Cats caught in legal suit

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County couple is being sued over the possession of two felines, according to 1st District Court records.

Carolynn Foland brought the suit against Jodi and Thomas Rawson on March 7.

Foland contends in the suit that her biological brother died earlier this year in Spokane and two cats — a 9-year-old spayed Maltese called Maggie May and a 5-year-old neutered Siamese named Mr. Kitty — were turned over to the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services. A day after the death, Jodi Rawson claimed ownership of the cats and falsely represented that Foland’s brother had no next of kin, the suit alleges.

Although there was a five-day hold on the cats, SCRAPS released them to Rawson, the suit said. Rawson had known the cats’ owner since 2018, according to the lawsuit.

Foland received the following text from Jodi Rawson after she obtained the cats:

“Please consider letting me and them be without subjecting them to the stress of another transition.”

Foland’s counsel, Adam Karp of the Animal Law Offices in Bellingham, Wash., argues the text message serves as acknowledgment that the cats rightfully belong to his client.

SCRAPS officials attempted to retrieve the cats, but Thomas Rawson said his wife was having a panic attack and that his daughter will not part with Maggie, the suit alleges.

Foland’s father assumed control of his late son’s estate and demanded the cats’ return, but the demand was not met, according to the suit.

Foland is being represented by the same attorney who secured a $80,000 settlement from the city of Coeur d’Alene after one of its police officers shot and killed Arfee, a 2-year-old Labrador that was inside a van in 2015.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.