Felicity Banks

The Crimes of Which I Am Accused

December 15, 2025 at 11:39 am (Uncategorized) (cat, cats, kitten, kittens, pets)

Unfortunately, that title is not a joke.

It’s been almost two years since most of this happened, but I know there are people out there who still believe certain things about me that are simply not true. Given the seriousness of the accusations, I want to very briefly say what happened so I can direct people here both now and in the future.

Summary:

I never did anything illegal.

I never did anything cruel or neglectful.

Rather than ‘kidnapping’ two kittens, I was trying to protect them from neglect—and I was right to do so.

In late December 2023 I began minding an incredibly friendly kitten as a foster for one of the many local cat rescue groups. I’ll call my main contact person Bob (although they are female). In consultation with Bob, I added five more kittens to the group. They all got on extremely well very quickly, and were also very friendly towards humans. One day it occurred to me that they were ideally suited to be the feline staff of a ‘cat cafe’—a small business in which people pay to play with cats. I’ve always wished Canberra had a cat cafe. In the past I’ve run several micro businesses, all of them ultimately making a profit (which is remarkable and mainly due to minimal up-front costs). So I realised that in some ways I was the perfect person to start a Canberra cat cafe where people could enjoy playing with kittens: the kittens could get a wider range of humans to socialise them (something that is recommended by the RSPCA); and I could make money from one of the few things I am able to do (I am disabled by chronic illness and cannot earn enough to even pay for my medical costs—but I have to try to earn something because life is expensive).

I soft-launched “Tabby Time” by posting on a few FaceBook groups. I was extremely clear that this particular Cat Cafe would not serve food or coffee, and would be held in my very ordinary and often messy house (I do tidy my home, but there are four people living here and all four of us have special needs of some kind). There was an immediate enthusiastic response. Then, within days, someone (who does not live in Canberra) posted on reddit, offended that I would charge money without a fancy venue or coffee. A lot of people mocked me or were offended, but I didn’t especially mind as anyone who knows anything about cat cafes knows that, for hygiene reasons, they often DON’T serve food or drink. And, anyone who loved cats would instantly understand that the cats were the point and this was a cool thing to have in Canberra.

People quickly decided my cat cafe was illegal, because it was not yet insured. I was, as always, very open about my insurance status. It is unwise but not illegal to run a business without insurance, and I had guessed correctly that public liability insurance would cost a huge amount (over $2000/year; considerably more than the cafe was ever likely to earn). This whole cat cafe was just a tiny thing for a few cat lovers to enjoy. The goal was to connect cats and people without making my life worse, and to maybe get bigger if it all worked well.

The closest I came to doing something illegal was saying that if people were thirsty I could give them some water, tea or Milo. I never actually DID give anyone anything to eat or drink because they were always so enthralled by the cats they didn’t feel hungry or thirsty BUT it is technically illegal for a small business to give someone a glass of tap water without a food preparation licence. (Later on I supplied bottled water for this reason.)

So no, I did not ever run an illegal business.

The tide turned online when someone decided that I was cruel to animals. This was either based on my appearance of incompetence; the accusations of running an illegal business; or simply the fact that most cats (including my two non-foster cats, one of whom is pictured below watching a bird) absolutely WOULD hate the very concept of a cat cafe.

But.

I. was. never. and. will. never. be. cruel. or. neglectful. towards. animals.

Let’s break this up into three parts.

1. The idea that a cat cafe is innately cruel.

The majority of kittens I foster love having new human visitors. For example, the kittens I am fostering right now typically have play times lasting twenty or thirty minutes. When two of my volunteers visited a few days ago, they played for an hour and a half, including climbing all over the volunteers.

I never ran many cat cafe sessions (it was never open for more than a few hours at a time, either—my illness means I get too tired to function very quickly, plus of course the kittens would get tired) but I facilitated a lot of very special moments, such as teenage boys melting when the kittens chose to nap on their lap, and a young girl slowly getting over her fear of cats.

For me, running a cat cafe was exactly like inviting cat-loving friends over to play with my foster kittens. The only difference is that I have extremely high hygiene standards now (which have stayed even though the cafe is closed), and I let strangers visit, and they paid me. For the kittens the experience is identical—and fun.

More importantly, my kittens choose their level of interaction. They are able to leave the visitor space at any time! Any human visitors are only allowed in one section of my house, and there are always high places, hiding places, AND exit routes for the kittens.

The humans are also supervised very closely, and not allowed to pick up the cats unless I say it is okay (for example, when a kitten is sitting at their feet literally meowing to be picked up).

2. The idea that a cat cafe is innately exploitative.

Exploitation can mean “to use resources” or it can mean “to treat someone unfairly in order to benefit”. A few people really hate the idea of a cat foster gaining any kind of benefit from fostering cats. I agree that I should not do anything that harms the cats (including causing them stress—other than when a small amount of stress is good for them, eg getting slowly used to the sound of a vacuum cleaner in order to have a happier life in the long term). But I do not agree that someone should never make a profit from doing a job that is worthwhile! Teachers and vets and nurses and zookeepers and doctors and many many other professionals are doing important work. In an ideal world, all jobs would be paid. Writers! Foster carers! Those caring for unwell relatives! Artists! Etc! And yes, it’s rare for foster carers to be paid. But the best cat cafes benefit the human workers (who get paid), the customers (who get to play with cats), AND the cats—both because they get more attention (on their own terms), and because any foster cats are more likely to be adopted. That’s a win-win-win scenario. Fantastic!

3. The idea that a cat cafe is unsafe (for either humans or animals).

Human visitors need to be told that there is always a risk of scratches from cats—even the most well-trained cat will dig its claws in if it loses its balance. If a cat cafe doesn’t have a special glassed-in area for food and drink, it’s probably not hygienic to eat or drink there. I kept anti-histamines, spray disinfectant, and bandaids on hand as well as various other first-aid supplies.

Humans also need to sanitise their hands before they touch the cats, and when they leave. And they need to be supervised. I use F10 vet-grade sanitiser and stay in the room. Generally my customers get a free lecture on cat care and communication, whether they want it or not, because that’s how I roll (cats are an Autistic special interest for me).

If the cats are unwell, the cafe closes until they’re fully recovered.

I also vaccinate the kittens before they see anyone, and I arrange for them to have their second vaccination before adoption (as far as I know I am the only foster organisation that does both kitten vaccinations).

Here’s another litter I fostered and found homes for:

There are two more things I was accused of at around that time, both related to the agency I was working for.

First, that I never asked their permission to run a cat cafe. This has been perpetuated by Bob2, who I didn’t really interact with until he showed up at my house. If Bob didn’t communicate things to her co-worker, that is actually not my fault.

In fact, when I brought up the idea of a cat cafe Bob said, “If it helps with fostering, go for it.” We continued talking about it before I started it, and when it was running. She had only a vague idea of what a cat cafe was, and we were both taken by surprise that it attracted so much attention so quickly—but I respect her and her work, and I’m not stupid enough to launch a small business without asking the boss if it’s okay!

Things got so wild that some people said they were withdrawing donations from that agency. At least one of them was lying in order to get attention, but this was still devastating news for anyone who cares about cats because taking money away from foster agencies means cats will definitely die. There are way too many homeless cats out there, and not enough foster agencies to care for them all. When we say no to a cat, we know they may get put down. It’s devastating. (I know at least one agency that takes on way way too many cats for this reason, literally keeping dozens in a single very cramped and stinky house. I know another that euthanises kittens immediately.)

Other people online saw what was happening, immediately understood that people were hearing rumours and lies and causing real harm, and tried to donate to the foster agency. But the foster agency was so disturbed by all of this that they refused donations for a time. Because reputation matters that much.

I was desperate to protect the agency so I encouraged them to make me a scapegoat, even while they always made it clear that I had never been cruel or neglectful to the animals in my care. I know now it would have been smarter for them to say, “We stand by our foster carer. We would not have let her foster kittens if we were not confident that she is trustworthy.” and then to ignore any further chaos. Oh well.

The RSPCA and the Department of Domestic Animal Safety both came and did a surprise inspection of my premises. I like to think it’s fun for them to see a bunch of healthy, happy kittens. Certainly they were perfectly content with my set-up (the only issue was that I had two water bowls in the cat-only area and they said there should be three). But of course once an internet mob scents blood, they cannot listen to reason. I’m not sure why people think that a random on reddit is more trustworthy than the two departments who specialise in animal care and safety, but here we are. (I was also reported to the NDIS because I said I thought there might be a way for people to use the cat cafe as unofficial therapy. I never encouraged fraud but to be fair I do get confused by the NDIS rules… which of course I also said up front and publicly.)

The foster agency I was working with had already decided to take away the six kittens I was fostering. The RSPCA and DAS inspections meant nothing to them (not surprisingly, since they knew the kittens were thriving in my care and were taking them away only to appease the mob).

I had already found homes for four of the kittens, and I knew that the agency did not actually have enough resources to look after “my” six as well as those they were already caring for. So I had a dilemma: to do what was best for the kittens, or to do what a bunch of abusive internet strangers wanted me to do.

As I said, I respect the agency. But I knew they were doing the wrong thing. BUT, their reputation is a matter of life and death.

I attempted to contact the future owners. One of them was not available, but the other said they did NOT want their kittens to be given to the agency. That meant that it was foster carer + future owner VS foster agency.

So I compromised: I gave four kittens back to the agency, and insisted that the last two (the two whose owner I had spoken to) either remain in my care or go directly to their new owner (this would be a foster-to-adopt situation in which he would not legally own them until they were desexed). I knew that this would look VERY bad online but as always I prioritised the health and safety of the kittens over my own well-being.

So, the final crime of which I am accused is kidnapping two kittens.

Here are the relevant facts:

1. Although I had previously requested paperwork from the agency (specifically, I asked for their foster guide) they never gave me anything. The RSPCA guidelines emphasise that the RSPCA can confiscate foster kittens at any time for any reason, so although legally the smaller agency I worked with never even mentioned that they might claim back the kittens I was aware that there was precedent.
2. Five of the six kittens I was fostering had never met Bob or Bob2.
3. Although there was never any paperwork, Bob and I talked regularly about kitten care. She was an excellent mentor/trainer and she also had reason to know that I was an excellent foster carer. She is good at what she does.
4. As soon as I said that I would not give up the last two kittens, Bob2 made me verbally agree on a recording that the kittens now belonged to me and I was responsible for any vet care that was required. Less than an hour later, the owner paid the adoption fees to Bob2. We all never mentioned that legal agreement again. So… the agency was willing to give up the kitten but immediately took it back when money was offered. This is TOTALLY FINE WITH ME and is not cruel or shocking. The only weird bit is that they tried to punish me by making me (briefly) the legal owner of those two kittens. While also screaming to the press that I kidnapped them. They didn’t show me the same consideration I showed them—protecting reputation as much as possible in order to save the lives of more cats. I am also a foster carer, and hurting me hurts the cats that I can’t save. So screw you, Bob2. You lost your temper and did the wrong thing and as a result people still hate me even though I’m innocent. However, you are a genius foster carer so I wish you every success in life.
5. In about 48 hours, the kittens were at their owner’s house. My house was empty of foster kittens, through no fault of my own, and the entire ‘kidnapping’ was a beat-up.
6. Remember how I mentioned that the foster agency was overwhelmed? Well, they didn’t manage to coordinate the desexing for those two kittens in time. In the ACT it is illegal to leave a kitten undesexed after three months without a permit. So yeah, the foster agency DID do something illegal. Worse, the two kittens developed behaviour problems as a result of not being desexed in a timely manner. So yeah. I was right NOT to give them up. I should probably have stuck to my guns and kept them with me for the full fostering period. (But even though the foster agency’s failure was technically illegal, they will never and should never get punished for it. We’re all doing our best here. And late desexing usually works out fine as long as no one gets pregnant.)

So, rather than kidnapping two kittens, what I actually did was sacrifice my reputation in an attempt to keep them as safe as possible.

You’ll notice there are no photos of the crucial six kittens. That’s because I deleted all the hundreds of photos and videos I took of the kittens at the request of the agency. They also never told me anything about the fate of the other four kittens. I know the second two that I had found a home for DID get to stay together and go to that home because that person knew the situation and messaged me. I have no idea if the final two kittens were ever adopted. They were healthy and well-socialised thanks to me, so I assume they landed on their feet.

The cat cafe is closed now (because of insurance, lol) but I am still fostering. It is something I can do despite my disability, and I am good at it.

This is Popcorn, who was almost certainly going to be euthanised before I took her in along with her four siblings. She was the most violent of the bunch, hissing and spitting in terror. She almost died of cat flu from the stress of being taken from the street (I told the person who caught them that any future kittens should be left longer before being caught). But they all lived, and adjusted to being house cats, and were all ultimately adopted.

I am very proud of all the work I’ve done, and I enjoy it very much. I will probably have to give it up because my I can’t justify spending thousands of dollars on fostering cats when I can’t even pay for my own medical costs. But I’ve applied for a government grant and I’m optimistic that somehow, I will be able to continue saving precious furry lives.

If you have any questions, please ask them here. If you sound sane and human, I will answer them.

I was aware at the time that I was Autistic and that quite a few people have an immediate negative reaction to Autistic people (not on purpose, I believe, and not consciously) according to various studies. I am now diagnosed as Autistic (Level 2). This partly explains my poor communication skills online, and why some people immediately feel uncomfortable around me (which makes them more quickly trust lies about me). It is also very obvious in the way I always share the worst things I can think of about myself eg my house is messy; I’m not insured. Instead of seeing my honesty as making me trustworthy, people seem to think that I must be sharing bad things in order to hide worse things. Uh, no. I’m just extremely honest. It’s an Autism thing.

Summary:

I never did anything illegal.

I never did anything cruel or neglectful.

Rather than ‘kidnapping’ two kittens, I was trying to protect them from neglect—and I was right to do so.