Hunt on for pair who dumped dying cat and fled

John Esdaile said the owners would at least be prosecuted for abandonment. Photo / Alan Gibson

An SPCA investigator will today move to find and prosecute a couple who dumped their badly injured cat on a veterinarian's counter because they thought they would be up for hundreds of dollars in vet bills.

It is suspected the tortoiseshell cat, which died after an agonising last few hours, had been kicked in the torso, but a full examination is yet to be carried out.

Tauranga SPCA manager John Esdaile said the owners would at least be prosecuted for abandonment, which carries a penalty of three months' imprisonment and a $5000 fine.

An animal cruelty charge may also be brought, depending on the results of the autopsy.

Mr Esdaile said an investigator would request descriptions of the owners and their car.

The couple had first contacted the SPCA to ask if the organisation could pay the cost of fixing the injuries, but were told the bill was their responsibility.

A woman then took the cat to Welcome Bay Vets last Wednesday but the vet was not in and a nurse told her to take the animal somewhere else.

A couple of minutes later a man returned holding the cat, angrily telling the nurse he did not want it any more and dumping it on the counter.

The nurse phoned the SPCA after the man left and an animal ambulance took the cat to Holistic Veterinary Services, where it was put down.

The cat had a paralysed tail which indicated it had a broken back. It was also thought to have a broken leg.

The man had filled out an SPCA animal surrender form, but the address turned out to be fake.

"There's some sad people out there," Mr Esdaile said.

"It's a bit unusual going and intimidating a vet and saying 'I don't want my f******' cat any more.

"That's a bit bizarre. I haven't heard of that before."

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on animals in the Bay area.

In April, at Mt Maunganui, fireworks were set off in a sheep's mouth, The animal was kicked, had its throat slit, and was dragged down a track. Three teenagers are before the courts over the incident.

Also in Tauranga, late last year, a nail was rammed through a cat's head, its tail and paws were severed and it was tied to a street sign.

The injuries were believed to have been inflicted by a teenage boy - hours after he saw his father attacking a girlfriend.