I never met Bertha but everyone in Winnipeg knew who she was. At the link there is a video of a CBC reporter talking with Bertha.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...rand-1.3265086
Cat lover once jailed over the amount of cats in her home
CBC News ·
From the CBC archives: Winnipeg cat lady Bertha Rand chats with the CBC about the new bylaw coming into effect, and what she will do with all her pets 2:28Fifty years ago today we were invited into Bertha Rand's cat-filled home on Queen Street in St. James.
For years, she battled her neighbours and city hall to save her dozens of cats. Quite outspoken, Bertha criticized the bylaw that was coming into effect limiting the number of cats allowed in a household. Bertha said she only had 20 cats but some thought she had close to 50.
Jailed briefly in 1967 for balking at the bylaw, she still refused to surrender her collection of cats. Eventually, the city gave up trying and neighbours continued to endure the presence of Rand's pets as well as the strays that came around for handouts.
Bertha died in hospital, Dec. 31, 1981 at the age of 86. After her death, her nephew rounded up the pet cats and found homes for the healthy ones in Balmoral, Man.
Even years after her death, she still holds a place in Canadian popular culture.
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