Woman defends seized cats accusation

Old Mystic, CT (WTNH) - A woman accused of trapping cats and then selling them says she is being wrongly accused.

Michelle Courter spoke only to News Channel 8 after Stonington police seized 24 cats from her Old Mystic Home.

It was exactly two weeks ago that Courter’s yard was completely under water, which prompted someone to complain about cats being kept in the house.

Police say Courter did not have permits to run a cat rescue and claim she trapped cats that may have belonged to other people and then sold them. Courter says property owners would call her to take away feral cats. She says she didn't sell the cats. She took donations to defray costs of food and vet bills.

“I don't know of any permits that are necessary, especially if you're trapping on private property,” Michelle Courter explained.

For the most part there was one cat per cage. Now the cages are empty. Stonington Animal Control checked out the complaint and seized the 24 well-cared for cats after discovering -- what they say was -- an illegal cat rescue operation. Courter calls it “Focus on Ferals.”

Courter says she takes donations to defray costs like food and vet bills. She's more concerned with claims she stole the cats to sell them. She says property owners call her to take feral cats away. She spays and neuters then releases the adults and raises the kittens herself.

News Channel 8: “You're saying every cat you have trapped and taken does not have an owner who wants them back.”

Michelle Courter: “Correct. Exactly.”

News Channel 8: “And you guarantee that?”

Michelle Courter: “Yes exactly.”

Stonington Animal Control are investigating whether or not the captured cats belong to other owners in a number of towns. They've put them on the Stonington petfinder.com   Web site hoping to reunite them with their rightful owners.

Courter continued to say that she would be surprised if anyone with a missing cat claims one of the cats that have been put on petfinder.com by Stonington police.