Volunteer group to file raps vs rescued cat’s abusers

HARROWING ORDEAL Van the cat is rescued after a concerned citizen alerts a security guard who stops the truck the feline has been tied to. —PHOTO FROM CATS OF ARANETA FB PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — Since a rescued cat’s tragic story went viral on social media, the outpouring of sympathy has given way to demands for justice as the culprits in the animal’s abuse have yet to be identified.

A rope around the cat’s neck had been tied to the back of a delivery truck, whose drivers forced the feline to chase the vehicle from behind as the vehicle sped through the streets.

Early on Friday, however, a security guard at Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City, who had been alerted by a concerned citizen, flagged down the truck.

Seeing the animal limping and in pain, the guard cut the rope and freed the cat, who was named “Van” by Cats of Araneta, a group of volunteers that  had been looking after stray felines in the bustling commercial center.

Luchie Diaz, one of the founders of Cats of Araneta, said that the group was planning on filing criminal charges against the truck driver and his companions. However, they were still waiting for more information from security personnel at Araneta Center.

“We would like to file charges but first, they have to be identified,” Diaz said on Sunday of the truck driver and his cohorts.

“The Araneta Center security office has all the possible leads and is exerting all efforts to identify them,” she added.

The group, following a visit to a veterinary clinic after Van’s rescue, found out that the cat had multiple injuries and other signs of repeated abuse. It had lacerations and a stark lack of hair on the neck, indicating that the feline had been tied up for quite some time.

Rotting paws

Portions of the cat’s paws seem to have rotted away or bore scabs, scars and new injuries.

“Van was tied at the neck and forced to run behind the truck not just once but repeatedly,” Cats of Araneta said on a Facebook post. “It must have been a sad, painful, cruel world for Van.”

The white cat who has heterochromia — one eye is blue while the other is olive green — is now in the care of the group’s volunteers.

If identified, the truck driver and his companions could be found liable under Republic Act No. 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act which prohibits the torture of animals.

In February, Andres Vocal, a resident of Rizal province, was fined P4,000 by Judge George Andy Pantanosas of the Rizal Municipal Trial Court Branch 2 for slapping, kicking and violently hitting two goats.

The case, however, took more than 10 years to resolve.