Brookdale cat catcher faces revenge attacks

A BROOKDALE resident has had his home graffitied and cars smashed in an apparent revenge attack for trapping cats.

Geoff Hannan was woken up at 2am on Wednesday, September 27, by a din outside.

“I was in bed and I thought the boys were stomping around playing on the computer. I came out and they said someone’s attacked the house,” he said.

The cars at the front of Mr Hannan’s home had been damaged, with one spraypainted, another’s windscreen smashed, the side window of one car smashed and deep dents down the door of another.

“We’ve had break-ins and stuff before; usually they’ve just gone for something they’ve seen in the car and you get the odd person tampering with fuel,” Mr Hannan said.

“My son and I got together and thought we’d look around. As I backed the car out, I saw ‘cat killer’.”

The words were sprayed on Mr Hannan’s brick fence.

He said he obtained a trap from the City of Armadale when cats in the area became prolific, fighting and urinating on the property and scratching cars.

Mr Hannan said he had caught about 20 cats in the past seven months in the trap, which were collected by a ranger.

“Obviously people have seen the ranger coming and picking up cats,” Mr Hannan said.

“I’ve never killed a cat. I’ve always taken care of any cat trapped by covering them and protecting them from the elements and placing them on newspapers so they don’t rest on the cold concrete.”

Mr Hannan said police suggested security cameras and lights to prevent further attacks.

“It’s caused me quite a bit of stress. I’ve been brooding about it, thinking ‘should I say something?’. You’ve got to take responsibility for your cat and that’s just the way it is,” he said.

“They’re a menace; you’ve got to get them chipped and desexed. Unless you’re going to go to |that effort, don’t bother getting a cat.”

Mr Hannan said he had never sent any cats that looked like they were owned to the ranger.

“I’m going to keep trapping. They’ve stiffened my resolve now,” he said.

“I’m probably going to invest in security and certainly be a little more on guard. They want to be careful if they are caught.

“I know my rights. I’ll be reporting them to the police.”