Living cat found inside taped box

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) - Who's responsible for a bizarre crime in Amherst? It's a question police are asking about after a bomb squad was called to an ECC north campus parking lot and found a cat sealed inside a box.

SPCA officials in Erie County say there's no doubt about it - this is a case of animal cruelty. They're just as perplexed as to why someone would do this to an animal.

It began with Amherst Police receiving a suspicious package complaint Friday afternoon . Officers were called to a parking lot at Erie Community College north campus.

Capt. Michael Camilleri said, "When they got there the officers did observe a suspicious package, and in turn they contacted the New York State Police."

Capt. Camilleri says the State Police sent out a bomb unit and then X-Rayed the package. Inside, they found a live cat.

"They opened it. They got the cat out of there. Turned it over to the SPCA, and then SPCA took custody of the cat," said Capt. Camilleri.

The cat was brought to the SPCA in the Town of Tonawanda. As with all stray animals, the cat was scanned for a microchip. And as it turns out, the cat in question was actually adopted out at the SPCA in Erie County.

Gina Browning of the SPCA said, "[It] turns out that it was a kitty who was brought to us as a stray in December, and the person who found the cat said if the stray time is up, if the owner doesn't find this cat, I'm interested in adopting the cat - which she did."

Browning says the cat somehow got away while the owner was in the process of moving and then ended up in a box in the parking lot of ECC.

"The cat was not malnourished, not dehydrated, didn't need any kind of veterinary care. So, it had a happy ending. What concerns me is the people capable of doing this might be capable of doing something worse," Browning said.

Just who would put a cat in a taped up box and leave it in a parking lot remains a mystery at this point.

Capt. Camilleri said, "Right now it doesn't appear there's really much to follow up on. It didn't have any identification on the box or anything like that."

The upside to this is that the cat, named "Truffle," is fine, healthy and back with her owner. Tracking down the person responsible is unlikely, if not impossible.

"Fingerprints can't be detected. There are no indentifying marks on the box or on the animal," Browning said. "Sometimes it's very difficult to pursue an investigation. Unfortunately, people may perceive that as law enforcement not doing anything about it, when actually because of the circumstances, follow up is impossible."