$2,500 Reward Offered for Help in Nabbing Abuser Who Zip-Tied Cat’s Legs Together

PETA Seeks Information on Culprit Who Bound Cat’s Legs and Left Her to Die by the Westfield River

For Immediate Release:
August 3, 2015

Contact:
Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382

Two people made a heartbreaking discovery on Tuesday afternoon: A gray and white long-haired cat had been abandoned on the bank of the Westfield River with her front legs bound together by zip ties. The cat, now named River, was rushed to a veterinarian to be treated for maggots and severe swelling in her front legs, which she was unable to walk on.

River is expected to recover and be available for adoption from the Westfield Regional Animal Shelter—but police have yet to determine who abused and abandoned her. That’s why PETA is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.

“It takes a dangerous lack of empathy for others’ suffering to tie a cat’s legs together and leave her for dead at the side of a river,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this case to come forward now, before someone else gets hurt.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—also stresses the importance of keeping cats indoors. In addition to being hurt by a cruel person, cats who roam outdoors risk contracting communicable diseases; getting lost, injured, or hit by an automobile; or being snatched up by “bunchers”—people who steal dogs and cats and sell them for use in experiments.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Westfield Animal Control at 413-564-3129.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.