Warning- this article includes disturbing images.
Home Depot Pressed for Answers As New Tip Emerges About Missing Cats
LAKE CITY, Fla. (Oct., 2026) — Community cats Onyx and Sunshine were found dead beside their food bowls at a Lake City Home Depot store in mid-September. Other cats from their colony subsequently disappeared after a contractor began trapping cats at the property. Despite receiving thousands of emails from In Defense of Animals supporters demanding answers, the retail giant has not revealed where the remaining cats are, or what happened to them.
Many Home Depot Stores All Over North America Have “Store Cats”
The Ranch Rescue Fights Back
The Ranch Rescue is an animal welfare group and a community of cat advocates, concerned residents, and animal protection supporters and says it has received a significant tip and is investigating new information about the missing cats. The group is preparing to share its findings publicly.
“They had no voice to cry for justice, so we became their voice. And we will not be silenced,” said The Ranch Rescue founder Laura Rister.
For approximately six years, eight cats lived at Home Depot Store #6864, fed and monitored by a longtime caregiver with the permission of store management. All had been sterilized and vaccinated through a trap-neuter-return program.
Trapping And Removing Cats
In mid-September, the caregiver discovered Onyx and Sunshine dead near their food bowls. the store manager told her she was barred from the property and would be trespassing if she returned, and an outside company began trapping and removing cats, according to The Ranch Rescue and News4JAX.
Four cats — Tortie, Jr., Bentley, and Nikko — remain unaccounted for, according to In Defense of Animals.
The Home Depot has said it uses third-party contractors to humanely capture and relocate animals, but has not publicly identified where the missing cats were taken or provided documention about their fate. The Home Depot did not respond to a request for comment from News4JAX in September. The Ranch Rescue has secured legal representation for the caregiver and continues seeking answers.
Two cats are dead, others have disappeared, and The Home Depot still hasn’t explained what happened to them.
These were living, feeling individuals who were loved and cared for over many years, not disposable objects. Lowe’s went to extraordinary lengths to find one missing store cat, engaging staff and the community to mobilize drones, cameras, and professional trackers to bring her home. Surely The Home Depot can at least account for the cats removed from its property. We’re demanding answers for every cat, and a companywide policy to ensure this never happens again.
In Defense of Animals and Ranch Rescue are calling on The Home Depot to provide a complete, cat-by-cat accounting, including trapping, transportation and veterinary records, and to adopt a humane companywide policy protecting established community cat colonies.
Members of the public can take action now by contacting The Home Depot, posting with #WhereAreTheHomeDepotCats and writing to the company’s leadership.
For the Silo, Fleur Dawes/IDA.
Featured image- Home Depot cat “Leo”