Reward of Up to $5,000 Offered to Nab Cat Abuser

PETA Seeks Public’s Help in Finding Culprit(s) Who Tied Firecrackers to Cat’s Paw With Rubber Bands

For Immediate Release:
July 22, 2019

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

On Saturday, July 13, two good Samaritans found a severely injured 3-year-old female cat—a gray tabby with white “socks” and markings and yellow eyes who’s now named Pickles—on Highland Avenue in McKees Rocks and took her to Humane Animal Rescue. Veterinarians quickly realized that someone had apparently strapped firecrackers around her front left paw with rubber bands and ignited them, causing an infected, maggot-infested wound. Her leg had to be amputated as a result.

“There wasn’t really any paw left. What was still there was barely hanging on by the rubber bands,” said Jamie Wilson, Humane Animal Rescue’s director of medical business. “Her bone was exposed and she was severely dehydrated.” Once she recovers, Pickles will be put up for adoption.

The attack was estimated to have occurred around the Fourth of July. Authorities are investigating but have yet to make any arrests in the case, prompting PETA to offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty-to-animals charges of the person(s) responsible for this crime.

“There’s at least one dangerous person at large, and it’s urgent that anyone with information about this violent crime speak up before someone else gets hurt,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “Cases like this are why PETA urges animal guardians to keep cats safe indoors.”

According to leading mental-health professionals and law-enforcement agencies, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to all members of the community.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that cats and dogs should never be allowed to roam unattended outdoors, where they may be taken, attacked by other animals, or abused by cruel people.

Anyone with information about this case should contact Humane Animal Rescue at 412-345-7300, extension 245, or fill out a report here: https://www.humaneanimalrescue.org/about/contact-us/.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist view that fosters violence toward other animals. For more information about PETA’s work for animals, please visit PETA.org.