Police charge 2, cat Elijah still missing
The Daily Mail
July 24, 2009

Brenda Widely has been searching for two days for her cat, Elijah, who was stolen from her car in New Baltimore Tuesday and left in a parking lot in Ravena.

Elijah is a brown and grey Siamese cat with blue eyes. Although Elijah is an indoor cat, Widely said, she has not been de-clawed.

Widely said she hopes Elijah has been taken home by someone but fears the worst.

“My grandkids are heartbroken and I am sick over it,” she said.

Widely, a Coxsackie resident, left the cat on the front seat of her car in a green cat carrier that resembles a duffel bag while she stopped in a Dunkin’ Donuts after leaving a veterinary appointment in New Baltimore.

A witness to the theft followed the perpetrators along Route 9w to the town line and copied down the driver’s licensee plate, she said.

Police later apprehended and questioned the suspects, who also live in Coxsackie, about the theft, she said.

According to State Police at Catskill, the suspects said they had left the cat in the parking lot at a Super Shop and Save in Ravena.

They were charged with petit larceny with other charges pending, according to Investigator Diane Benoit.

State Police have been working with the Coxsackie Village Police and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

Neither state police nor the Greene County Sheriff’s Office would release the identities of the suspects.

Widely said Elijah was prescribed medicines for an ear infection and other minor ailments Tuesday. She worried that the cat has not received the medication in two days.

Widley said area shelters and veterinarians have been notified of Elijah’s disappearance.

Elijah, who Widely’s son adopted from a shelter, has been with the family for 11 years. Elijah has lived with Widely on Mansion Street for five years.

She said the cat may have been abused early in life.

“She needs a lot of love and tender care,” Widely said.

She asked that anyone with information about Elijah’s whereabouts should contact the Greene County Sheriff’s office.