Quarantined Cat Freed Under House Arrest

Frisky the cat, quarantined since last month after a brush with a coyote and at one point facing a death sentence, went home Friday, but will be under house arrest for three months.

“Hi, sweetie!” owner Twyla Henson said as she left Orange County Animal Care Services in Orange with the cat.

Frisky, who lives with the Henson family in Fullerton, was cornered by a coyote on a neighbor’s porch Sept. 22. Though the family said the pet was not bitten, they alerted county animal control officials about the encounter, just in case the coyote was rabid.

The Hensons say they were told to keep the cat indoors for 10 days. Animal control authorities say the rabies quarantine period is six months, and that one of their officers found a puncture wound on the cat’s hip.

On Dec. 23, an animal control officer spotted Frisky outdoors and reminded the Hensons about the quarantine rules.

When the cat was outside again the next day, she was picked up and taken to the pound. The Hensons then faced the choice of paying the county $1,100 to board the cat until the quarantine period ends March 22 or have Frisky euthanized.

To get the cat back, Henson signed a contract agreeing to keep Frisky indoors and allow surprise visits by an animal probation officer of sorts.

Henson said she thinks the county released the cat only because of a public outcry after The Times published a story Monday.

Francis said the supervised release was always an option, which the Hensons would have known if they had called her instead of the news media.

She also said that if the cat should develop rabies and bite somebody, critics would lambaste the agency for being too lax.