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Lewis The Cat has been spared a death sentence.
In addition, he won’t have to be declawed as part of a special probation program granted to his owner, Ruth Cisero, by a judge Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll placed Cisero on probation for two years and ordered her to perform 50 hours of community service. A further condition of her probation is that Lewis remain housebound.
Maureen Bachtig – a neighbor of Cisero’s who Lewis attacked in February – did not appear in court Tuesday, but conveyed through a prosecutor her wish to have Lewis declawed. Cisero’s attorney, Eugue Riccio, said that they strongly opposed declawing – calling it a painful, difficult process that can actually exacerbate a cat’s aggressiveness.
"It’s literally giving a pound of flesh,’’ Riccio said. ‘’It’s cruel.’’
Cisero was charged in February with second-degree reckless endangerment, after Lewis slipped out the door Feb. 5 and attacked Bachtig on nearby Sunset Circle.
At the time of his escape from Cisero’s home, Lewis was under a restraining order in connection with the strafing of another neighbor in December. That order permitted him to go out briefly at specified times of the day. At the point he attacked Bachtig, he was minutes away from a permissible outing time. But that incident was the last scratch.
Lewis was placed by animal control authorities on a full, lifetime lockdown. He was ordered to remain in the house 24 hours a day and leave only in a secure cat carrier.
Hartford Courant
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