JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – One of the nation’s leading animal rights organizations is offering a $5,000 reward for information related to a cat killed in Johnson City.
According to a release from PETA, the reward is being offered to anyone who can provide “information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person(s) responsible for restraining, beating, and running over a cat whose body was found in the parking lot of the Appalachian Funeral Home on Sunday.”
The release states the body of the cat was not in the funeral home’s parking lot at 10:30 a.m. when an employee arrived. However, the cat’s body was discovered around 1 p.m.
The Johnson City Police Department reports the orange and white cat’s legs were duct-taped, and it had suffered severe head trauma.
JCPD also reports a bloody screwdriver was found at the scene.
The release from PETA states bloody tire tracks were also found near the cat’s body.
“A police investigation has not yet turned up any leads, and PETA is hoping for help from the public to solve the case before other cats are hurt or killed,” PETA stated in the release.
Anyone with information that may be of use is asked to contact the Washington County/ Johnson City Animal Shelter at 423-926-8769 or JCPD at 423-434-6000.
“This cat should have been safe indoors with a loving family and instead endured a terrifying and agonizing death at the hands of someone who must be caught before hurting anyone else,” PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien said in the release. “PETA urges anyone with information to come forward—and possibly save a life.”
