Cat abandoned in Garfield Heights home went weeks without food, water; ate insulation to ‘stay alive,' police say
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — Charges are pending against a tenant suspected of abandoning a cat inside an East 90th Street home after being evicted, leaving her without food or water for several weeks.
Rescue workers who treated the female tabby told police she was severely underweight, dehydrated and emaciated and would have died within days had they not intervened, according to a Garfield Heights police report.
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Veterinarians found 'non-food items' in Jenna Anne's gastrointestinal tract, according to the report. She appeared to have been 'eating insulation from the walls to stay alive,' it reads.
She weighed just less than 4 pounds when she was brought in, and had kidney issues, veterinary records show.
The tenant was ordered to leave the home on March 28, or be removed by authorities on March 31, according to an eviction filing in a Garfield Heights court.
A neighbor on May 24 told police that the cat could still be seen in the window, though the home had long been unoccupied, reads the report.
That day, Euclid Beach Cat Project workers responded to the home and used a trap to catch the cat, according to the report.
The rescue is now seeking donations for Jenna Anne's treatment, which could include surgeries, according to a Facebook post.
'She's got some light in her eyes. She's gonna be OK, if she doesn't backslide,' said Vicky Sprouse, Euclid Beach Cat Project director.
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Sprouse said the cat naturally passed the inedible things that were in her belly, believed to be peanut shells and pieces of popcorn, and rescue workers don't suspect the cat was actually eating insulation.
'Right now, every day is a little bit better for her,' Sprouse added, crediting the neighbor who made the police report with saving Jenna Anne's life.
'She 100% did not have any more time left. I don't know how she's alive,' she said.
Charges are now pending against the cat's owner, a spokesperson for the Garfield Heights prosecutor told FOX 8 News.
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