A Houston, Texas escape artist cat named Quilty made the news after he repeatedly let the other shelter kitties out at Friends for Life Animal Shelter.
The staff knew Quilty well, having cared for him previously when he was a kitten. Then, when he was seven, he was returned sadly after learning how to let the family dog out. According to the Houston Chronicle, his family moved and didn’t him along. Argh.
At any rate, that’s when all the Quilty trouble/fun started at the shelter.
When he wasn’t letting the other cats out of the senior room, Quilty was trying to break out of the Big House, inspiring a funny “Free Quilty” movement on social media.
Quilty in all his “badonka-chonk gorgeousness” Images via Facebook/Friends for Life Animal Shelter, Houston
Catching Quilty in the Act
At first, the staff didn’t know how the cats were getting out. Notably, the felines cohabitate together in rooms rather than in kennels. But how was the large heavy door getting opened?
One night, twelve cats escaped, with catastrophic results as they went on nighttime escapades. According to shelter employee Beth Brown, one cat pooped in a donation bin in the lobby while another peed on a computer mouse pad. Around the lobby, things were thrown about as if the cats had quite the party.
After watching the surveillance video, they saw Quilty was the cunning culprit.
One afternoon, Quilty tried to let the other cats out three times in a row as shelter staff watched. This rebel leader was just that determined and bold.
Quilty Goes to Solitary Confinement
Once they knew Quilty was an escape artist/ rebel leader, the staff put him in solitary confinement. However, Quilty wasn’t having it and busted out. Repeatedly, they tried to secure the door handle (or Quitly-proof it), so he couldn’t get out, but he broke out again and again.
“Quilty’s review with the parole board was denied, so he released himself of his own recognizance today. He felt that confinement had nothing more to offer him,” one shelter worker wrote in a Facebook comment.
The clever Quilty was caught on video jumping into the air to pull down the door handle. In another video, he paws at the window, refusing to give up on his liberation. Then, he gets “perp-walked” back to his room when he snuck out during a staff meeting.
A Spicy A-Hole 🌶🌶🌶
After solitary confinement, Quilty was really getting spicy, meowing loudly in protest.
“He is being a spicy a-hole now,” after they put Quilty in the integration kennel used as a temporary holding area. Later, funny merch with the phrase which helped support the shelter efforts. Then, the Free Quilty movement was born.
“He did not want to be contained,” said Lena Liab. “He’s got no shame, and Quilty has such a big personality.”
As for the language, Friends for Life’s Jennifer Hopkins says it’s all a fun way to connect with people online while promoting adoptions.
“We don’t want to ‘Sarah McLachlan’ anyone with our communications; bringing a new family member into your home should be a joyful experience,” Hopkins said. “We want to create more of that in the world, and if it means calling a cat a ‘spicy a-hole,’ then we’re your people.”
Certainly, the spicy recipe worked, as Quilty, named after the book “Lolita,” rocketed to international fame.
Video by KPRC 2 Houston:
Quilty Inspires a Movement and Adoptions
News of the cat rebellion leader caught the eye of “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” BuzzFeed, TIME magazine, and the Washington Post.
“Somehow capable of prying open heavy doors despite his diminutive stature and lack of opposable thumbs, he exasperated his handlers with his crafty ways,” wrote the Post.
See Quilty in action from The Washington Post:
Online, a Twitter user posted “please someone go adopt this criminal cat,” reaching almost 50K shares.
please someone go adopt this criminal cat pic.twitter.com/jqLfPN1BjE
— Jade Van Kley (@BacklineNurse) November 4, 2019
Then, Quilty got his own Free Quilty page on Instagram with hilarious captions written from his perspective.
“It’s a new day. A new day to dream of freedom. A new day to yearn and strive for what is beyond (this door).
I will never give up…will never surrender…will never fall into the seductive lull of mediocrity and compliance. Despite the Temptations and siren’s song of giving up this battle, I will persevere.
Hold fast, my army. You stand sentry over this revolution. #freeQuilty #NoMoreDoors #QuiltyNotGuilty“
Purrole from the Hairless Monkeys
After all the news about Quilty, there were plenty of offers to adopt him.
Eventually, Quilty went on a sleepover with a prospective family, where he was immediately made “King of the house.” Then, Quilty gained “purrole” from the “hairless monkeys” in the shelter and had a “pawty” celebrating his adoption.
As you can see below, the cat’s new family was thrilled to bring Quilty home at last.
To mark the cat’s liberation, the shelter gave a funny mock press conference with legal counsel. Salise Shuttlesworth discussed the use of “Habeaus Cattus” to secure Quilty’s release.
Speaking for Quilty, she said:
“When I freed those cats, my compadres, my soul mates, my teammates, I freed them so they could get on the right side of the door,” she said. “The side of the door where there’s a home,” she continued.
Moreover, the Free Quilty movement, she explained, was about finding homes for all shelter cats everywhere. And the movement continues in spirit today, though Quilty has retired from view, content in his forever home.
“Every great movement starts with one rebel. One voice,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “One set of paws that turn the cultural knob of progress. And we live in a time that there are certainly plenty of knobs preventing progress.”
A Story for Every Cat on the Wrong Side of the Door
Now, Quilty is being spoiled as he lives a private life. Perhaps, rising to fame was a bit overwhelming for the leader of the rebellion. We can all relate to the struggle to be free, and once there, to live the life we all deserve in peace.
Nevertheless, his hilarious story continues to inspire shelter adoptions and donations, and not just for Friends for Life Animal Shelter.
“His story inspired adoptions, not just at our shelter, but elsewhere,” the page states. “Free Quilty invigorated people to visit shelter animals and give them a chance. And there are many, many more waiting to get to the other side of the door.”
“Free Quilty is for every cat on the wrong side of the door,” they said.
Today, plenty of spicy, sassy cats like Quilty are ready to bust loose from the shelter and find a loving home.
Follow Friends for Life Animal Shelter on Facebook and Instagram.
Quilty as a kitten
