NEW YORK -- A Delaware County woman has been charged with animal cruelty after she allegedly placed a stray cat into a paint can and then sealed the lid, killing the feline.
Christina L. Regg of 7137 Charlotte Creek Road, Davenport, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with the incident. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Department reported Monday that she “intentionally” caused the cat to suffocate.
“What happened to this cat was absolutely appalling,” Undersheriff Craig DuMond told The Daily Star on Monday. “It’s just sick that any human being could even think of doing such a thing to a defenseless pet.”
The cat had been abandoned by a former tenant of the trailer park where Regg resides, DuMond said.
One of Regg’s neighbors, Elizabeth Montgomery, told The Daily Star the cat was named Fluffy. Montgomery described the feline as a long-haired, all-white fur, blue-eyed feline with a sweet disposition.
Fluffy, Montgomery said, had been staying inside an empty trailer, and neighbors were taking care of it by offering it food. She said Regg was apparently upset that the cat, in an apparent effort to find warmth as the temperature dropped, went to the window of the trailer to try to get in.
“I don’t understand how anyone can do something like that to an animal that’s not harming you,” Montgomery said. “Fluffy was so friendly. You could walk right up to her and she would come right up to you and love on you.”
Regg, however, told neighbors that Fluffy had become “a nuisance,” Montgomery said.
Neighbors contacted the sheriff’s office after Regg allegedly told neighbors about her method of getting rid of the cat, DuMond said.
Regg allegedly disposed of the paint bucket — with the cat sealed inside — by tossing it over an embankment behind a neighbor’s home. Neighbors contacted the sheriff’s office after Regg allegedly told neighbors about her method of getting rid of the cat, DuMond said.
The paint bucket containing the remains was turned over to the sheriff’s department by the neighbors.
When questioned by an investigator, Regg at first denied having been involved in the incident, claiming that as a veterinary technician she would never harm an animal, DuMond said.
Regg was given an appearance ticket directing her to appear in Davenport town court at a later date. She was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Saturday, the undersheriff said.
Regg, when contacted by The Daily Star, admitted she put the cat in the container because she said that if she did not, she feared she would be evicted from her home. She said the person who instructed her to put the cat in the bucket suggested the animal would escape once the bucket was thrown. Regg also said she has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I cried, I cried,” she said, recalling her emotions when she found out the cat died. “I am so remorseful for these actions. Everyone who knows me knows I’m an animal lover. I admit I put it in the bucket. I don’t admit that I purposely harmed anything.”
(
Oneonta Daily Star - Sept 28, 2015)
