Fort Saskatchewan Mayor’s Cruel Cat-Killing Advice Prompts New PETA Campaign

For Immediate Release:
September 19, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur’s horrifying musings at a committee meeting this week about “the old days” of killing cats by putting them into bags and drowning them in a river or gassing them with a vehicle’s exhaust pipe has prompted a new PETA video campaign that the group is rushing to area television networks. The spot, featuring Jaeden Martell, star of It: Chapter Two and Arcadian, illustrates the fates that often await cats who are allowed to roam outside unsupervised and encourages everyone to keep their cats safe by keeping them indoors.

“PETA gets calls about cats being poisoned, burned, beaten every single day, so keep your cats indoors. Keep an eye on ’em, just like you would a dog or a child,” says Martell in the video. “We talk about cats being ‘outdoor cats,’ but they’re dependents. And they’re dependent on you, so take care of ’em.”

“Mayor Katchur’s deplorable comments promoting illegal cruelty to animals demonstrate all too well the many dangers that outdoor cats face at the hands of cruel people who would kill them in horrific, violent ways,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “Everyone can help keep cats safe by keeping them indoors—and animal shelters can do their part by always taking in cats in need.”

PETA’s new video series depicts just four examples of real-life cat killings—setting them on fire and poisoning, shooting, or bludgeoning them. The group receives emergency calls about incidents of cruelty to “outdoor cats” nearly every day. 

PETA notes that cats kept indoors can be physically and mentally stimulated with a view of the outdoors, toys, climbing structures, scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. The group offers a catio-building guide as well as a “cat guardian’s bible” written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk that’s full of tips and available for purchase here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.