wintermoth:

wildphilosoraptor:

fuckyeah-nerdery:

catbountry:

ex-wife:

did-you-kno:

Source 

“When I got my first cat, it changed me. There is something about holding a cat that makes your anger melt away. And if someone does something that upsets me—I have to remember my cat. I can’t keep my cat if I get into trouble.”

“I asked if Major Cabanaw had concerns for the safety of the cats. “Of course, we always want to ensure the safety of the cats, and the staff is great about keeping an eye out for them. But mostly, it’s the offenders keeping them safe. I have never once seen an offender kill his own cat. We screen them to be sure they have no history of animal abuse. But I’ll tell you this, there was a guy killed in here because he had spit soda pop onto someone else’s cat.””

Wow.

Cats now control the prisons. They now have an army.

This post went exactly where I expected. Well done.

LOL OKAY KIDS SIT DOWN BECAUSE I’M ABOUT TO TELL  YOU ABOUT THESE CATS

The above is absolutely true. Indiana State (in Michigan City) allows cats. I know this because that was my eldest brother’s place of residence for…quite a number of years. 

The cats are rewards for good behavior as well as a form of rehabilitation for them. Taking care of their cats gives them something to do and, yes, like the quote said, an incentive to do as they should. It allows them to have a safe emotional attachment and a constant source of companionship and affection. We all know the positive effects pets can have on mental health and these cats do the same thing for them. And, hell, it adds another level of responsibility because the inmates buy everything for their cats! You may not know this, but inmates can and do have jobs that earn them money, which those who are cat owners then can use to buy the food, litter, toys, etc for their cats.

My brother had at least two cats while he was there.Yes, those guys will
fight you over their cats. Make no mistake. They’re like family. These cats are individually owned but they are also a community effort. Inmates will ‘babysit’ each others cats if need be or help them care for them. Even if the cat isn’t theirs, just having one around and available for pets and cuddles can be very therapeutic.

I have a picture of my brother somewhere
that he sent us of him sitting against the wall with 4 or 5 of the
prison cats chilling around him. On the back someone had written: “The Cat Man of Alcatraz.”

Lol one day when we were coming to visit, there was a cart piled with multiple cat carriers on the other side of the metal detector and in true me fashion I was like “asdfghfdfg KITTIES CAN I PET??!??!”  The desk guard explained that they were the inmates cats coming back from their vet visits. There had to have at least been ten cats.

BUT!! Not all prison cats have an owner. According to my brother, there used to be a cat who simply lived on the prison grounds and roamed as she saw fit. Her name was Punk Ass Kitty. Yes. You read that right. Punk Ass Kitty. And Punk Ass did what she wanted, went where she wanted, whenever she wanted, and most of the inmates liked her. Apparently when they saw her they would say, “Hey Punk Ass!” or something similar. 😉