Kitten doused in gasoline, motor oil, set on fire
Dayton, OH (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jul 14, 2006
County: Montgomery
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Laurie O'Brien found an 8-week-old kitten near death - doused in gasoline and motor oil and partly burned.
"I'm highly allergic to cats, but that wasn't even a thought," O'Brien said, as officials continued looking for the kitten's tormenter. The kitty is doing well in her new home with O'Brien's mother near Dayton, Ohio.
"This sick, twisted stuff is happening everywhere," said Butler County Dog Warden Kimberly Sterling, who is investigating the case. She said it even happens in subdivisions such as O'Brien's. As of July 23, she had no suspects.
O'Brien, a mother of two, reported the abuse last week. She lives in Butler County but asked that her community be withheld, fearing retaliation from the animal's abuser, who might live nearby.
On the evening of July 14, a neighbor girl pointed out the kitten in her yard.
"You could barely tell what it was," O'Brien said. "I bent down to look at it; it reeked of gasoline. ... I said, 'This poor thing is on its deathbed.' I had to take action."
O'Brien bathed the kitten, but could remove only some of the oil. She took the kitten to Care Emergency Pet Clinic in Blue Ash and stayed 3½ hours as veterinarians treated the cat's burns, malnourishment and dehydration. They removed the remaining oil, revealing the gray kitty's white underbelly, paws and nose.
O'Brien and a neighbor split the $100 vet bill, which was steeply discounted.
O'Brien's mother, Linda Tortorici, adopted the cat.
"She was in such bad shape, I didn't think she was going to make it home," Tortorici said.
After two days of nonstop crying, the cat perked up, thanks to antibiotic treatment and tender loving care. "She ate like a little piggy," Tortorici said, "and now I can hardly get her to stop moving."
She's outraged that someone could so cruelly abuse a kitten.
Sterling, the dog warden, asks anyone with information to call her at 513-785-6543. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Dog Warden
513-785-6543
References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Montgomery County, OH
|
