Reward offered in case of duct-taped cat

This cat was found body-wrapped with duct tape on Sept. 22, 2009, in a North Philadelphia yard. A $1,000 reward is being offered for the conviction of whoever is responsible. (Peter Mucha)

By Peter Mucha, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: September 23, 2009

A $1,000 reward is being offered for the conviction of whoever body-wrapped a cat in duct tape and abandoned it in a North Philadelphia yard.

Only its head was uncovered.

"Whoever did this is very sick," said George Bengal, director investigations for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is headquartered in North Philadelphia.

"I've never seen a cat totally wrapped like a mummy before," he told 6ABC.

A resident of the 2200 block of Edgley Street found the cat yesterday afternoon.

"It's a damn shame," Irissa Torian told CBS3.

The female cat - nicknamed "Sticky" by workers at the PSPCA - was sedated so the tape could be cut away with scissors and saved as evidence.

Afterward, the cat was doing well.

"She's a very friendly little thing," said Gail Luciani, PSCPA spokeswoman. ". . . She was purring while we were preparing to take the tape off, while we were getting her sedated."

"We're lucky that the tape was not on the cat for a long time. It came off easily," she said.

"I don't have an estimate of how old she is. She is an adult," she added.

Anyone with information about this case should call the PSPCA's cruelty hotline at 866-601-7722.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.