Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Feral Cat Traps Sabotaged As Health Officials Search for Source of Typhus

Someone sabotaged the feral cat traps that were set up yesterday at an Orange County school by health officials who are trying to isolate the source of typhus, a flea-born bacterial infection.
Typhus is an infection that causes flu-like symptoms and is carried by fleas and lice. It is rare to die from Typhus but it can be fatal if left untreated. It has been diagnosed in two Orange County residents so far, including a Santa Ana child who was hospitalized last month and has since recovered. Health officials said that it can be spread by feral cats, so they set traps at Frances E. Willard Intermediate School in the 1300 block of North Ross Street and El Sol Science and Arts Academy in the 1000 block of North Broadway, according to City News Service.
Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said that they are trying to do the right thing but have been inundated with calls from cat lovers who object to the trapping of cats.
"Our people went out and found things thrown at the traps to activate them,'' Bertagna said. "Unfortunately, we have no witnesses. They have cameras at the school, but they didn't catch anything, so we have nothing to follow up on at this time."
Michael Hearst, the district manager for Orange County Vector Control, said his agency has also received calls from people protesting the traps. Hearst said Vector Control usually treats the trapped animals with flea medicine and then lets them go.
Hearst said that the fleas usually pick up the disease from opossums and feral cats and then carry it to domestic pets, according to the report. City officials have been passing out information to residents and telling them to pay close attention to their pets and to make sure that they are treated with flea-prevention medication.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?