Reward Reaches $10,000 in Deadly Seattle Cat-Dumping Case: PETA Seeks Answers

For Immediate Release:
August 7, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty-to-animals charges of the person(s) responsible for reportedly abducting and killing a cat on June 30. According to reports, the cat’s body was found inside a dumpster near Northeast 59th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast. Security cameras captured an unidentified white man with a beard wearing a gray baseball cap, dark jacket, and brown cargo pants carrying who was believed to be the cat in the University District during the early morning hours. The condition of the cat’s body has reportedly led authorities to believe the animal was tortured before being killed. PETA’s reward, combined with those offered by two local shelters, brings the total reward now up to $10,000.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Seattle Animal Control at 206-386-7387 and reference case 9600346.

“Someone knows the man in the surveillance footage and may know something that could help find the person responsible for what may have been a terrifying, painful experience for this cat,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately and reminding everyone that the safest place for cats is indoors.”

In addition to enduring violence and abuse at the hands of cruel and intolerant people, cats allowed to roam or live outdoors are at risk of contracting parasites or potentially fatal diseases, being attacked by predators or run over by cars, and encountering other hazards. PETA notes that cats kept indoors need to be physically and mentally stimulated with a view of the outdoors, toys, climbing structures, scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. PETA offers a catio-building guide as well as a “cat guardian’s bible” written by PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk that’s full of tips and available for purchase here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.