Fire department’s cat evicted, forced to find new home

Credit: Kai Kuusik-Greenbaum/FreeImages.com

Credit: Kai Kuusik-Greenbaum/FreeImages.com

She was the mascot of San Francisco’s Station 49, but Edna the cat needed to find a new home.

Edna was a feral cat who made her home at the station about four years ago, the San Francisco Gate reported.

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Edna was forced to move after an anonymous complaint was filed. Officials with the San Francisco Fire Department said in a written statement that  "public health and safety concerns counseled removal of the cat from the premises."

Fire Department officials said that the cat lived not at a fire station, but an ambulance deployment facility.

"Within this facility is Department Logistics, where medial supplies, equipment and pharmaceuticals used by ambulance staff to provide crucial lifesaving emergency health care are housed," the statement said.

But Irene Ybarra disagreed with the department's official stance, the SFGate reported.

Ybarra worked at the facility until June 2017 as the paramedic in charge of emergency medical services logistics.

She was one of the employees who took in Edna and said that the cat didn't have access to the clean room or the supplies used to save lives, according to the newspaper.

Firefighters told KGO that Edna also keeps birds away, captures mice and helps relieve stress for those who work at the station.

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Cuddles with one of my favs🤗

A post shared by Edna SFFD Stn 49 EMS Cat (@fire_cat_edna) on

Edna left her home Monday, and was relocated with a person who has two dogs and two cats. Her caretaker is still looking for a permanent residence for the cat, Ybarra told SFGate.

Ybarra said she had planned to take Edna with her when she retired in 2017, but says it will be a few more months before that can happen, SFGate reported.

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