In one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Dallas, a secret exists that many residents themselves aren't aware of. Tucked at the edge of a neighborhood known for homes the size of office buildings, couture shopping, and powerful residents is an abandoned street of boarded up 1920's bungalows. The only inhabited homes are those of residents who refused to sell out to a property company, which has to date refused to either renovate or tear down the homes they purchased, or otherwise make the street livable. This property company apparently had no plan B for dealing with the properties or the issues that came along with them. They thought that the money they offered was enough for people to leave the homes they lived in for decades, and never considered being turned down.

The true horror of this street is the homeless cat colony of approximately thirty cats, once owned by a resident who did sell out to the property company. Even though he reportedly received several hundred thousand dollars for a house worth a fraction of that amount, he didn't bother taking the cats he chose to own, when he left.

Meantime, a group of women started to take on the care of the cats on their own, making sure that the animals were all spayed or neutered and that they are fed several times a day. Volunteers bring bags of food and veterinarians offer free or low-cost services to help the cats. The searing Texas summer heat and the below freezing temperatures that occur in Dallas in the wintertime are worrisome for the kitties though, even the young and strong ones. Drug-addled rednecks make a game of speeding down the street to see if they can hit the cats - two were killed by one of these idiots simultaneously in front of one of the volunteers, recently.

While police officers try to monitor the street as much as possible, Dallas has suffered police layoffs like other cities have, and there are other areas of the city that need their services more. Some Dallas residents in the know love to drive down the street to gawk at the houses and the cats, but complaints to the property company or the city either aren't being made or are being ignored. Some of the volunteers have been verbally abused by people who think the cats should be left to die, and remaining residents have been accused of neglect and abuse, as passers-by assume they own the cats.

It's a shame that the original owner can't be found and put back in his now rotted, boarded up home, stripped of anything he gained by selling, and periodically put in the middle of the street as a target for the people just like him - criminal animal abusers. Since that can't be done, and since the parade of Lexus and Mercedes owners who love the curiosity can't bother themselves by helping, maybe getting the word out to ears beyond the city of Dallas will help.

Yes there are colonies like this all over the country, and more in Dallas for sure, but there shouldn't be. I was clueless that organized cat colonies like this existed until last year, and am surely not the only one. Even if all of the cats can't be adopted, volunteers and those who can donate food can make a difference.

Most of all, I hope to ram this point into the heads of anyone who may not have gotten it yet: This is what happens when you don't spend the measly $50 to spay or neuter a pet you agree to take responsibility for. This happens to them if they're lucky. And even lucky abandoned cats are vulnerable to the elements and the idiots.

Please spay or neuter your pet. If you chose to own one, please remember it's not disposable.

If you'd like information about adopting one of these kitties, please contact us and we'll put you in touch with someone who can help.

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