By Kate Larsen
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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – A group of wild cats in San Francisco are losing their limbs from severe injuries and no one can explain why, including the woman who took care of them for decades.
Every day, Sylvia Ortiz and her husband feed, catch, rescue and repair a cat colony in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.
“Dottie, Mabel, Twoey,” Ortiz said as she called to the cats Tuesday night through a locked PG&E fence.
Ortiz said tearfully, “We have cats of our own and so many people have them, but they don’t know exactly where they come from. They go to a place and pick it up as a rescue, but they don’t realize they are coming from places like this. “
This location is a property owned by PG&E in Illinois and is 22nd Street.
Ortiz’s nerves are a little rough, maybe because after 25 years of cat care, something is wrong.
“In the past year and a half, there have been four unrelated cats with almost exactly the same injury to their legs,” she explained.
Ortiz has a cell phone video of cats limping with broken or severed hind legs on PG&E property. A cat named Grayson’s leg was injured so badly that it fell off after they rescued him. Another cat has had its leg amputated and two other cats with severe leg injuries are staying on the property.
Ortiz also says she saw raccoons in the area with the same injuries.
“Because of the kind of people we are, we want to believe that no one would do such a thing, but since none of us have ever seen such an injury and no one seems to be able to explain it to us, I can it “I don’t think anyone is up to anything here,” she said.
ABC7 News reporter Kate Larsen asked San Francisco Animal Care and Control if they were concerned that a human might intentionally harm the cats. SFACC said, “Yes – we are very concerned. Whatever happens to the cats is horrific. “
In a statement, SFACC said their vets determined that the cats’ injuries were due to a traumatic event, stating, “There are no cameras on the premises. Conversations with PG&E employees and construction crews on site did not lead to anything. We have no clues, no idea when or how the injuries happened, and not enough information to create a case. “
“It’s only a matter of time before the next cat and the next cat and the next cat is mutilated or mutilated,” said Gina Donato of San Francisco.
Donato helped Ortiz with the cats, says there is a solution. “We want PG&E to do whatever it takes to let Rob and Sylvia into the fenced area to catch the cats and get them out.”
PG&E informed ABC7 that health and safety protocols prevent them from giving members of the public access to their property.
So Donato started a petition to fight PG&E according to the rule, while Ortiz has to feed the wounded cats and rescue them through a fence.
“It’s a puzzle,” she said.
SFACC says anyone with information about the cruelty inflicted on the cats should call their 911 operator at 415-554-9400.
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