Reply
Thu 4 May, 2006 02:13 pm
Conn. Crazy Cat Case Heads to Trial
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - The case of a cat accused of viciously attacking several neighbors is going to trial. Ruth Cisero, owner of Lewis the cat, Tuesday withdrew her bid for special probation because she would have had to allow Lewis to be euthanized.
Cisero withdrew her application for accelerated rehabilitation and instead pleaded not guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment and elected a trial by jury.
Residents of the neighborhood of Sunset Circle claimed they had been terrorized by Lewis.
The neighbors said Lewis' long claws, along with catlike stealth, have allowed the cat to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car.
More than 500 "Save Lewis" T-shirts have been sold to raise funds for a defense fund for Cisero and a Westport lawyer has volunteered to be the cat's lawyer.
The special probation offer with conditions was made at the insistence of neighbor Maureen Bachtig, who was reportedly attacked by Lewis Feb. 20.
In a letter to prosecutors, Bachtig said she would only agree to probation for Cisero if the cat were put to death.
Oh, for Pete's sake! It's a housecat, not a Bengal tiger. Squirt the damned thing with the hose a couple times and it'll leave you alone.
Long claws and catlike stealth... What's next? Falconlike talons of the neighbor's budgie? Bearlike grip of the dog next door when he tries humping your leg?
Re: Conn. Crazy Cat Case Heads to Trial
Reyn wrote: along with catlike stealth,
There's a stretch. A cat with catlike stealth. This is some brilliant writing.
It sounds like a neighborhood of hysterics to me, combined with-- as arthur points out-- some really awful writing. Ambush the Avon lady? Did he intimidate the ice cream man and pester the postal employees too?
The more I read it, the goofier it sounds. I have visions of the scene from Monty Python with the killer rabbit. Don't go out there, that cat's dynamite!
Did they finally take the cat down with the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch?
"Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, "Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."
One of the all time greats, that film is.
She couldn't just keep the cat inside?
Would this not negate the need for the Holy Hand Granade of Antioch?
This cat likely had catlike intelligence, too. It would have just picked the lock.
Hey, dlowan, you changed your avatar back! What happened there?
Cat Thugs
Apprehended right after ambush on Avon Lady
He can't pardon you, Jessica, he's not the Governor.
I'm glad to see that folks are enjoying this story.
Thank goodness the cat wasn't sneaking into the neighbor's homes. He'd have been charged with cat burglary.
Welcome to Connecticut. This place is overrun with lawyers and control freaks.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace