Charges pending against Batavia woman for swiping cat

Charges were pending Friday against a 45-year-old Batavia woman accused of abducting a neighbor's cat and leaving it somewhere west of Randall Road.

The woman, who is not being identified because she has not been formally charged, took the cat because she "felt it was causing harm to the neighborhood by killing and capturing birds and chipmunks," said Batavia Deputy Police Chief Dennis Thomas. She will be charged with felony criminal property damage and misdemeanor animal cruelty, Thomas said.

"It's sad, really," he said. "I can't recall anything quite like this. We've had issues where pets come up missing, but this has a bit of a twist."

The reported catnapping happened sometime around May 28, the day Jody Lay returned home to find no sign of 9-year-old Linus near her home on the 100 block of North Harrison Street.

When Linus didn't return after a couple of days, Lay and her husband, Matt, called Kane County Animal Control and began handing out fliers in the neighborhood.

"We had been trying to keep this cat inside, but it's very hard," Lay said. "He's very, very, very friendly and will go up to anybody."

It wasn't until this week a neighbor informed the family a woman on their block confessed at a recent social gathering to luring Linus into a trap with a 39-cent can of tuna and dropping him off west of St. Charles, possibly near Maple Park, Jody Lay said. Police said several neighbors overheard the conversation and corroborated the woman's statements.

The woman neighbors identified as the person who confessed to taking the cat declined to comment Friday. Thomas said she "emphatically denied any involvement," but witnesses and evidence suggested otherwise.

Lay described Linus as having black and gray tiger stripes and four white paws, "like he has little shoes on." The cat had escaped its collar, she said, but has a microchip ID.

"I got him when I was 21 and living in an apartment," said Lay, who also owns other cats and a dog. "He's been through a lot with me."

Lay said she and her husband moved into the neighborhood about a year ago. Shortly after, a homemade sign was found on the front door warning the cat should be kept inside, she said.

"It was one of those petty neighborhood arguments," she said. "We tried to resolve it amicably. It just doesn't make sense (that a cat would be stolen)."

As of early Friday evening, Linus was still missing.

"I really believe he's out there and we'll find him," Lay said. "It's just a matter of getting the word out and having people look for him. He's definitely a survivor."

Police said the woman accused of abducting the cat would be arrested and formally charged after the proper paperwork is completed and an arrest warrant is issued. Thomas said there is no local ordinance prohibiting cats from being outdoors.

To reach the Lays regarding Linus' whereabouts, call (630) 406-9013. Batavia police can be reached at (630) 454-2500.