Halo

Today is one of the toughest days I have ever faced in animal rescue. Four days ago, I was fortunate to aid in the rescue of a year old female kitten who had allegedly been thrown from a moving vehicle on Schwantz Road. And as if the events leading to this rescue were not atrocious enough, the events that followed were unfathomable.
The beautiful kitten, named Halo by the angel that witnessed the event, came into my custody and it wasn't long before I learned what a sweet soul she was. It was all the more heartbreaking that she was so sweet because it made the abuse of her that much more painful. I brought her home and she made herself comfortable, purred easily and ate everything in sight. In an effort to bring some light to the circumstances under which I had acquired Halo, I contacted a friend at the Portage Daily Register and asked if she would be interested in an article that may help bring this person to justice. She readily agreed and the article about Halo hit the paper on Wednesday, December 22.
Before 7am on Wednesday, I received a call from the man who was driving the truck from which the cat was allegedly thrown. Let me be clear here...HE CALLED ME AND TOLD ME IT WAS HIM. This is not my suspicion and this is not a blind accusation. His name is Phil Kamrath and he is a teacher at Pardeeville High School, where, incidentally, his wife is the Principal.
Phil explained that the cats (Halo and her sister) routinely climb into the engines of the family vehicles for warmth. On Monday, as Phil was leaving his house, he heard a thump in the engine and saw, in his rearview mirror, the sister cat tumbling in the driveway, having fallen out of the engine. He assumed that Halo (who they call Nala) was also in the engine so he pulled over and fished her out. Then, he says, he placed her in the open bed of the truck and continued down the road. Now, I ask you...ON WHAT PLANET DOES THAT MAKE SENSE????? He was at the end of his driveway and fished the cat out of the engine. Why not just leave her there so she could return to the house? Why put her in the OPEN BED of the truck and drive her further away from the house? Then, when she allegedly jumped out, why did he not stop and check on her? He just kept driving. Not only does this story not make sense, it is the opposite of what the eyewitness saw. The witness said the cat had been "tossed from the passenger window."
The witness had gotten a description of the truck and a partial plate number and called the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. The responding officer was Deputy Alex Agnew. I was not present when Deputy Agnew arrived on the scene but the witness tells me that he immediately appeared very put off by the situation, as if he was being bothered with the complaint. Since I had met the witness and was there when he found Halo, I took her into my care and left, concentrating on getting her taken care of and checked for injuries. In retrospect, I should have stayed at the scene because, after all, I had the evidence. So I returned to the area and flagged down Deputy Agnew to show him Halo and give him my information. He asked several times if she was injured and she was not. He appeared bothered by this "cat nonsense" and left quickly...I'm sure after he ran my license plates to make sure there was nothing he could arrest me for as a bonus to his day.
Fastforward back to Wednesday after we had confirmation that the driver of the truck was Phil Kamrath. I tried repeatedly to contact Deputy Agnew to ask him where his investigstion was leading him. He couldn't be bothered to call me back. I spoke with Phil Kamrath and explained that I was waiting for a call from Deputy Agnew. So Phil Kamrath called Deputy Agnew and, of course, got through to him right away. (I know this because, initially, Kamrath his redial accidentally and got me. He told me he meant to dial the sheriff's department.) Kamrath told him the story (which, as I pointed out, makes no sense at all) and somehow convinced Deputy Agnew that it was all a misunderstanding. Deputy Agnew called me (finally) and told me that he had spoken to Kamrath and that it was all a misunderstanding and that I had to return Halo. When I pointed out to Deputy Agnew that Kamrath's story didn't add up and didn't jive with the eyewitness account, Deputy Agnew said, "What are you fishing for? He's a teacher and it's his cat so give her back. You are reading too much into this." I was not allowed to say anything further, except to agree that I would contact Phil Kamrath in regard to returning Halo.
Now, I do want to be perfectly clear on one thing. I am not, have not and will not say that Phil Kamrath is an animal abuser. I will not say that he is guilty of this accusation. All I am saying is that the Columbia County Sheriff's Department FAILED to conduct a proper and thorough investigation into this matter, even when Kamrath's story did not make sense or match the eyewitness account. Furthermore, Deputy Agnew NEVER MET WITH KAMRATH IN PERSON. He NEVER checked to make sure that Halo and her sister are provided (as required by law) adequate food, water and shelter. He simply took what Kamrath said and used it as an excuse to wash his hands of the whole cat business, regardless of the fact that there are huge, glaring holes in Kamrath's story.
At noon today, I returned Halo (aka Nala) to the Kamrath home and was met by Phil's children. Phil was not home and the kids told me that Halo never gets let in the house.
Another important point is this...in my discussions with Phil Kamrath, I asked him if he would please allow me to get Halo and her sister spayed and vaccinated at no cost to them. His response was to decline, saying that "it doesn't matter how many cats are out here" and "my daughters are looking forward to having kittens around." I have a few things to say about that. First of all, Mr. Kamrath, you are inside the limits of the Village of Pardeeville and, according to their ordinances, it DOES matter how many cats are out there. Secondly, the cats you have are not licensed by the village, as required by law. Thirdly, let me introduce you to a little thing I like to call CAT MATH.
Halo and her sister, if left unspayed, are destined to have 2 litters of kittens each per year for an average of 10 reproductive years. Statistically, four kittens from each litter will live to adulthood (8 kittens each per year). So, in a single year, that is 16 new kittens. When those 16 come to maturity and begin having kittens (again, each having 2 litters with 4 survivors annually, so multiplying this number by 8), we are up to 128 more kittens. Those 128 will have 1024. Those 1024 will produce 8192. The 8192 will produce 65,536. Those 65,536 will produce 524,288. In the 8th year after the initial 16 kittens were born to Halo and her sister, that 524,288 will become 4,194,304. In year 9, we will be up to 33,554,432. And finally in year 10, we will be up to 268,435,456. Stop for a moment and digest that number and then realize that you have to take into account that each one of these cats has an average reproductive lifespan of 10 years. So that original 16 will not only produce 128 kittens...they will produce 128 of them EACH YEAR for 10 years. That's 1280 new kittens, meaning that the grand total of 268,435,456 new cats is the total for a SINGLE YEAR. So if we cut off each number at a grand total of 10 years, meaning that the first group is considered for 10 years, the second group for 9 years, the third group for 8 years and so on, we can arrive at a grand total as follows:

First, Halo and her sister will have 16 kittens each year for 10 years. That's 160.

The 16 offspring of Halo and her sister will produce 8 kittens each for 9 years in our study:
16 x 8 x 9 = 1,152

The 128 annual offspring of the aforemention 16 will produce 8 kittens each year for 8 years in our study:
128 x 8 x 8 = 8,192

The 1,024 annual offspring of the aforementioned 128 will produce 8 kittens each year for 7 years in our study:
1,024 x 8 x 7 = 57,344

The 8,192 annual offspring of the aforementioned 1,024 will produce 8 kittens each year for 6 years in our study:
8,192 x 8 x 6 = 393,216

The 65,536 annual offspring of the aforementioned 8,192 will produce 8 kittens each year for 5 years in our study:
65,536 x 8 x 5 = 2,621,440

The 524,288 annual offspring of the aforementioned 65,536 will produce 8 kittens each year for 4 years in our study:
524,288 x 8 x 4 = 17,417,216

The 4,194,304 annual offspring of the aforementioned 524,288 will produce 8 kittens each year for 3 years in our study:
4,194,304 x 8 x 3 = 100,663,296

The 33,554,432 annual offspring of the aforementioned 4,194,304 will produce 8 kittens each year for 2 years of our study:
33,554,432 x 8 x 2 = 536,870,912

The 268,435,456 annual offspring of the aforementioned 33,554,432 will produce 8 kittens each in the final year of our 10 year study:
268,435,456 x 8 x 1 = 2,147,483,648

Now, to get our ten year total, we have to add all those totals together:

2 (Halo and her sister) + 160 + 1,152 + 8,192 + 57,344 + 393,216 + 2,621,440 + 17,417,216 + 100,663,296 + 536,870,912 + 2,147,483,648 = 2,805,516,578. Let me read that number for you while it sinks in... that's TWO BILLION, EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED SIXTEEN THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT CATS BORN IN A TEN YEAR SPAN BECAUSE MR. KAMRATH FELT IT UNIMPORTANT TO HAVE HALO AND HER SISTER SPAYED.

What will the outcome of this insanity? The cats will starve. The cats will freeze to death. The cats will suffer from distemper and other diseases. The cats will become prey to raccoons and coyotes. Those that survive will inundate the neighborhood and colonize...a practice that is not tolerated by most people with their pristine lawns and perfect gardens. And because all of the legal resources to help get the cat population under control are already overtaxed with other people's idiocy, the people who are bothered by the colony will set out poison and kill traps, often drowning the cats or burning them alive once they have caught them or they will pull out their shotguns and laugh as they take taget practice. I wonder if, when Phil Kamrath said that his daughters were looking forward to kittens, he thought at all about the kittens. And how are his daughters going to feel when one of their favorite kittens is snatched by a coyote right in front of their eyes? I suppose their answer will be to shoot the coyotes. How will his kids feel when they go out to see the new kittens and two of them are missing their heads because a raccoon got into their shelter?
The frustration that I feel with this entire situation is overwhelming. And the sadness is unbearable. You see, I learn something from every cat that comes into my care. Alecs has taught me how to be strong. Sarge has taught me devotion. Chance has taught me passion. Augustus has taught me to ignore the odds and fight. Maxie has taught me that life is worth living. And in four short days, Halo taught me that, when life is cruel, you carry on and love like everything is going to be ok. I promised that little girl that no one would ever hurt her again. Deputy Alex Agnew made me break that promise because he wasn't willing to do his job...a job for which I help to pay his salary as a taxpayer of this county. He forced me into a position where I had to choose between returning Halo to a situation I believe is not good for her and risking my entire sanctuary population. I just want to say, I'm so sorry Halo. I know I have let you down and my heart is breaking. Please stay strong. I will pray for your safety and I will pray that the Village of Pardeeville will not be as ignorant and complacent as the Columbia County Sheriff's Department and will force the Kamraths to spay you and take care of you. I pray they will not force you to live your life as a kitten factory. I pray you will forgive me for letting you down. I wish I could explain humans to you...but I'm afraid I don't understand them myself. I love you, Halo. Godspeed little one...