"I’m the original spicy a-hole cat." #freeQuilty

November 12, 2019 7:35 AM

A cat named Quilty has been sentenced to solitary confinement for continually letting other cats out of their enclosures at his shelter after multiple warnings failed to curb the problem. The serial offender was caught by staff at Friends For Life Animal Rescue and Adoption Organization jail-breaking other felines out of the senior room 'repeatedly, several times a day'.

No post is complete without dogs.

posted by Johnny Wallflower (44 comments total)

h/t MexicanYenta
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:35 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

"None of us is free until we're all free" - Quilty, probably.
posted by asteria at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2019 [48 favorites]

What a face!
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

We support this cat prison abolitionist
posted by The Whelk at 8:14 AM on November 12, 2019 [15 favorites]

Quilty cleverly devised a scheme for going viral to gain himself a furever home. go Quilty!!! #catprisonabolition
posted by supermedusa at 8:15 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

Whoever runs their social media on FB has done an exquisite job. There are now tee shirts and everything.
posted by merriment at 8:16 AM on November 12, 2019 [7 favorites]

I put cat treats in empty boxes to give my cat some challenge and stimulation.

As a result our home can no longer have boxes for any other purpose.

Be very careful what you teach a cat to do because they will do it.
posted by srboisvert at 8:23 AM on November 12, 2019 [44 favorites]

Be very careful what you teach a cat to do because they will do it.

Our cat pees in boxes and bins and baskets, so he never gets to play in boxes or bins or baskets.
posted by turkeybrain at 8:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

Be very careful what you teach a cat to do because they will do it.

I tried to teach my cat to hi five. Now he smacks me in the face with his paw whenever he wants me to do things.
posted by stillnocturnal at 8:32 AM on November 12, 2019 [93 favorites]

I love Quilty!
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:40 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Looks like Popeye's has a potential spokescat for its violence-inducing spicy a-hole chicken sandwich.

Also, get that cat a soundboard, stat.
posted by zaixfeep at 8:48 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Seems like they may have found a home for Quilty. That's awesome. Now do all the other kitties!
posted by jzb at 8:50 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

Speaking of a-hole cats, there's Costra (aka "The GG Allin of cats"). I found this flyer seeking his return nearly two years ago now. "He is not an easy going or nice cat," his exasperated owner sighs. "But we are somehow emotionally attached to him."

I wonder if they ever got him back and, if so, what terrible wounds he inflicted on his rescuer in the process?
posted by Paul Slade at 8:59 AM on November 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

Truth srboisvert. Made a climbing gym for the kittens out of a small foldable drying rack for environmental enrichment as they are indoor cats. They learned to climb all the things, including the kitchen rack, the coat rack (which was promptly reconfigured to be 4 ft high instead of 6 ft high so as to reduce heart palpitations), the other much taller drying rack, and well, now I've been cruising the thrift stores looking for other tall things they can climb.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:26 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

And who has set these cats free? I am Spartacat!
posted by cenoxo at 9:57 AM on November 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

BRICK BY BRICK!
WALL BY WALL!
WE'RE GONNA FREE MEOWMIA ABU JAMAL
posted by symbioid at 10:07 AM on November 12, 2019 [3 favorites]

There is no breaking you or anybody else out of their enclosure. Anyone breaking themselves or anybody else out of their enclosure spends a night in the cat box.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 10:08 AM on November 12, 2019

How to lose an argument with a cat
posted by The Whelk at 10:24 AM on November 12, 2019 [36 favorites]

There are near-infinite ways to lose an argument with a cat. How to WIN the argument (cat must agree) is the real question.
posted by jeather at 10:34 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]

I stand in solidarity with comrade Quilty.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:03 PM on November 12, 2019 [9 favorites]

And who has set these cats free? I am Spartacat!

I was gonna go with Harriet Tabbyman, but Spartacat works.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:45 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

A #FreeQuilty shirt is great and all until you have to explain it to someone who's read Lolita.
posted by aws17576 at 6:59 PM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

LoveMeow has a lengthy post on Quilty, pulling together much of the narrative with pix & further links.
posted by cheshyre at 7:23 PM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

Are there any actual videos of him opening a door?
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:11 PM on November 12, 2019

Perhaps you’ve heard the feline maxim, “Whichever side of the door the cat is on, it’s the wrong side.”? There are several door opening techniques (YT) available to the curious cat.

In his conversations with other cats at the shelter, Quilty undoubtedly heard of these methods, and through trial and error, found the one best suited to his natural physical abilities. Motive, opportunity, and skill – it’s elementary, my dear Catson.
posted by cenoxo at 3:56 AM on November 13, 2019

My cat can absolutely open doors with the ADA paddle handles. When I need to close him up in another room for some reason, I have to actually lock the door or he will get out in 2 seconds.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:04 AM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Christopher Ingraham @_cingraham on twitter: The World’s Worst Cat has discovered that he can wake the big people up by barging into the toddler’s room at 6 AM and waking *him* up.

Thread continues, and other people chime in.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:29 AM on November 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

youngercatbailard likes the shoulder rides I've been giving her since she was tinykittenbailard.

She has concluded I'm very useful in this regard; now she'll jump from the sink to my shoulder to get up above the bathroom cupboard.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:31 AM on November 13, 2019

Fridges too.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:42 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

I volunteer regularly at Friends for Life, so I've gotten to know Quilty over the last couple months or so. I work the morning shift before the shelter opens, cleaning up after dozens of felines. The other day Quilty got out at least five times while I was cleaning the room he was in. His escapes, which usually result in one of the staff or another volunteer snatching his large self up in the hallway rather than large-scale jailbreaks, were all of the usual door-dashing variety, since I stopped him from opening the door. (I'd left the child/Quilty lock disarmed and he made a couple passes at the door handle. No dice, big man.)

The staff behind the #freequilty campaign have done a great job, and this past weekend Quilty went on a sleepover. I missed the mock press conference they held on Saturday to mark the occasion. He's a really sweet, clever cat, and I hope his new human companions manage to keep him entertained. That said, it's a lot easier cleaning the cat rooms in the morning without having to chase that dude down or having him yell at me to let him out because he's sick of being cooped up.
posted by heteronym at 6:48 AM on November 13, 2019 [57 favorites]

How to lose an argument with a cat

RICK

RICK

RICK

I NEED VITAMIN D RICK
posted by Mayor West at 6:50 AM on November 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

More cat crime!
posted by jeather at 7:07 AM on November 13, 2019

video: The only thing more stubborn than a cat with a purloined steak is two other cats with that same purloined steak. (humorous, no fighting.)
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:45 AM on November 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

Thin Lizzy was nice enough to write Quilty a theme song
posted by COBRA! at 8:35 AM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I wonder if he's the one who let Professor Jiggly loose?
posted by mikeand1 at 9:07 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

I volunteer regularly at Friends for Life, so I've gotten to know Quilty

A CELEBRITY IN OUR MIDST. I hope Quilty finds a forever home but if you ever see him again, please give him all my love and scitches. I adore him more than is healthy.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:13 AM on November 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

I hope Quilty finds a forever home but if you ever see him again, please give him all my love and scitches.

I certainly will, and let him know that other Mefites love him too.
posted by heteronym at 11:47 AM on November 13, 2019 [5 favorites]

Hi there! Just popping in with another Quilty update! He has really taken over the role of King of the house. He loves to be held like a baby and have his tummy rubbed and looks down on his human minions to do his bidding.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:41 PM on November 13, 2019 [10 favorites]

From the Quilty update: "Anytime he is ignored, he just starts meow-ing REALLY loudly and then Bam, he is being loved on and spoiled."

Be very careful what you teach a cat to do because they will do it.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 4:08 PM on November 13, 2019 [6 favorites]

sebastienbailard: […] two other cats with that same purloined steak.

The middle cat has really got this one figured out. Let the other two fight over the steak, playing tug-of-war and unable to let go without losing it, while middle-kit just gnaws away, eating the meat that's conveniently held out for them.
posted by JiBB at 11:55 AM on November 14, 2019 [6 favorites]

While picking our cats up from being boarded, I told the cat-sitter about Quilty.
Halfway home, Small managed to get out of her carrier. She spent the rest of the drive checking the view from the backseat windows.
posted by cheshyre at 9:54 AM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, there's your mistake. I'm slightly obsessed with Quilty but only speak of him around your feline friends in my hushed tones, whispering and maybe spelling certain dangerous words. They don't need any inspiration to learn new ways to have adventurous pains in the ass.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:42 AM on November 16, 2019

And they have cat jackets on!
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:32 AM on November 18, 2019

Came for Professor Jiggly on the loose, was not disappointed
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:38 PM on November 18, 2019