Cop Helps Save Kitten Drugged With Heroin

Aug. 6, 2014
A West Whiteland Township officer found the kitten, which was later given Narcan.

West Whiteland Township, Pa. -- A heroin addict allegedly tried to strangle a kitten, slammed its face into the pavement and drugged it with heroin before spray-painting SLAM IT YOU PU$$Y on a roadway in West Whiteland Township, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said.

About 4:40 a.m. Sunday, a township officer on patrol along Dunwoody Drive near Phoenixville Pike saw James Myers' car parked in the middle of the roadway with his driver's door open and a black kitten just outside the vehicle, prosecutors said.

When the officer approached the car, he saw that the kitten had a rope tied tightly around its neck, was bleeding from the face and had several of its teeth knocked out, police said. The cop also noted the offensive spray-painting on the roadway, according to court documents.

During a search of Myers' vehicle, police said, they found 22 bags of heroin, hundreds of used heroin bags and 46 hypodermic needles.

The kitten was taken to Hope Veterinary Specialists in Malvern, where a vet determined that the cat had been given heroin. The veterinarian gave the cat Narcan, typically given to humans to counteract a heroin overdose, and the animal recovered, police said.

The tough, little survivor, named Hope by the clinic staff, is estimated to be about 8 weeks old, said Amy Shields, director of marketing for Hope Veterinary Specialists.

It remains to be seen if there is any hope for Myers.

Shields said Hope was purring within 24 hours of his visit and is no longer on intravenous fluids.

It's not unusual for vets' offices to keep the drug naloxone, trademarked as Narcan, in stock to counteract bad reactions to other opioids that may be administered, Shields said.

Hope is expected to become completely healthy, and when he does he'll be fostered through the Chester County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals until he can be placed with a permanent family, Shields said.

"That was a lot to go through for the poor little guy," she said. "But looking at him now, he looks like a normal kitten."

Myers, 24, of Mary Jane Lane near Anderson Avenue in West Chester, was charged with drug possession, animal cruelty and related offenses.

Copyright 2014 - Philadelphia Daily News

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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