“I cried my eyes out, it’s horrible,” the construction worker said Friday night. “Who’s going to help this cat?”
The Humboldt Park resident said she has 16 years’ worth of rescuing cats under her belt and decided to pounce.
As the man charged with injuring the cat sat in jail, she rounded up a fellow rescue enthusiast and headed to the Park Manor neighborhood Friday afternoon.
“We sort of have crazy cat powers,” Weidmann, 43, said. “We always find them.”
Leon Teague, 18, of the 6900 block of South King Drive, faces a felony animal torture charge after police say he doused the cat with the water, as well as a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty depiction.
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| Little Leon fancies himself a thug |
He was ordered held on without bail Friday in Cook County Central Bond Court.
The video shows someone behind the camera holding a black pot with hot water. He lures the cat with enticing noises and throws the water, sending the cat scurrying away in tortured howls.
WATCH VIDEO:
The police department’s Animal Crimes Unit worked with Cook County sheriff’s department to gather information and identifying Teague, according to the release.
The incident took place in the 6900 block of South King Drive, and the cat was last seen in that area but ran away when officers tried to catch it, according to police.
Weidmann and her friend, Melissa Belice, searched the alley behind Teague’s residence to no avail all Friday afternoon before deciding to come back at night.
“There’s a lot of cats in that alley,” she said.
They made arrangements to have police and Chicago Animal Care and Control officers meet them at the scene about 7 p.m.
“We showed up in the alley, and the cat was there,” Weidmann said. “We called him over. He was friendly. We set up a trap and the cat went in.”
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| He films himself boiling water |
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| The cat is very friendly |
Weidmann said the cat’s injuries were apparent but his spirit appeared indefatigable.
“His fur is singed and he has burns on him,” she said. “He’s got scabbing but he’s very friendly and he’s in great spirits.”
The cat will stay in the city’s animal shelter on medical hold until Monday, when Weidmann said she will meet with police and then take it to Felines and Canines animal shelter in Edgewater.
Weidmann, who said she has three dogs, a couple cats and regularly feeds feral cat colonies, said she is in the midst of figuring out a name for her latest charge.
“He’s got to have a pretty damn special name,” she said. “For everything that he’s been through, to still come up and let us touch him and pet him, he’s pretty damn special.”
(Chicago Tribune - Feb 5, 2016)
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