even alarm people who don’t like cats, were accompanied by outrage.

“As someone who LIVES in Fort Sask, we’re gathering up the torches and pitchforks. Who else is joining us?” posted Roni MacLean on Facebook.

After a seething backlash from the public and animal welfare groups, Katchur and Kelly, likely fearing their political careers would be put down, offered pat apologies for their callous back and forth at a September 17 council committee meeting addressing the feral cat issue.

Not good enough. There are sick loons out there that might take Katchur’s wicked advice. And what timing! She offered it just a week after two dead puppies beaten to death were found on a pedestrian Fort Saskatchewan pathway. That followed dead kitten found zip-tied to a fence in Calgary in August.

Katchur reportedly chuckled as she promoted cruelty to animals — chargeable offences under the Animal Protection Act and Criminal Code of Canada.

“When it comes to feral cats, it would be cruel to say, but it would be interesting if people could deal with them themselves, I’m going to say like in the old days when you lived on the farm. Now be careful, because when you lived on the farm, if there was (sic) cats, you threw them in a bag and threw them in a river, or they just put them on the exhaust pipes” said Katchur, an old farm girl from Spirit River.

She insulted all farmers. No idea what cat control methods actually went on at the farm Katchur grew up on.

But that didn’t happen at the Alberta farm I lived on. My parents, like most farmers, ensured the livestock were sheltered, and dogs and cats headed to a warm barn, not to the creek to slowly drown in a bag. Like many farmers, my father, rest his big, burly cowboy soul, would be thoroughly disgusted with Katchur’s cat-control solutions.

Council heard one feral cat management proposal presented by city staff would involve a 72-hour hold, then euthanasia. A peace officer pointed out that this would be emotionally difficult for staff.

“If, in fact, it’s a psychological damage to a staff member, get another staff member. And if you have trouble getting a staff member, I will give you my phone number. I volunteer, okay?” said Kelly.

Such a tough guy. To flippantly mock the heavy toll compassion and caring for hurting, helpless animals inevitably take on people is loathsome.

Shelter, rescue, and animal control officers heroically strive to help animals. They can only emotionally absorb witnessing so much hunger, thirst, sickness, neglect, abuse, fear, suffering, and death of helpless creatures.

They can’t understand how sickly, bone-thin cats struggling to walk through the snow can be ignored, simply looked upon as irritants.

The approaching bitter winter cold when animals — both pets and strays — left freezing outdoors, fills many with trepidation. Just as bad as degenerates abusing and neglecting animals, are the family and neighbours who see it, but don’t do anything about it. Leave them all out overnight in sub-zero temperatures without proper shelter, without being fed, and a bowl of frozen water. Maybe compassion will find them.

Katchur and Kelly certainly are both properly fed, watered, and sheltered, unlike cats who suffer because other heartless jerks abandon them, throw them out, or don’t spay or neuter, then let them roam the neighborhood

And the cats multiply.

Look, even cat lovers are rightfully annoyed by strays who spray their decks and use flower beds and gardens as bathrooms.  But there’s a solution to controlling the feral cat problem that works.

Community Cats Edmonton advised Fort Saskatchewan to adopt a trap-neuter-return program (TNR), another proposal presented to a council headed by a mayor who prefers drowning and death by exhaust.

When some people gasped, Kelly leapt to Katchur’s defence: “It is simply a fact of life. The fact that you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t change it. It is a fact of life.”

Community Cats Edmonton blasted them both.

“We also call for Mayor Katchur and Councillor Kelly to resign from their roles immediately, as they do not share the values of Alberta’s compassionate citizens, and they did not govern themselves professionally as elected officials,” it posted on Facebook.

Katchur and Kelly issued public apologies.

“As the City of Fort Saskatchewan’s mayor, I represent our community’s commitment to humane and thoughtful approaches to all issues, including animal management. I deeply regret that my comments fell short of this standard,” Katchur said in a statement.

Fell short? She promoted cruelty.

Kelly said a failure to “manage my emotions effectively” were driven by a “concern about the impact feral cats have on our urban ecosystem.”

“Upon reflection, I want to offer a sincere apology to the residents of Fort Saskatchewan and my fellow councillors. It was never my intent to suggest that feral cats should be treated inhumanely. However, my poor choice of words and animated demeanour conveyed a very different and unacceptable message.”

He said his fellow councillors “do not deserve the public backlash resulting from my actions.” It’s unclear if anyone else on council at that meeting had the decency to object to the deplorable exchange.

And that’s a wrap, said the city. No further action needed.

Well, Kelly apologized to the Municipal Enforcement team, but didn’t clearly apologize to those he figured should go get other jobs if constantly killing healthy cats broke their hearts and spirits.

Did compassion find these two morons? Or do they tremble at the thought of pitchforks coming at them? Or being booted out next election?

Here's a thought. If they are really sorry, Katchur and Kelly should spend a few shifts volunteering at a kill animal facility to get a feel for what it’s like.

But make sure neither one is left alone in a room with cats.