Forum Index > Pacific NW History > Ballard police station cats go insane on September 13, 1909
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Badger
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PostMon Nov 25, 2013 4:12 pm 
Ballard police station cats go insane on September 13, 1909. HistoryLink.org Essay 7851 : Printer-Friendly Format On September 13, 1909, The Seattle Times reports that a mother cat and one of her kittens in the Ballard police station go insane, and that another kitten shows symptoms of a similar mental derangement. The family of cats, who were presented to the officers three months earlier, had previously been affectionate, and police are baffled as to why they became dethroned from reason. Cat's in the Belfry The first sign of trouble began when the mother cat arched up her back, spread out her tail to "the size of an average feather duster," and lunged at the throat of Tom, a visiting cat. Tom ran up the stairs, at which point the mother cat attacked one of her own kittens, shaking it violently by the neck until it was rescued by one of the policemen. As soon as the kitten got loose, it began showing similar symptoms as the mother and was placed in solitary confinement in a back room. That evening, yowls could be heard in close proximity to the station, but police searched the building and could not find the source. Occasional howls were heard the next day, and repeated searches came up empty. It wasn't until the following day that a volunteer climbed up the tower into the belfry and found Tom sitting on a beam over the bell, where he had taken refuge from the insane cat two days earlier. Cat Scratch Fever The mother cat also attacked janitor James Doyle and clawed a clump of meat out of his hand when he attempted to pet her. Locomotive engineer J. H. Kearney got scratched on the neck when a kitten sprang up and attacked him as he walked down a hall. The kitten was immediately placed under lock and key. The police pointed out that when they placed mirrors in front of the cats, they ruffled their fur and attacked their own images, just like they had lunged at people and other cats. The mother cat was held under observation under the care of Dr. C. E. Knudson, whose office was in the stationhouse. The officers were at a loss to account for the sudden insanity of their cats, or how to solve the problem of their feline dementia. At last report, officials were deciding whether to "bring them before a lunacy commission for permanent confinement, or dispatch them by some short route into the realm where cats do not have nine lives." History doesn't record which option they chose.

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trail wiseguy
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PostMon Nov 25, 2013 8:46 pm 
Very interesting. I wonder if it was rabies?

"the mountains are calling and i must go" - John Muir
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Badger
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PostMon Nov 25, 2013 11:10 pm 
I was wondering the same thing. The cats behaviors were similar in some ways to rabies. But you would think they would be more familiar with rabies back then. Weird.

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Frosty
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PostTue Nov 26, 2013 9:11 am 
Sound more like a poisoning with something toxic because the kittens were affected at the same time.

Frosty, Lucky enough to live where it snows in the winter! smile.gif
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trail wiseguy
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PostTue Nov 26, 2013 3:28 pm 
the kitten was acting like the mom cat after it was attacked. rite? so it would seam that something was passed between them.

"the mountains are calling and i must go" - John Muir
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Critter
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PostSat Dec 07, 2013 5:38 am 
Badger wrote:
officials were deciding whether to "bring them before a lunacy commission for permanent confinement..."
They had a lunacy commission for cats?

soUthinkUcanCamp
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cairn builder
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PostThu Apr 24, 2014 9:45 pm 
Um, they're cats. Of course they're crazy! Inexplicable **** is what cats do when they're not sleeping!

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Forum Index > Pacific NW History > Ballard police station cats go insane on September 13, 1909
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