Officials are looking for a woman who dropped off an injured cat a local veterinarian Monday morning, seeking information about how the animal was hurt and to ensure that the drop-off doesn’t amount to a criminal abandoning.
This injured cat was turned into a local veterinarian on April 25, 2015. The Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department is seeking information on the woman who brought in the cat, as well as how he may have been injured. Photo published with permission from its owner
The gray-and-white adult male cat has no microchip and came into the New Canaan Veterinary Hospital with a large and gaping wound on its shoulder, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.
“It’s a mess,” Halm said of the injury.
A woman dropped him off in a carrier crate and left it at the vet’s, saying the animal had been injured at Smith Ridge Road and Cherry Streets—which, of course, do not intersect—and leaving a name and a phone number that doesn’t work, Halm said.
“The reason we are looking for her is it is now a ‘wound of unknown origin’ and I want to make sure he wasn’t scratched or bitten,” Halm said.
The cat is being patched up at the vet’s and likely will come back to Animal Control’s shelter afterwards as he undergoes a 45-day close observation period, Halm said.
Asked when he may become adoptable, Halm said: “Probably after the 45 days. If someone came to me and could prove this cat was going to be secure, in a home, we might consider adopting sooner. It really depends on the situation.”
NCPD Animal Control can be reached at 203-594-3510.
Poor kitty! Maybe coyote got him/her? Outdoor cats are always in danger. If the woman who dropped this cat at the wonderful New Canaan Vet is not the owner she at least had the heart to make sure of his/her care. Probably does not want the financial responsibility, but she could have been honest about her contact info. If she is the owner, I feel sorry for all involved. Thanks to our vets and to Allyson.
The article has a judgemental tone, implying the woman did something wrong. This woman preformed an act of compassion for another living being. The cat obviously needs professional help and she brought it to just the right place. Maybe it could have been handled more honestly but please do not criticize so harshly.
Judgmental how?
If any one looking at the picture of the cat’s injury could conclude the drop off was criminal abandonment, there would be something very wrong with that law, in my opinion. Perhaps the facts reported are totally correct and judgmental was not the right word to use but the tone in the first paragraph implies there are questions and doubts about motives of the the good samaritan.
If I understand the police correctly, the question of whether this woman is a good samaritan remains unanswered, for lack of information. I’ve added a link in the story to the state legislature’s explanation of the animal cruelty law in Connecticut (https://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/rpt/2011-R-0405.htm). I don’t think anyone would disagree that there are worse places to abandon an animal than a veterinarian—a few years ago, by contrast, New Canaan had a case of a small, malnourished dog abandoned in its crate at CVS downtown (https://newcanaanite.com/once-abandoned-new-canaan-puppy-senor-finds-loving-local-home-2921). That dog ended up adopted by a NC Vet worker. New Canaan has also seen a dog left to starve to death in a crate in the woods of Waveny, and a domestic cat from Westport “dumped” in Waveny by the boyfriend of a contentious landlord. Relatively speaking, this person did well to bring the cat to a vet. That doesn’t answer the question of how the cat was injured or whether the drop-off here represented a criminal abandonment. Perhaps one question on the mind of police is: If this woman had been performing an act of compassion, why did she leave misleading ID and contact information? Could be a simple mistake, maybe not.
Is there any follow up on this cat’s story?
The good news is that the little cat is recovering very well from his surgery. The surgical site is holding nicely, which is a very good sign especially since it was infected and had to be thoroughly cleaned before repair. He still seems a bit apprehensive, as is to be expected, but is a very sweet little guy, and we expect him to make a full recovery, as long as no signs of rabies develop over the next several weeks.
As I was informed when I worked for Animal Control, I was told that if a person brings in an injured animal and there is no owner to be found the person who brings the animal in to a vet to be treated is responsible for the vet bills. So the person did a good deed to save the cat and may not have been familiar with the road names in New Canaan. Smith Ridge is connected to East Ave which goes to Cherry Street. Any one not familiar might think Cherry Street goes to Smith Ridge. There are a few stray cats as well as owned cats in this area as I live in this area and have been warned if I feed the strays they become mine. So I did the right thing and took the 2 strays hanging around my house and took them in and now they have a safe home and are so affectionate now and well taken care of. So I agree, she did the humane thing and brought it to a vet to save him. after quarantee hopefully some person will adopt him and keep him indoors like I have my cats, so it won’t happen again. Leave the good sumaritan alone. and yes my spelling stinks.