US woman jailed for feeding stray cats

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[BBC] A 79-year-old woman has been given a 10-day jail sentence after she was repeatedly cited by police for feeding stray cats in her Ohio neighbourhood.

Since 2015, neighbours of Nancy Segula have been complaining to officials about the strays. She claims the cats were left behind by an ex-neighbour.

“I’m a cat lover,” she told Fox 8 in Cleveland, after learning of her coming term in the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Mrs Segula has been ordered by a judge to begin her sentence on 11 August.

She has been cited by police four times over the past four years, after her neighbours began complaining of the swarm of cats on her property.

According to police in Garfield Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Mrs Segula’s feline legal issues began in 2015 after neighbours contacted the local animal warden.

In July 2015, she was convicted of violating City Ordinance 505.23, which bans feeding stray animals.

In May 2017 she was “cited for various charges related to feeding cats at her residence”
In July the same year, she was convicted of having too many cats on her property and was placed on probation.

The following month she was cited for failing to dispose of animal waste.

At a hearing last week, she admitted to a judge that she was still feeding the cats, leading to the 10-day contempt of court charge.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49184665

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