Indiana’s ‘Pirate Cat’ Has Been Arrested After Roaming Across County Lines
Anyone who owns a cat knows that these curious creatures sometimes like to explore places they shouldn’t. In the case of Pirate Cat, a local Indiana cat celebrity, that curiosity actually got a fearless feline arrested.
You see, this orange-and-white cutie, adopted by Amanda Cancilla and her boyfriend Matt Gufreda, really hates being inside. He loves the great outdoors so much that his owners went above and beyond to make sure their kitty can thrive — even if it means not seeing him for periods of time. They even took him to the vet to “eartip” him — a signal to the outside world that he has been vaccinated and neutered.
Cancilla encourages people to take photos of the famous cat whenever they spot him outside on his Facebook page, where he has more than 2,600 fans and followers. But even though he’s a beloved face in many groups of people, he ran into a bit of trouble when he crossed a line — a county line, that is.
You see, Pirate Cat technically lives in Marion County in Indiana, where a cat is allowed to roam around outside as long as it is vaccinated and eartipped. But the problem is that Pirate Cat doesn’t know the difference between Marion County and Hamilton County. In the city of Carmel (which is in Hamilton County, feral cats are considered a “public nuisance” and the owners of cats found roaming outside could be fined $100, according to FOX 59.
And Pirate Cat found himself in Carmel, where he was reportedly “exhibiting antagonizing behavior toward canines,” as the Indy Star reported.
“Some lady had called the police on him on the Monon because her dogs were freaking out,” said Cancilla. “But people have called the police on him lots of times.”
No citation was given, and Pirate Cat escaped later that night. Cancilla posted about the arrest on her Facebook page, and the cat’s adoring fans immediately began hashtagging #FreePirateCat. Now, Pirate Cat is hoping to make sure this never happens again — so he got himself a lawyer to help him roam free once again.
Pirate Cat retained Massillamany & Jeter LLP Partner Mario Massillamany to represent him in his legal battle with the City of Carmel. According to Massillamany, the main problem is that Pirate Cat is doesn’t understand the county boundaries.
“Due to Carmel’s ordinance, he is being forced to stay indoors to eliminate the risk of being arrested or impounded,” Massillamany said. “Pirate Cat is no longer able to enjoy the outdoors, which has saddened both Pirate Cat, his owners, and local members of the community who enjoy his company. “
Massillamany says he is trying to stop the city Carmel from trying to put Pirate Cat on “home detention.” And Cancilla is hoping the mayor of Carmel will pardon Pirate Cat after his run-in with the law.
“He doesn’t want to be an indoor cat,” she said. “He’s not going to make it as an indoor cat. We just want him to be happy and want him to be outside and it not be such a big deal.”
Let’s hope this cat-astrophe works itself out soon!
h/t FOX 59
Meet Vladimir, another adventurous cat!
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