You Know I Loves Me a Good Cat-Huntin' Story

Yes, it's been far too long since I've been able to report on any developments in the noble field of cat-hunting. In April of last year, Wisconsinites were poised to enter cat-hunting nirvana before those fat cat bureaucrats down in . . . er, the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc deep-sixed the plan:

Steve Oestreicher, chairman of the [Wisconsin Conservation] Congress Executive Committee, disagreed.

"We certainly have received not only national attention but worldwide attention," Oestreicher said, addressing the delegation at the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc. "There comes a time when leadership must make a difficult decision."

Oestreicher said the issue has gone on long enough, that he and others have received enough calls, e-mails, letters and threats, and that "no further action will be taken at this time. Next question."

The delegation, represented by all 72 counties, sat momentarily stunned, before a small group began a lukewarm applause in support of Oestreicher’s action.

. . . .

Prior to Oestreicher’s announcement, a delegate from Vilas County asked to table the motion indefinitely; that motion failed miserably.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, who had vowed to veto any proposal to legalize cat-hunting and had said that he didn’t "think Wisconsin should become known as a state where we shoot cats", welcomed his new feline overlords.

Now, the right-minded administrators of the Avenal (California) State Prison are raising the banner of cat-hunting so ingloriously abandoned a year ago by the leaders of Wisconsin:

Administrators at Avenal State Prison said they will have to kill more than 100 cats that have sneaked in and reproduced inside the facility.

The felines have become a health nuisance for the prison. The state has cited the prison for unsafe working conditions because of cat urine and feces.

Prison officials said they do not know how the animals got in.

. . . .

There are still about 100 more roaming the facility, prison officials said.

Prison workers are trying to trap the animals.

Perhaps we can kill two cats with one stone and also address the high costs associated with feeding state prisoners. We know there are more ways than one to skin a cat, but has anyone yet determined how many filets each cat will produce once it is skinned?