PORT ANGELES – One of the two veterinarians named in a lawsuit of a woman whose 31 cats were seized said on Friday that she grew concerned when the woman insisted on taking home kittens that were very ill.
Virginia Johnson, a Port Hadlock veterinarian Johnson, said that there are no grounds for the lawsuit filed on Thursday by Julie Yu, 52, of Port Angeles.
Yu filed the lawsuit in Clallam County District Court on Thursday after 31 live cats and three dead kittens were taken from her small mobile home on Wednesday.
The lawsuit demands the return of the cats.
It also seeks $100 million from the city of Port Angeles, $10 million from Clallam County, $1 million from Johnson and $200 million from Paul Weiseth, a Port Angeles veterinarian.
Weiseth did not return a telephone call to his clinic requesting comment on Friday.
Wednesday’s seizure was prompted by a report from Johnson and Weiseth to the Clallam County Humane Society about the number of Yu’s cats and the severity of their illnesses.
Johnson said Yu brought in nine or 10 cats with various illnesses, then an additional 13 kittens that were extremely ill and needed intensive care.
“The kittens were kept overnight and treated. My techs spent hours with them,” she said.
The next day, Yu insisted she be allowed to take the kittens home, Johnson said.
Yu paid part of the bill for the kittens and half of the bill for the adult cats.
Johnson strongly urged Yu not to take kittens, but Yu said no, she had to have them.
“That’s what concerned me,” Johnson said.
“She took the kittens against my medical advice.
“So I called the Humane Society and they said, ‘We know her very well.'”
Johnson wrote a statement to the Clallam County Humane Society regarding her experience with the cats and kittens and that started the investigation, Johnson said.
Johnson said she has no other comment until she sees what happens with the case.
Before the cats were seized from the mobile home, Yu had placed an additional 35 or so cats in veterinary care.
Port Angeles Police estimate that, at one point, Yu had about 75 cats in her single-wide mobile home, which is between 700 and 900 square feet.
The cats had a variety of illnesses including upper respiratory infections, eye and ear infections, Cpl. Barb McFall of the Port Angeles Police Department said on Wednesday.
Criminal charges against Yu are being considered by the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office.
In her lawsuit, Yu claims that the animals were seized illegally, and that the action cost her mental stress and monetary cost because of siding that was removed from her house during the capture of the cats.
About half of her cats are now at the Humane Society shelter and the rest are being cared for at Weiseth’s All Animal Veterinary Hospital in Port Angeles.
