Video Shows Woman Abandoning Cat at PETA HQ: Tips Needed

For Immediate Release:
April 25, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

At 7:20 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, surveillance footage captured an unidentified woman opening her car door and depositing a cat in a carrier outside PETA’s Norfolk headquarters. It is not known if the person abandoning the cat is the owner or took the cat from someone, with or without their permission. The doorbell was not rung, no call was made, and no note was left. The woman is Caucasian with long, brown hair and was driving a blue Hyundai Sonata. The cat is an adult neutered male and is microchipped as having been adopted two years ago from an area shelter, but the address is vacant.

Virginia law requires a 10-day hold in cases in which no rightful owner signs an animal surrender statement, and the cat is now sitting in limbo at the Norfolk Animal Care Center (NACC), ineligible for adoption, for the next 10 days—unless the person who abandoned him comes forward.

PETA is hoping that this information spreads. It is the best hope of quickly finding an adoptive home for this sweet cat.

“While animal abandonment is illegal, dropping a cat off on PETA’s doorstep beats some of the more frightening alternatives,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “The sooner we find out about this cat’s medical history, the sooner a loving new home can be found for him, and so PETA is asking that anyone with information about this cat’s former owner come forward so the NACC can be given legal permission to begin the search.”

The City of Norfolk asks former owners to provide veterinary records and complete a personality profile so that surrendered animals can be matched with the perfect adoptive family. More details are available here.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.