Back in October of 2015, the photos of cats who were chained to wooden boxes bounced all over Twitter and Facebook. Questions came from all over the world about the welfare of these cats!
The landowners spoke with a local news channel and said that the cats had warm shelter and that the chains kept them from wandering into traffic since a busy road borders the property. Animal rights activists complained that no cats should be chained at all.
Among the activists who spoke up about the cats was Los Angeles model and radio personality Sia Barbi, who has a rather large social media following.
She along with Elkton-area leaders helped rally donors and volunteers to find a viable alternative to the cats’ living situation.
This week, Barbi reached out to say she is proud of the landowners, the Elkton-area municipal leadership, and the many people who got themselves involved. Contributions overwhelmingly funded a new enclosure for the famous cats. The pen they have now is designed to resist predator entry while also making it hard for the animals to jump out.
From Los Angeles, Barbi told news WHSV, “I just love everyone that was involved in this; I never met nicer people in my life.” Barbi praised the sheriff, Rockingham County Supervisor Michael Breeden and his staff. “What is amazing about Mayor Wayne Printz is that it wasn’t under his jurisdiction, and yet he continued to follow up,” Barbi said. “And the sheriff made courtesy calls to tell the owner the concerns of everyone, without trying to harass her and walk that fine line.” She emphasized strongly that the owners loved their cats as pets.
Elkton Mayor Wayne Printz wrote in a public Facebook post:
“Due to the generosity of several individuals and organizations, the cats which were previously chained on Naked Creek Road now have a spacious new enclosure in which they can play and run free, untethered and safe from predators. My thanks to Julie, Dian and Stacey, volunteers with Voices for Animals in Charlottesville, (voicesforanimals.org) who provided new cat houses as well as Maria and Pam with the Richmond Animal League, (ral.org) and Kayla with Alley Cat Allies, (alleycat.org). Special thanks to Shirley, Bill and Trevor Smallwood for allowing us to construct the enclosure and to Vicky Cubbage and Lucky Sigafoose for assisting. My gratitude to everyone nationally and worldwide who contacted me regarding this issue, especially Sia Barbi and friends for their tireless advocacy of animals everywhere.”
Sia Barbi said that actor Ken Wahl from “Wiseguy” and Willie Nelson’s daughter, Amy, also spread the word of the Elkton-area chained cats and helped the original news post to go viral.