A Port Chester man has been charged with animal cruelty after grabbing and then hurling a young tuxedo cat named Mittens in Rye Brook last month.
Anthony Lopez was arrested by SPCA Westchester’s Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) on May 7 in a joint investigation with Rye Brook police after the SPCA received a tip on its confidential cruelty hotline that Lopez had gotten violent with the feline.
In a video obtained from SPCA Westchester’s Instagram account, Lopez appears to be in front of a Rye Brook home on April 22, while engaged in a dispute with an unidentified woman. He then picks Mittens up and walks away before hurling the cat across the lawn of the home.
The frightened cat tries to enter to run into the house, but the woman scoops Mittens up into her arms.
Lopez then forcibly grabs the cat away from her.
The woman’s identity and relationship with Lopez and Mittens are unclear.
The SPCA’s Instagram post of the video, as of May 16, had received 165 comments — an unusually high number for its page — with most users expressing their shock about the incident.
“How can people be so cruel to a helpless animal?!?!” wrote one user.
“Poor cat this is heartbreaking 😢” another one commented.
Mittens — presumably named after her white paws, which stand out against her black coat — sustained a laceration on her head, but has since received medical care from a veterinarian, according to the SPCA.
Photo courtesy SPCA Westchester
“The video depicting the abuse of this cat was very disturbing,” said Shannon Laukhuf, SPCA Westchester’s chief executive officer. “We’re relieved that she is now safe and receiving the care she needs.”
“The cat is doing well now and is in a new home,” SPCA’s Director of Development Lisa Bonanno-Spence told Newsweek.
Lopez was scheduled to be arraigned at Rye Town Court on Friday, May 16.
In New York state, animal cruelty, if classified as a misdemeanor, is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, or by a fine up to $1000, or by both, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
If charged with a felony, under “aggravated cruelty,” the perpetrator can be imprisoned for up to two years.
If you witness or suspect an animal is being neglected or abused, the SPCA advises calling its confidential animal cruelty hotline at (914) 941-7797.
The SPCA could not be reached for comment.
