10/03/2026
WHAT’S UP WITH FLORIDA LATELY!!!!
This is absolutely heartbreaking and unacceptable. We need Justice for this man! Speak out against this! Speak 🗣️
Outrage is growing in Jacksonville, Florida after 77 year old Louis Abbruzze, who has a broken ankle and walks with a cane, was put in handcuffs at his warehouse over a misdemeanor wildlife feeding charge.
And the story behind these cats makes this even more heartbreaking.
Louis and his wife lost their only son in 2010.
Not long afterward, stray cats began showing up around their warehouse.
They didn’t ignore them.
They trapped them.
They got them vaccinated.
They got them fixed.
They found homes for as many as they could.
Seven cats remained.
For 16 YEARS Louis says he has cared for these cats, leaving the warehouse door cracked so they could come inside, eat, sleep and get out of the weather.
He said these cats became like his children and helped him and his wife keep going after losing their son.
Then complaints started over raccoons getting to the food.
Louis says he had previously been told to feed the cats and remove the food when raccoons appeared, and that he tried to follow those instructions.
But on September 15, officers returned.
This time they didn’t just issue another citation.
They put this 77 year old man with a broken ankle and a cane in HANDCUFFS and arrested him on a misdemeanor wildlife feeding charge.
Florida wildlife officials say the issue involved raccoons having access to the food. Louis says he was feeding the cats, not intentionally feeding raccoons.
And THAT distinction matters.
Nobody is saying wildlife laws should simply be ignored. There are legitimate reasons not to intentionally feed raccoons and other wildlife.
But where is the COMMON SENSE and COMPASSION?
This man has spent 16 years caring for community cats.
Why aren’t authorities working WITH caregivers on enclosed feeding stations, controlled feeding times, TNR programs and ways to keep wildlife away from cat food BEFORE an elderly caregiver ends up in handcuffs?
This is why community cat caregivers everywhere need to start standing up and getting organized.
Know your local ordinances.
Document everything.
Keep TNR, vaccination and veterinary records.
Get permission to feed on private property.
Use controlled feeding times and remove leftover food.
Contact officials when laws need to be changed.
Attend public meetings.
Push for written protections for responsible community cat caregivers.
There is REAL animal cruelty, abandonment and neglect happening every single day.
Those cases desperately need enforcement and resources.
A responsible community cat caregiver trying to keep animals alive should be met with cooperation and humane solutions, not treated like some dangerous criminal.
God gave us responsibility for His creation.
“The righteous care for the needs of their animals.”
Proverbs 12:10
We need to get back to compassion.
Fix them.
Feed them responsibly.
TNR them.
Shelter them.
Protect them.
Care for them.
LET THE MAN CARE FOR HIS CATS. 🐾🙏
And let’s fight for humane laws that protect community cats AND the compassionate people caring for them.
READ THE ARTICLE HERE 👇
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/77-old-jacksonville-warehouse-owner-030222817.html
PLEASE SHARE and help bring attention to what happened to Louis and the need for stronger protections for community cat caregivers.
