Cat's Lose Visiting Privilages at Women's Prison

from CNN

At the Southeast State Correctional Facility, inmates are subjected to head counts several times a day. But not Ziggy, Marmalade, Smokey and Shane -- they come and go as they please. They're prison cats -- but only for now. They are being involuntarily paroled by the new superintendent of Vermont's largest women's prison, to the chagrin of inmates who feed them, pay for their care and cherish them.

Cats have been fixtures at the farm-turned-prison since the 1980s, sleeping in warm garages and nooks and crannies on the 22-building campus and keeping it mouse-free. The number fluctuated as the prison became a dumping ground for unwanted felines and they found their way under fences, into barns and into the hearts of inmates.

Due to recent disruptions involving the cats, about a month ago, the prison started giving away the cats. Inmates have been scratched, and some are allergic to cats, or just don't like them. Recently, an inmate used a cigarette lighter to burn the fur off one of them. That cat has since recovered and is now living with a staff member.