Police: Man gave kitten heroin

WEST WHITELAND TWP., Pa. -- A Chester County, Pa., man is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly giving a kitten heroin.

Though only about 10 weeks old, the kitten has had a rough life.

"Every cat they say has nine lives. This poor kitten at 10 weeks old is already down to eight," District Attorney Tom Hogan said.

Hogan says early Sunday morning on Dunwoody Drive near Phoenixville Pike, West Whiteland Township police say they caught 24-year-old James Myers of West Goshen Township in his parked car in the middle of the road, abusing a kitten. The kitten was nearly under the vehicle, bleeding, with some teeth knocked out and a rope around its neck.

"The kitten had clearly been choked. We can't tell if the kitten was dragged by the car or if it was hung," Hogan said.

Hogan says the officer found two dozen bags of heroin on Myers. In the car, they say they also found 50 hypodermic needles and hundreds of used heroin bags. Investigators say they also believe the man spray painted an obscene phrase on the roadway. The DA says it appears Myers was under the influence of the drug, and so was the kitten.

"This is a two-pound kitten that would fit in the palm of my hand. He would take a kitten, a defenseless kitten, and torture it this way," Hogan said.

An officer rushed the cat to the ER at nearby Hope Veterinary Specialists. The vet on duty said she knew she had to act fast. Once she learned the kitten had been possibly exposed to heroin, she used Narcan, which is typically given to human overdose patients. The cat was revived thanks to the heroin overdose antidote. It was a rare use to help the badly injured kitten, which the staff named after the clinic, Hope.

"Hope is certainly making a good recovery since then. Eating, starting to show normal kitten behavior, actually playing," Dr. Gary Puglia said.

Hope will be transferred to a foster home.

Myers is being held on $25,000 cash bail. He is facing animal cruelty and drug charges. The DA says his office is always combatting both crimes, he just didn't think the two would cross paths like this.