PETA Rushes Care Package To ‘Mayor’ Stubbs After Mauling By Dog

Group Stresses Importance of Keeping Cats Indoors

For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2013

Contact:
Allison Lakomski  202-483-7382

Talkeetna, Alaska — PETA has sent a care package to Talkeetna resident Lauri Stec—guardian of the honorary town mayor for the past 16 years, Stubbs the cat, who was recently mauled by a dog while out roaming the streets. Although Stubbs’ injuries were extensive and, according to news reports, included a punctured lung, a fractured sternum, and a 5-inch gash on his side, he’s reportedly in recovery. The package includes a cat blanket, a selection of feline toys and treats, and a copy of PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk’s book 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You. As PETA notes in a letter mailed separately to Stec wishing Stubbs a speedy recovery, those 250 things include keeping your cat safe indoors.

“Cats who are allowed outdoors face disease, accidents, abuse, and—as in Stubbs’ case—attacks by other animals,” says Daphna Nachminovitch, senior vice president of the Cruelty Investigations Department. “If you wouldn’t let your young child roam the streets unsupervised, you shouldn’t let your cat, either.”

There are myriad reasons for keeping cats indoors. In addition to deadly diseases such as feline AIDS, leukemia, and infectious peritonitis that cats left outdoors can catch, there are dangers posed by dogs, wildlife, and the scariest predator of all: humans. Cats left outdoors are sometimes poisoned, shot, or tortured by bored teenagers or people annoyed when cats leave footprints on their car hoods or dig in their flowerbeds. 

For more information, please visit PETA.org.