Shelter Cat Busted for Setting Other Cats Free

A naughty feline named Quilty earned its internet fame for repeatedly engaging in prison breaks at a Texas animal shelter. What's more interesting? Quilty brings all of his feline friends along with him when he escapes.

Late October, the Friends for Life animal shelter of Houston posted about its little Houdini on Facebook. The organization said "shameless" Quilty would not be contained. The post added the cat likes to allow the cats out of the room several times a day.

Jennifer Hopkins, the communications lead at Friends for Life, said Quilty "could be a little difficult." She said the door to shelter's cat room, where the kitty usually stays, kept mysteriously opening.

Hopkins said the cat's frequent jailbreaks prompted the staff to "Quilty-proof" the feline rooms since 15 kitties, who joins Quilty, enjoy nighttime escapades around the sanctuary. However, the crew had to agree to disagree as they don't miss the morning cat wrangling.

It seems that the six-year-old cat has always been a master in prison breaks. According to the shelter, Quilty would let his dog siblings in the house at his previous home.

Pictures of Quilty's confinement won thousands of fans on Facebook, garnering over 16,000 shares, and more than 11,000 comments. The cat became so loved that the shelter proceeded to update followers regarding the cat's antics and repeated escape efforts.

The shelter even began selling merchandise, including shirts branded with the hashtag #FreeQuilty and #QuiltyNotGuilty. An Instagram account was set up for the cat.

   

 View this post on Instagram

 TODAY, a new day to judge humans. Never give up on your dreams, fam. XOXO See you guys in a few hours. . . . #freeQuilty #NoMoreDoors #QuiltyNotGuilty A post shared by  freequilty (@free_quilty) on Nov 9, 2019 at 6:27am PST

Quilty's story appears to be heading toward a happy ending unlike many other escapees. People wanted to adopt the cat that is quite apathetic about opening doors. Quilty's nickname at the shelter, according to Hopkins, is "spicy a-hole."

Quilty would be on a week trial period with a potential adopter

The shelter updated the cat's online profile Tuesday. The post said the pet is on a one-week trial period with a potential adopter, who appeared to be excited about him.

Quilty has matched with a potential adoptive family and is expecting the following steps so the kitten could move in to his new permanent home - and, hopefully, not try to escape out of the new residence.

Quilty retains a special place at the rescue despite it all. He was born in 2012 and was named after a character from the Vladimir Nobokov novel "Lolita." The cat in Nobkov's novel would prove to be problematic.

Hopkins says he was almost instantly adopted to a loving home. However, the supposed fur mom needed to move and could not bring Quilty with her which made the kitty return at Friends for Life.