An Arvada man chased a cat around the house with a two-foot-long sword, stabbing it several times, according to police. Richard Davis, 38, faces a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief following the incident.
Police were called out at 4 a.m. on Aug. 17 and arrested Davis after finding a house cat named Precious stabbed six times.
According to people living in the home, the cat had recently given birth to a litter of kittens and scratched and bit a woman who brought home a stray kitten.
Police said the woman was the fiancee of Davis, who became incensed and chased Precious through the house, wounding it severely.
The woman turned over ownership of Precious and her kittens to Planned Pethood Plus, which managed to save the cat's life and is caring for it while it recovers.
Davis is being held at the Jefferson County Jail, according to police. Case UpdatesA man who repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend's cat with a sword was sentenced to two years probation Friday in Jefferson County District Court.
Richard Davis, 39, said he stabbed the cat, named Precious, with a 2-foot sword after she attacked and scratched his girlfriend Aug. 17 at the Arvada home where they were living. Prosecutor Joe Gilmore said the cat, which had recently given birth to a litter of kittens, had six to eight stab wounds and underwent thousands of dollars of surgery and medical treatment to bring her back to health. The cat and kittens were adopted by other families.
"This is so cruel," Gilmore said. "I think he needs to be locked up."
Defense attorney Christi Sanders said Precious was not a normal family pet, but a wild, feral cat. She said Davis perceived that she had attacked his girlfriend.
"In his mind, he was defending his girlfriend from this cat," she said. "This is not a situation where he just decided to abuse an animal one day."
The situation was further complicated by Davis' mental problems, she said. Davis is under a psychologist's treatment and is on medications, which he told the judge has helped him.
"My intention was not to try to be cruel to the cat," Davis told the judge. "I felt the cat was a very vicious animal."
Judge Christopher Munch said he gave Davis probation because he is under mental-health care and already served 18 days in jail when he was arrested. But he told him that he would be back in jail if he didn't follow his treatment program and continue to take his medications. | Source: Rocky Mountain News - May 20, 2006
Update posted on May 22, 2006 - 4:04AM |
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