Accident victims' cats need new homes

DEXTER — Carol L. and Albert L. Jackson Sr.'s cats are many and of many varieties.

There are young ones, elderly ones, spotted ones and a few without tails. Some are shy and others rambunctious.

In total, there are about 20 of them at the Jacksons' Evans Road residence, and the number is growing. A few appear pregnant.

"The little ones who are running around are scared because nobody has been here," said Dorothy A. Bidwell as some of the felines scampered under her feet.

No one has lived in the home since the Jacksons were killed May 21 in an automobile crash in the town of Orleans.

Mrs. Bidwell said it was a big heart that filled the house with so many cats.

"People kept dropping them off," she said.

"Mom has such a kind heart," she added, still speaking in the present tense about her aunt, whom she calls "Mom" because Mrs. Bidwell grew up in a trailer near the town of Hounsfield residence and the Jacksons were very influential in raising her.

Mrs. Bidwell wants to find homes for the cats that are still living in the one-story residence, where the first indication of the cat population is the smell. Then, the cats appear from behind furniture, from under tables and from various rooms.

"I don't want any of these cats inside put to sleep," Mrs. Bidwell said. "They were mom and dad's pride and joy."

There are six kittens a few weeks old, two of which Mrs. Bidwell has taken to her home in the town of Clayton.

"The mother is not feeding them," she said. "I think she might be pregnant."

Mrs. Bidwell said Mrs. Jackson spayed or neutered the animals when she could: "She had a few fixed, but it was difficult. She couldn't keep up with the expense."

The cats without tails were born that way, said Howard Fuller, Mrs. Jackson's brother, who lived in the residence with the Jacksons until the accident.

"They are like rabbit cats," he said.

On Tuesday morning, Mrs. Bidwell, her husband, Carl, and Mr. Fuller paid a visit to the home and fed the cats.

"He's been staying with friends," Mrs. Bidwell said of Mr. Fuller. "He doesn't feel comfortable here."

"I just can't stay here," she said. "We have children in school. We're trying to give the cats the attention they need, but it's hard."

Mrs. Bidwell said she already owns several cats. "If I could take them all in, I would," she said. "My landlord won't let me."

She said Wendy L. Warren, owner of the Shaggy Dog in Brownville, has offered to help her find homes for them. Mrs. Bidwell said Mrs. Jackson took her teacup poodle,Double MJ(Midnight Madness Jackson), to Shaggy Dog for his grooming needs. Double MJ also was killed in the May 21 crash.

Mrs. Bidwell said a few of the cats have found homes, including a stately Siamese, which sat quietly Tuesday and watched the proceedings of the visitors.

"The cats were mom's life," Mrs. Bidwell said. "All of this came up very unexpectedly. It's been very hard."

To adopt any of the cats, Mrs. Bidwell said, people can call her home at 285-5002 or her cell phone at 399-9009. They also can call her husband's cell phone, 955-5875.