Cat with compound fracture left without vet care
Bronx, NY (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 17, 2005
County: Bronx
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Sojourner Gilliam
A tabby who survived a five-story fall and festering wounds may finally find a loving home now that her owner has been charged with animal cruelty. ASPCA Special Agent Joseph Pentangelo said the 2-year-old feline named Tiger was sunning herself on the windowsill of a Bronx apartment on Aug. 17 when a small child who lived in the apartment pushed her off the ledge.
The cat plummeted to the concrete below, apparently landing on her feet. But the impact broke her lower right hind leg, leaving the bones protruding through the skin.
"The owner goes downstairs, scoops up the cat, brings it upstairs and does nothing," Pentangelo said. "The cat gets worse, and finally on Sept. 3, the owner's mother takes the cat to the Animal Care & Control to be euthanized."
An ACC veterinarian diagnosed the problem as a complete fracture of the tibia and fibula, bones exposed, with infection. The cat had a fever, and her badly swollen leg had to be amputated nearly at the hip.
"If the situation had been addressed earlier, the outcome might have been markedly better and the leg might have been saved," Pentangelo said.
Yesterday, ASPCA Special Agent Mike Tietje issued a summons to Tiger's owner, Sojourner Gilliam, 34, of the E. 140th St, charging her with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
Meanwhile, the cat was getting along just fine, lounging in her cage at the Manhattan Animal Control Center on E. 110th St., a three-legged cat in legal limbo. "She is doing well, and all indications are she will recover," said Animal Care & Control Executive Director Ed Boks. "She'll remain here while the situation is under investigation.
"If the court makes a finding of cruelty, the cat cannot be returned to its owner. In that case, we'll put her up for adoption." References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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