Overview
- Tacoma Police Marine Services began responding to an abandoned 40-foot sailboat off Owen Beach on Aug. 6 and over a six-day effort recovered a final count of 60 cats and kittens from the vessel.
- More than 40 animals were taken to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County and the remainder were placed with local foster homes; veterinarians say most cats are thin and shy but generally doing surprisingly well.
- Police treat the boat as an active crime scene, have not identified how the cats came to be aboard, plan additional warrant-backed searches this week, and are arranging for the registered vessel to be moved.
- A private cat trapper, Camille Sutherland, boarded the boat overnight and removed two cats, an action police say complicated the investigation and that could result in a tampering citation.
- The Humane Society has requested donations, volunteers and foster placements to handle the influx, and investigators are focused next on locating the boat’s owner and determining whether the case involves hoarding or other animal-cruelty violations.