Cat rescue agencies criticize Fort Saskatchewan mayor's Halloween post

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Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur is again drawing criticism from feline advocates after she posted a photo of a pair of young people whose Halloween costumes referenced her controversial comments about killing stray cats.

In a since-deleted post on her mayoral Facebook page, Katchur wrote, “When it comes to costumes, this is excellent!” above a photo of two students — one wearing a red blazer similar to what Katchur wore when she made the comments, the other a plastic garbage bag over a cat costume.

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Katchur made news in September after she said during a council meeting that it would be “interesting if people could deal with (feral cats) themselves … like in the old days.”

“When you lived on the farm, if there was cats, you threw them in a bag and threw them in a river, or they just put them on the exhaust pipe.” 

Reached by email Saturday morning, Katchur said the students “were simply having some fun at my expense.”

“I was very sincere about the apology I made regarding the video (of the council meeting),” she said.

“The comments were a recollection of what happened over 40 years ago when I lived on a farm … people from town would dispose of unwanted cats in the way I mentioned and often my sister and I who played in the river valley would find the remains and have to bury them. For a young farm girl, it was traumatic.”

She said her family saved many of the cats dropped near her farm.

“The conversation should be about people taking responsibility to (spay) or neuter their pets,” Katchur said. “In touring the humane society we had a great conversation regarding that topic. I have a great love of animals.”

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‘Disappointed’ at post

Diana Graham, co-founder of the stray cat rescue agency Community Cats Edmonton, said she was “incredulous” to see Katchur’s post. The group was among those that called for Katchur’s resignation, along with Coun. Brian Kelly, who scoffed at the idea municipal staff might be troubled putting down healthy animals and volunteered to euthanize them himself.

“We’re disappointed to see that Mayor Katchur still thinks harming stray and feral cats is something to joke about,” Graham said. “Stray and feral cats are one of the most vulnerable animal populations out there. They exist because of human negligence, and they’re just trying to survive. Comments like Gale’s put them even more at risk.”

Graham also questioned Katchur’s decision to post the remarks on her official page.

“It seems to me this is just how she thinks,” she said. “Maybe if she posted this on her personal page is one thing, but to post these as the Mayor of Fort Saskatchewan seems very, very short-sighted.”

Graham also pushed back on the idea that killing feral cats is widespread behaviour among rural people.

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“We know that it happens out there … (but) not all farmers think like that, obviously,” she said.

“We quite often are going out to acreages, farms, educating them, giving them traps, helping them spay and neuter … the cats out there. There is this option, it’s a better option, and it would be nice if people like Gale (could) have that mindset and share that and educate people, rather than putting them on a tail pipe or dumping them in a bag over a bridge.”

Kath Oltsher, co-founder of Edmonton-based Zoe’s Animal Rescue, also took issue with the post.

“People felt her comment about being cruel to cats and killing them was not a good thing,” she said. “So I’m actually quite surprised she did it again, and I think it displays a remarkable lack of judgment and compassion.”

Katchur’s earlier comments prompted PETA to buy ads on area TV networks highlighting instances of cruelty to outdoor cats.

— With files from Fort Saskatchewan Record

jwakefield@postmedia.com

x.com/jonnywakefield

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