Posted on 08/11/2010 12:15:05 AM PDT by EinNYC
Buffalo police rescued a cat from a Cheektowaga man who apparently was planning to make a meal out of his pet because he thought it was ill-tempered, authorities said Monday.
When Ferry-Fillmore District officers pulled over a car driven by Gary L. Korkuc on Sunday night during a traffic stop, they said they heard a cat crying from inside the trunk and investigated.
What they found has left animal lovers at the SPCA Serving Erie County in shock.
The cat, according to police, was in a cage “marinating” in a mixture of crushed red peppers, chili pepper, salt and oil.
“It’s disgusting. It surprises me every day what people are capable of when it comes to violence, whether it is animals or people,” said Gina M. Browning, the SPCA’s director of public relations. “I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”
Korkuc, 51, was arrested on one count of cruelty to animals by Officers Jerry Guilian and John Poisson, shortly after he was stopped on the 1100 block of Broadway at about 7:45 p. m. for allegedly passing a stop sign.
Police took the 4-year-old cat to the SPCA on Ensminger Road in the Town of Tonawanda, where Korkuc had adopted it May 11. He told police the cat had been “mean” to him, authorities said.
In condemning the treatment of the cat, whose name is Navarro, Browning read from an SPCA memo put together in part from information provided by the officers and shelter staff:
“Do not under any circumstances adopt to this man ever again. He claims he did not want the cat because it was ‘possessive, greedy and wasteful.’ That the cat got pregnant after ‘spaying,’ even though it was a neutered male. This man is a danger to animals. . . . was soaking cat in marinade to ‘cook.’ ”
Workers at the SPCA gave Navarro two baths Sunday night to clean the spices off and were letting him calm down before bathing him again, Browning said late Monday, adding that the cat is adjusting well.
“We can learn lessons in resiliency. He is purring away and getting ready for his next checkup. He’s looking around like, ‘What am I doing here?’ He might be put [back] up for adoption,” Browning said.
Praising Guilian and Poisson, she added, “Thank God that police heard him. Thank God those cops took the initiative. By all appearances that cat may have wound up dead.”
Korkuc was also charged with passing a stop sign and failure to signal. After his arrest, he was later released on an appearance ticket.
Navarro has black and white markings, weighs 12 pounds and is described as having a good disposition. Adoption hours today at the SPCA, 205 Ensminger, are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
UPDATE: This absolutely adorable kitty has been adopted into a loving home. http://www.yourspca.org/Page.aspx?pid=456
Without comment, just for you.
PS: DO NOT ping Salamander!
Seriously.
what is this, China?
That should be his fate, and then he should be fed to hungry kitties.
Tastes like chicken?
Hey Chet—isn’t there a pitbull article just waiting for your magical cutting and pasting somewhere?
Grrrrr!!!
Holy cats. They ought to send a cadaver dog team over to this guy’s house and check out his yard and basement. Anyone who is insane enough to do that might have already done other awful things. So glad kitty is okay! (And I bet the cat WAS ill-tempered with him. It probably thought, “Who is this crazy guy and why is he being mean to me?”)
This story looks terribly suspicious.
Hetty, you have a really good idea. No telling what they might find buried in the vicinity of this nutjob’s home. I am very happy that this kitty now has a new adoring owner. Do you blame the cat for being “mean” to that moron? If he tried that with my gigantic Maine Coon, she’d claw him into the next week and bite him just for fun. But that would be just foreplay for what I’d do to him, if he even looked at one of my cats.
Maybe he was dropped on his head at birth. So his mother should have tossed him and raised the placenta. Would have turned out better.
How does someone even come up with such a horrible idea in this country?
I actually searched back to about noon to see if anyone else had posted this. Oh well. It needed to be seen.
I’ve got the nagging feeling narcotics were involved.
What a beautiful kitty! I’m glad they’ve found him a new home where he’ll be loved.
E V I L !
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