No-kill cat shelter victim of flood, theft

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - It's been a rough couple of days for Pawsitively Cats No-Kill Cat Shelter.

The non-profit shelter aims to find permanent homes for homeless cats in Tucson, promote Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) for feral cats, and to educate the public regarding spay/neuter and responsible pet ownership, according to its website.

The shelter just recently moved to a new location.

On Monday, Executive Director Sheryl Campbell arrived at the new location and discovered the entire side yard flooded with water, according to a recent news release. A water main had broken, which left the shelter with a huge mess and a $400 water bill.

On Tuesday, the shelter was broken into and burglarized.

No cats were taken, but a newly donated computer and $80 in cash were stolen.

The cash was from deposits for humane trap rental to rescue and spay, neuter and vaccinate feral cats.

The money was to be refunded when the traps were returned.

"We just finished refurbishing the new shelter ourselves, then packing up, moving everything we have and transporting all of our cats. This move was a tremendous amount of very stressful work," Campbell said in the release. "We just cannot believe that someone would break in and steal from us - a small non-profit trying to save the lives of cats in our community and find them new, forever homes."

Campbell said she is heartbroken.

The shelter will now have to use money that would go towards the care of the cats, to instead have the locks changed, replace the computer and repay the deposits for the trap rentals.

Campbell said she'd also like to install an alarm system, but there is not enough money.

All of the funds the shelter currently has is to pay bills for the feeding, care and medical expenses of the cats.

If anyone would like to donate towards replacing the stolen items and installing a security system, call Sheryl Campbell directly at (520) 289-2747.

If anyone has any information about this crime, call 88-CRIME.