The owner of a rescue group in Plant City where more than 200 cats were taken May 4 will get to keep some pets, officials said.
A Hillsborough County judge has signed off on an agreement between the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center and the owner of Fur ‘N Feather Farm at 3704 Bruton Road in Plant City, Hillsborough County spokesman Todd Pratt said.
The owner of the rescue group will keep five cats, several dogs and dozens of birds, Pratt said.
On May 4, officials from Hillsborough County Pet Resources went to the Bruton Road property and took 247 cats due to poor health concerns. Six cats had to be euthanized due to their medical conditions.
There also were more than 100 exotic birds on the site. Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission went to the property to assess the health of the birds.
Since the owner of the rescue group did not voluntarily surrender the cats when Hillsborough County Pet Resources officials showed up to seize the cats, an agreement was worked up to benefit both sides, Pratt said.
If the county and owner of the rescue group had not reached an agreement, the rescue group would have had 30 days to appeal the seizure.
The owner of the shelter will get to keep her personal pets, Pratt said.
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The agreement will permit Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center to allow the healthy cats to be adopted as soon as today. All of the other cats will be available for adoption as their medical conditions improve.
The owner of Fur ‘N Feathers also agreed to shut down the rescue operation.
