A cat has been put in “solitary confinement" by an animal shelter for being a rebel and letting other cats out to roam the halls.
Friends For Life Animal Shelter in Texas explained that Quilty the cat used to let the dog out at his former home, and has been repeating these tricks now that he is in a shelter, by letting other cats out of their room “several times a day."
“Quilty will not be contained. And he has no shame," the shelter said on Facebook while posting photos of Quilty after he was separated from the other cats. “Quilty loves to let cats out of the senior room. Repeatedly. Several times a day. We have since Quilty-proofed the cat room while he took a brief hiatus in the lobby. His roommates missed him while he was banished to the lobby."
Quilty's escape attempts and subsequent solitary confinement have spawned hashtags including #FreeQuilty and #QuiltyNotGuilty.
The cat has also been featured on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, with a correspondent calling the cat's actions “The Pawshank Redemption."
“Quilty is currently on a sleepover, which is a one-week 'trial' period where a potential adopter takes an animal to their home to see how it's going to work out," Jennifer Hopkins, communications manager for the shelter, told the PA news agency.
Hopkins reported that the potential adopters say the cat is “doing really well."
Hopkins told PA that Quilty's influence has touched the whole shelter, with a kitten quickly learning the Houdini-like cat's escape techniques.
“It has now become contagious to a few other cats, including a soon-to-be announced Quilty protege, Jet," she said. “Jet is just a tiny kitten, but he is striving to become the escape master that Quilty is."
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