Cardinals, feral cat non-profit at odds over future of Rally Cat

What the St. Louis Cardinals must have expected would be a rather simple, straightforward process of adopting their very own Rally Cat has turned into anything but.

The officially-named Rally Cat is currently in the care of the St. Louis-based non-profit St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach, but in a statement earlier in the week, the Cardinals assured fans that they would soon have custody of the cat, which ran onto the field one pitch before Yadier Molina hit a go-ahead grand slam in an Aug. 9 game against the Kansas City Royals.

“The St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach organization has assured us they will be returning our cat to us after a mandatory 10-day quarantine period,” said Ron Watermon, the team’s vice president of communications, via Denise Hollinshead of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

There’s just one problem: according to STLFCO in a statement released Thursday, Rally does not yet belong to the Cardinals.

“It was a disappointment to STLFCO and many of our friends and fans to read the Cardinal’s PR Head Ron Watermon’s comments to the media concerning Rally,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “It was a totally false statement that STLFCO has committed anything to the Cardinals. We have made no decisions about Rally’s long-term placement. It seems inconsistent with ‘The Cardinals Way’ to make such false statements.

“Due to our many commitments and complex schedules, we told the Cardinals we’d be delighted to meet later this month, the first time the entire group can meet with them to discuss the situation. Perhaps we can find a way to reach out to the Senior Leadership of the Cardinals (the Dewitts, Mike Whittle, etc) and meet with them, as Mr. Watermon’s perceived bullying tactics shocked us.”

The story of Rally Cat has included many twists and turns, including a disappearance almost immediately after the first dramatic appearance. The guess is that the Cardinals will work something out with STLFCO, though they seem to have made it a little more difficult on themselves.

H/T CBS Sports