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Friends, neighbors mourn the Cat Lady of Richmond: I miss Margaret
By: Scott Wise
and last updated 2021-04-21 14:18:43-04
RICHMOND, Va. Margaret Doran, known by many in Richmond s Fan and Museum District as the Cat Lady, has died as a result of injuries she suffered on December 8, 2020.
Most days Doran, 77, would walk the streets of Richmond pushing a rolling walker and caring for colonies of feral cats, friend Sally Mullikin said.
Sally Mullikin
Margaret Doran
On the night of December 8, a driver struck Doran at the intersection of North Robinson Street and Park Avenue, according to Richmond Police. Sarah Warner
Rob Neukirch of Floyd spied the headline above last Tuesdayâs column â âIn defense of Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffithâ â on his phone. It was accompanied by a sinking feeling.
He thought, âOh no, whatâs happened to Dan?â Neukirch wrote in an email. Then he read the rest of the column, which appeared five days after April 1.
âYou got me!â he wrote.
His missive was among scores emails, phone calls and online comments regarding the column. Which means itâs time for the April reader mailbag.
The tongue-in-cheek defense of Western Virginiaâs representatives followed an onslaught of unkind Letters to the Editor published in this newspaper. Most indicated disgust with Clineâs and Griffithâs support of âStop the Stealâ efforts to overturn the election of President Joe Biden.
Margaret Doran is well-known by many residents of Richmondâs Fan neighborhood and Museum District, even if not everyone knows her well.
Known as âThe Cat Ladyâ and âSaint Margaret,â she could be seen trudging with her rolling walker back and forth from near the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to the VCU area, day and night, to feed the innumerable feral cats she called her own. Many residents were inspired by her devotion and energy.
Doran, who is believed to be 77 years old, told one friend she has been caring for feral cats in Richmond for decades.
Residents say she would walk the streets from late morning until late at night to feed colonies of cats at various locations, most of which are unknown to her acquaintances. Some of them worried about her safety because theyâd see her limp across dark streets without reflective clothing. Doran, who lives in a rented garage storage unit in an alley off Strawberry Street, told her friends that sheâd be fi