Inside Death Row

[Bluemoon]

It must be being repeated cos I saw it a couple of months ago, what I remember, they get to own a cat for 'good behaviour'?

Bluemoon the owner is the prisoner, but I suppose its better than having a cat in rescue, and not much different to having a house cat?

The bloke who got rascal had picked the name and made a stuff for 'him' before he found out he had a girl... Not dissimilar to us and Denzel! 

I know the owner is the prisoner... I meant a cats' play area should be somewhere in the grounds of the prison 

A largish enclosed wire cat run was what I envisaged, with climbing equipment and stuff, a little park for them to take a walk on their lead with their owners.

[Purdy Bear]

I didn't see the programme but did a brief piece on Must Love cats on You /tube about it.  The thing about the US is that the majority of their cats are indoor cats unlike here. Due to the layout of their gardens, with the majority with out fences plus high predator rates (cayotes etc) a lot of people don't allow cats outdoors unless they are in an enclosure made of wire fencing etc.

[emmmy_lou]

It must be being repeated cos I saw it a couple of months ago, what I remember, they get to own a cat for 'good behaviour'?

Bluemoon the owner is the prisoner, but I suppose its better than having a cat in rescue, and not much different to having a house cat?

The bloke who got rascal had picked the name and made a stuff for 'him' before he found out he had a girl... Not dissimilar to us and Denzel! 

[caledonia]

Yeah it was great to see but I did wonder what freedom the cats got. I'm sure they are well catered for :-)

[Bluemoon]

I saw this! Yes it was really moving how the guys may be serious hardened criminals and may want to harm each other, but as they said, they would never harm a cat. The cats really were like angels on four legs, bringing love and friendship back into these guys' lives - it just shows that even the most hardened offenders can have a softer side, a side that just needs to be able to trust someone and then they can offer a lot of love.

It was sad to think that the cats were to be stuck inside that prison for the whole of their lives though! I hope they had a safe, enclosed play area where they could take turns in playing out in the sunshine, with or without other cats, depending on how they reacted. The owner could come with them and keep a close eye on them whilst 2 or 3 of them played there at any one time - I just hope they had something like that... 

[caledonia]

Not sure if anyone else is watching Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald on ITV. Part one was on last night, second part tonight.

It's not just death row inmates but also other areas of the prison.

They have a cat programme! It actually brought a tear to my eye!

They allow prisoners to request a cat, they can specify sex and are given a cat to look after. Most are service over 50 years so the cat is always with them. This guys cat 'rascal' seemed to be on a huge lead metres long and had a bed and everything.


The prison discovered it calmed prisoners, reduced violence and reduced stress. Conflict also reduced and the programme recognised it gave prisoners responsibility and a sense of purpose having their pet.

Fascinating!