Cat sealed in box, left in dumpster Portsmouth, NH (US) Incident Date: Monday, Dec 26, 2005 County: Rockingham Local Map: available Disposition: Open Case Images: 1 files available Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case ID: 6792 Classification: Choking / Strangulation / Suffocation, Neglect / Abandonment Animal: cat View more cases in NH (US) Login to Watch this Case

John Schnitzler is hoping the tale of the "Christmas cat" that he found in a dumpster will ultimately have a happy ending. Schnitzler was working at Strawbery Banke Museum on December 26, 2005 when, he said, he made the disturbing discovery while walking through a lot on Washington Street.

"I heard this cat meowing and it sounded like it was near the dumpster," Schnitzler said. Schnitzler said it was clear the animal was in distress. "It was a heavy meow, a constant one," he said. Since it was dark out, Schnitzler said he got his flashlight and started looking around the lot. After finding nothing, he said, he realized the meows were coming from inside the dumpster.
Jill Bellows, receptionist at Sagamore Animal Hospital in Rye, holds a cat that was found abandoned in a Dumpster. She says she hopes someone recognizes the cat and turns in the person or people responsible. Schnitzler said he first assumed the cat had accidentally fallen in the dumpster and gotten stuck. But when he started moving trash around, he realized the cat was trapped in a box. "The flaps on the box had been sealed closed," Schnitzler said. "So I grabbed the box and undid it, and sure enough, there was a cat inside." Schnitzler said the cat looked like it was in poor health, but it acted friendly. "He was really rough and matted, not groomed at all," he said.

Schnitzler said the lot where the cat was found has a fence around it, but the gate is not locked.
"Someone had to put the cat in the box and throw him in there," he said. "It�s really terrible."
Schnitzler brought the cat to his home in Eliot, Maine, for the night. The next morning, he took the animal to Sagamore Animal Hospital in Rye to be examined by his veterinarian, Dr. Michael Schafer. Jill Bellows, a receptionist at the hospital, said that the cat was not injured, but it looked as if it was neglected. She said there was no way to determine how long the cat might have been in the dumpster.

Bellows said the office took a number of blood tests to see if the cat, which medical staff determined was a female between 9 and 12 years old, has any diseases. She said the results are expected today. If the tests show the cat is not sick, it likely will be put up for adoption.
Schnitzler said he and his partner, Laura Pope, would keep the abandoned animal, but their cat does not get along with other felines. "I just hope somebody can claim the Christmas kitty and make it their own pet," he said.

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References

Seacoast Online News - December 29, 2005

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