Ohio: Lawyer for man, Timothy Warga, accused of cat abandonment says charge is baseless, and promises to contest it

OHIO -- A local landlord charged in connection with an alleged “cat-napping” case has issued a statement through his attorney denying the charges, saying they “are unwarranted and not supported by the facts.”

“Timothy Warga did not trap a domesticated animal but took a wild, feral cat and humanely relocated it to another area,” stated a short news release faxed to The Athens NEWS on Wednesday by Athens attorney K. Robert Toy’s law office.

Toy promises that his client will contest the charges “vigorously,” maintaining that the charge against Warga is a result of “undue public pressure” and non-credible witnesses.

Warga, of rural Athens, was charged with animal abandonment in a summons mailed Monday, March 14, after an investigation by Athens County Humane Officer Lana Planisek. The charge is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying a possible fine of $750 and up to 90 days in jail, Planisek said.

The so-called “cat-napping” situation has received substantial discussion, much of it angry, on Facebook in the past two weeks.

The summons for animal abandonment stems from the Feb. 24 incident in the neighborhood near South May Avenue and Lincoln Street, in which Amber Cavender, owner of a cat named MeowMeow, reported to police that she heard her cat crying that day while on her lunch break, and belatedly realized the “screaming” noise was coming from the back of a truck parked in the alley next to her house.

A police report that resulted from Cavender’s allegations on Feb. 24 said that she had seen her cat, MeowMeow, in the back of the truck, inside a live trap, and that “she knew who the (truck’s) owner was.” 

Though the name was redacted in the report, she was referring to Warga.

As of Sunday afternoon, the cat remained missing.

Warga, who has not been available for comment, reportedly told police he had trapped a stray cat – which his attorney, Toy, says was not MeowMeow – and took it to the parking area near the intersection of U.S. Rt. 33 and Ohio Rt. 550 and released it.

Cavender’s story, as well as statements from one or more witnesses, forms the basis of the animal abandonment charge arising from county Humane Officer Planisek’s investigation. Athens Police declined to press theft charges after Warga said he thought the cat was a stray, without identification.

The release issued by attorney Toy’s office states, “Contrary to rumors, Internet slanders and false posters, the animal humanely removed belonged to no one and had no collar or identification of any kind.”

MewoMewo still hasn't been found

The statement continues by questioning “the credibility of witnesses that might testify for the city,” and promising to contest the case “vigorously.”

The news release concludes, “Bob Toy believes that undue public pressure was placed on public officials based on false information, and the city brought charges that stink worse than three-week-old cat litter.”

Cavender has said her cat wore a leather collar for identification.

(Athens News - March 17, 2016)