Two business owners in a quiet Yorkshire town are locked in a war over a group of stray cats who have been deemed ‘detrimental’ to the lives of locals.
For Colette Boler, the former owner of Milly’s Cafe in Thurnscoe, near Barnsley, the once 30-strong group of feral felines started to feel like family.
Having purchased the cafe in 2007, ‘cat crazy’ Ms. Boler stumbled across the animals while delivering left-over sandwiches to workers on a nearby industrial estate.
She started feeding them, paying for their treatment at the vet and, so comforting did the 62-year-old become to the moggies, that they started to respond to the sound of her voice.
But, after nearly two decades of care, Ms. Boler almost saw her relationship with the clowder of cats crushed two weeks ago when she returned home to find a councillor at her door.
‘She said she wanted to have a word,’ the Yorkshire native tells the Daily Mail. ‘She served me with a notice warning me not to feed the cats anymore.
‘I was devastated, in tears, they had basically been mine for almost 20 years.’
Ms. Boler was warned that, if she refused, a community protection order would be issued that could lead to a fine of £2,500.
Colette Bowler, the former owner of Milly’s Cafe in Thurnscoe, has been banned from feeding a group of feral cats she has been tending to for nearly 20 years
The 62-year-old stumbled across the felines while delivering sandwiches to workers on a local business estate
But Ms. Boler almost saw her relationship with the vulnerable animals crushed two weeks ago when she returned home to find a councillor at her door
It came after a nearby garage business, the owner of which preferred not to be named, complained that the cats were stopping workers doing their job.
They argued that the felines were defecating on their premises and, in a statement to the Mail, said that they posed ‘health and safety concerns for customers’.
‘There was a lady across the road who was coming out telling me to stop feeding them,’ says Ms. Boler. ‘She said that her men couldn’t work because the cats were doing their business on the sand. She came out complaining more than once.’
On one occasion the ‘cat crazy lady’, as she calls herself, even spotted the infuriated business owner pouring bleach over the road in an attempt to drive the vulnerable animals away.
‘Twice she came out and on the third time she came out with two bottles of bleach and was squirting it all over the road, it even went in my car. Some of it went in the cats’ food,’ Ms. Boler says.
‘So I was left with no choice but to report her to the RSPCA. She said, ‘Well, I’m reporting you too!”
Since the councillor’s visit, Ms. Boler has endured an ‘awful’ two weeks without her cats but, now, she sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
After being convinced into taking to Facebook by her daughter, the Thurnscoe resident has received a huge outpouring of support.
Cat-lovers from across Yorkshire have visited Milly’s Cafe, some of whom arrived bearing gifts including cat food, biscuits, chocolates and cards.
‘I never expected any of this,’ she says. ‘All I wanted to do was feed my cats. The support has been absolutely tremendous.
A local businessman has now allowed Ms. Boler to tend to the cats on his premises – after she was left ‘devastated’ by a warning from the council
‘I’ve had phone calls from thousands of people who I don’t even know. People have offered to pay for me to help the cats, setting up GoFundMe pages. They’ve been telling me to feed the cats and saying that if I get fined, they’ll pay the legal costs.
‘Two ladies came in on Tuesday from York saying they couldn’t believe what had happened and how sorry they were and what a brilliant job I’ve done. And then about an hour after they’d been, a gentleman came in and gave me a tenner for cat food.’
The Cat Action Trust has also thrust its support behind Ms. Boler, collecting food for the moggies in the midst of her ban.
Alice Ostapjuk-Wise, a volunteer for the charity, said: ‘We just want to do what we can because some councils actually choose to exterminate feral cat colonies – and that’s the last thing we want.’
A local businessman has since offered to allow Ms. Boler to tend to the cats on his premises, something which the council have agreed to. Yet the written warning is still hanging over the 62-year-old’s head.
‘I just want my cats back,’ she says. ‘I love them all and I wish that I could fetch them home, but they’re too scared.’
A Barnsley Council spokesperson said: ‘We understand this situation has been upsetting, and we recognise the person involved was acting with good intentions, out of concern for animal welfare.
‘The council became involved after receiving complaints from businesses on an industrial estate in Thurnscoe, where a growing number of stray cats were being fed several times a day on the public highway and around commercial premises.
‘The businesses raised concerns about repeated fouling across their site, including inside buildings and on stored materials and stock, which was creating health and safety risks for staff and visitors.
‘After reviewing evidence and previous requests to stop feeding in this location, the council issued a Community Protection Warning. This is not a fine or enforcement action, but an early step to prevent the situation from getting worse.
‘The warning simply asks that feeding does not take place on public highways or around the industrial estate, to protect local businesses, people working in the area, and the animals involved.
‘We always aim to protect public health and safety, and we encourage anyone concerned about stray animals to work with recognised animal welfare organisations, so support can be provided safely.’
