Officials say they are treating the recent discovery of a dehydrated, emaciated cat—who has been diagnosed with several illnesses—as a criminal case.
Authorities found the animal, who is between 2 and 5 years old, in a plastic crate at the Southeast business at about noon Monday. Staff members there came across the cat and contacted the New York State Police, who responded and subsequently called the Putnam SPCA.
"SPCA officers quickly determined the cat was in distress and rushed the animal to the Westchester Animal Hospital," officials said. "Upon veterinary examination, the cat’s condition was found to be extremely severe causing the cat to suffer."
The animal, an adult tan and white, male cat with short hair, weighs about 4 and a half pounds. Officials say the cat should weigh around 11. Doctors have reportedly diagnosed the animal with ear mites, feline calicivirus, advanced-stage kidney failure and an upper respiratory infection.
Because the cat was abandoned and found in such a poor state, officials are investigating the matter and treating it as a crimial one. They say the ear mites—which would have taken months, or years, to develop—are another sign of neglect.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 845-520-6915 or visit www.spcaputnam.org. The animal cruelty hotline runs 24 hours a day, and all calls will be kept confidential, according to officials.
"There is no reason to believe this case has any connection with the decapitated cat in Putnam Lake. Unfortunately cases like this one ... are very common. We see abandonment of animals all too often, whether it's leaving a cat in a kennel outside a business, leaving a dog or cat in an apartment where a tenant was evicted, leaving a dog or cat in a home that has been foreclosed, or tying a dog to a fence and walking away."