Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Cat shot to death

Cat shot to death
Pembroke Pines, FL (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Apr 4, 2005
County: Broward
Local Map: available
Disposition: Acquitted
Case Images: 2 files available

Person of Interest: Michael Stueve

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 4900

Classification: Shooting

Animal: cat

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Drugs or alcohol involved

A Pembroke Pines man is under arrest after police say he shot and killed his cat. Michael Stueve, 38, is being held on $2,500 bond on charges of animal cruelty.

Police said that Stueve was drunk on the night in April when he shot the cat. Stueve claimed that the cat was sick, and that was why he shot it. Police said they found three spent shell casings from Stueve's gun at his Holly Lakes mobile home.

Animal cruelty investigators had to wait for the results of a necropsy to determine if the cat had been sick.

Stueve was arrested Monday after the necropsy indicated that there was nothing wrong with the cat.

Case Updates

After demonstrating to a Broward jury how he shot his cat's head off, a Pembroke Pines man was acquitted Wednesday of animal cruelty charges.

It took the jury about 30 minutes to find Michael Stueve not guilty.

The decision capped an unusual day in court -- one in which Stueve was asked by prosecutors to demonstrate how he shot his cat. Clasping a vacumn cleaner handle, which represented his shotgun -- and with a stuffed animal in his other hand, Stueve showed the jury how he executed his beloved Mama Kitty.

Stueve shot off the head of Mama Kitty outside his Pembroke Pines mobile home last year.

But Stueve's defense attorney, Denise Huard said Stueve wanted to put his sick, beloved pet out of its misery.

Mama Kitty had been acting funny lately, struggling to walk, and had bubbles coming out of its nose. The cat's heart condition was fatal, Huard said.

Stueve, a 38-year-old heavy equipment operator, had owned the cat for 14 years.

He has no prior record, Huard said.

Police found the beheaded cat April 14, 2005.

Stueve confessed to killing the cat, prosecutor Yasser Kader said.

A necropsy performed by a veterinarian revealed that the cat had a heart condition and skin condition -- both treatable, Kader said.

''This was a healthy cat,'' he said.

Source: Miami Herald - June 28, 2006
Update posted on Jun 28, 2006 - 6:36PM

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A Fort Lauderdale jury, hearing an animal cruelty case, is scheduled to begin deliberations late Wednesday afternoon.

Michael Stueve, charged with felony animal cruelty for shooting off the head of his cat, took the stand in his own defense Wednesday.

He was asked to show the jury, using a stuffed animal, how he shot his pet; a cat named "Mama Kitty".

A state prosecutor said at trial Tuesday that Stueve shot his black and white cat outside his Pembroke Pines mobile home last year. Police found Stueve drunk when they responded to a call from someone who heard gunshots. He allegedly admitted shooting his cat at point blank range.

But Stueve's defense attorney Denise Huard said Stueve only wanted to put his sick, beloved pet out of its misery.

Mama Kitty was old. She had been acting funny lately, struggling to walk, and had bubbles coming out of its nose. The cat's heart condition was fatal, Huard said.

Stueve, a 38-year-old heavy equipment operator, had owned the cat for 14 years.

If convicted of the third-degree felony animal cruelty charge, he faces up to five years in prison. He has no prior record, Huard said.

Police found the beheaded cat April 14, 2005.

Prosecutors claim that a necropsy performed by a veterinarian revealed that the cat had a heart condition and skin condition -- both treatable.

Source: CBS4 - June 28 2006
Update posted on Jun 28, 2006 - 1:57PM

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Local 10 News - June 27, 2005

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Cat shot to deathPembroke Pines, FL (US)

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Cat shot to death
Pembroke Pines, FL (US)