August 6, 2025 • 8 mins
Three cats were left in a pink cage on the side of a road in Bradenton. By the time they were found July 29th, two were emaciated and one had died. Manatee County Animal Welfare is working to nurse the two survivors, both gray tabbies, back to health. Meantime, investigators are trying to identify the person who left them there. We speak with Animal Welfare supervisor Steven Bell and county spokesperson Michael Strollo.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird Beyond the News. The Animal Welfare agency in
Manatee County is dealing with a disturbing case of animal
cruelty which has taken the life of one cat and
left two others in critical condition. It was discovered a
little little over a week ago, as we record now,
it was in the seventeen hundred block of Lina Road.
We're going to get an update now from Stephen Bell,
(00:21):
the field service supervisor from Manatee County Animal Welfare and
he is the lead for investigations of this type and
County spokesperson Michael Strollo. Welcome both of you to Beyond
the News.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thank you, thank you, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
All right, if you could kind of start by recapping
the incident to this point, and it is the details
are a little bit disturbing.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We received a call for three pats in paint freight
around the seventeen hundred block of Lina Road, and our
officers responded and when they arrived on seeing on the
side of the road tall grass was a pink dog
crate type crate, a smaller size one that had three
(01:06):
cats in it. Two cats were alive and one cat
was deceased. While they were there, they made contact with
the caller who reported it, and that caller stated that
the cats were further back into the wooded area by
a fence line and they had pulled the cats closer
to the road to make it easier for animal welfare
(01:27):
to find them. We picked up the cats and immediately
took the two cats who were to be very dehydrated
and not in good shape. We took those directly to
our emergency vet, and then we brought the deceased cat
into Animal Services. That's where we are on it right
(01:49):
now and that's where we have this at this time.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So someone put them in a cage without food and
water and left them at this location. If you have
any date on the treatment process, so I know that
you've taken them in and you're trying to get them
back into good health. Where does that stand and is
there a possible timetable? Is there the possibility of being
able to adopt the surviving cats?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, I spoke to our medical director here, doctor Johnson,
who is informing us of the condition that you know
that the cats came in at and you really speaks
to the severity of their case. Their body frames really
should be between eight and a half to ten pounds,
and one only weighs about four pounds and the other
(02:37):
one only weighs about five pounds. So what they've what
they're doing is closely you know, our medical team here
at Bishop is closely monitoring those cats and reintroducing them
to feeding. And to doctor Johnson's point, a lot of
people want to, you know, immediately feed a starving animal,
but in order to make sure that it's done in
(02:59):
a hell healthy way, that refeeding process is actually supposed
to be done slowly so that they that they don't
get sick from consuming too much food. So they're currently
undergoing that refeeding process. They will be at Bishop for
a few weeks, just kind of being monitored and cared
(03:21):
for here by our staff. Uh, and then once they
are ready for for adoption, they'll they'll head over to
cat Town and be available available for adoption. They're both
incredibly sweet. I've spent time with with both of them,
and despite the trauma that they've been through, they are
extremely affectionate and sweet cats.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And uh, you know you mentioned the weight and how
underweight they were. What's have they been able to determine
the approximate age of these cats.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, so they are I believe it was over a
year old, so they they're still a little young. They're
both males, and they've actually both been neutered, so you know,
our first thought was that they, you know, they were
someone's pets. Unfortunately, they were not microchipped, which you know,
would of course help us a lot in a case
(04:11):
like this, but they were both you know, seemingly well
cared for before this incident of you know, being being
starved and essentially left out to die.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And Steven Bell if you could kind of update us
on on where the investigation stands and what kind of
consequences there are for an act such as this.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So right now the investigation is, uh, it's just it's
kind of stale right now. There's not much to go on.
As we Michael said, there was no no microchips that
would helped us a lot.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
The area where they were left was in it's a
single road with tree lines on both sides and no buildings,
so there's no no chance for video evidence of somebody
leaving them there. So pretty much it's to this point
it's left up to knowledge coming from the community of
(05:10):
anybody that might have seen this happen, maybe got a
license plate or something off of a vehicle that might
have stopped, or a description. But right now we're pretty
much stumped with this one, and we were just going
to take care of the cats and hopefully something will
come of it. As far as as the repercussions of
(05:33):
something like this, that would be a criminal deal, Yeah,
I would say most likely a felony, but that would
depend on law enforcement at the time that we involved
them and whether or not they're going to go for that.
It would go to the state attorney's office if we
found somebody to be deemed the owner of these cats.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So this is a case where you really very much
require the assistance of the public in identifying the human
who's responsible for this and getting that process going, because
you don't have a lot to go on at this point.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Absolutely, Yeah, we have nothing to go on other than
the animals themselves, and there's no microchips. So if we
could have somebody who saw something come forward that would
lead us to finding the owner, that would be great.
At that point we our case would be a little
(06:30):
more wide open.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
All right, First question, I'm going to have to you
to wrap things up is if someone has any information
relevant to the case, who should they reach out to
and how can they get in touch?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So call Manite County Animal Welfare at nine seven four
to two five nine three three. And then when when
you get the recording, it's going to be option number
one that will put you through to our dispatch and
that will that will get the case heard right away.
The other option is when you dial that number, you
(07:04):
can My direct extension is eighty three seventy and if
you'll leave me a message, I'll call you right back.
If I'm here, I will answer it right away. But
that's how we get the process started, all.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Right, And Michael Strolla with the county and when the
process when these animals are ready to be adopted, when
these cats are back healthy and in a state where
they can be put up for adoption. If people are
interested or if they are interested in adopting any of
the other cats or dogs at your facilities, where can
(07:35):
they find out more information.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Absolutely, if you're interested in adopting any of our cats
or kittens, please we welcome you to check out Cat
Town in downtown Brandonson. We are there every day of
the week, so we're excited to welcome new families in
to find their new furry friend. We're open ten to four.
That's Monday through Sunday. We are at Two's sixteen sixth
(08:01):
Ave East in downtown Bradenton. And if you're not interested
in a cat, maybe you're interested in a new dog
or a puppy. You know, people are more than welcome
to come and visit us at our Palmetto Adoption Center.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Steve Bell with Manatee County Annimal Welfare Afield Service Supervisor
and county spokesperson Michael Strollo, thank you both for joining
us on beyond the News
Gordon Bird Beyond the News. The Animal Welfare agency in
Manatee County is dealing with a disturbing case of animal
cruelty which has taken the life of one cat and
left two others in critical condition. It was discovered a
little little over a week ago, as we record now,
it was in the seventeen hundred block of Lina Road.
We're going to get an update now from Stephen Bell,
(00:21):
the field service supervisor from Manatee County Animal Welfare and
he is the lead for investigations of this type and
County spokesperson Michael Strollo. Welcome both of you to Beyond
the News.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thank you, thank you, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
All right, if you could kind of start by recapping
the incident to this point, and it is the details
are a little bit disturbing.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We received a call for three pats in paint freight
around the seventeen hundred block of Lina Road, and our
officers responded and when they arrived on seeing on the
side of the road tall grass was a pink dog
crate type crate, a smaller size one that had three
(01:06):
cats in it. Two cats were alive and one cat
was deceased. While they were there, they made contact with
the caller who reported it, and that caller stated that
the cats were further back into the wooded area by
a fence line and they had pulled the cats closer
to the road to make it easier for animal welfare
(01:27):
to find them. We picked up the cats and immediately
took the two cats who were to be very dehydrated
and not in good shape. We took those directly to
our emergency vet, and then we brought the deceased cat
into Animal Services. That's where we are on it right
(01:49):
now and that's where we have this at this time.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So someone put them in a cage without food and
water and left them at this location. If you have
any date on the treatment process, so I know that
you've taken them in and you're trying to get them
back into good health. Where does that stand and is
there a possible timetable? Is there the possibility of being
able to adopt the surviving cats?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, I spoke to our medical director here, doctor Johnson,
who is informing us of the condition that you know
that the cats came in at and you really speaks
to the severity of their case. Their body frames really
should be between eight and a half to ten pounds,
and one only weighs about four pounds and the other
(02:37):
one only weighs about five pounds. So what they've what
they're doing is closely you know, our medical team here
at Bishop is closely monitoring those cats and reintroducing them
to feeding. And to doctor Johnson's point, a lot of
people want to, you know, immediately feed a starving animal,
but in order to make sure that it's done in
(02:59):
a hell healthy way, that refeeding process is actually supposed
to be done slowly so that they that they don't
get sick from consuming too much food. So they're currently
undergoing that refeeding process. They will be at Bishop for
a few weeks, just kind of being monitored and cared
(03:21):
for here by our staff. Uh, and then once they
are ready for for adoption, they'll they'll head over to
cat Town and be available available for adoption. They're both
incredibly sweet. I've spent time with with both of them,
and despite the trauma that they've been through, they are
extremely affectionate and sweet cats.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And uh, you know you mentioned the weight and how
underweight they were. What's have they been able to determine
the approximate age of these cats.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, so they are I believe it was over a
year old, so they they're still a little young. They're
both males, and they've actually both been neutered, so you know,
our first thought was that they, you know, they were
someone's pets. Unfortunately, they were not microchipped, which you know,
would of course help us a lot in a case
(04:11):
like this, but they were both you know, seemingly well
cared for before this incident of you know, being being
starved and essentially left out to die.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And Steven Bell if you could kind of update us
on on where the investigation stands and what kind of
consequences there are for an act such as this.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So right now the investigation is, uh, it's just it's
kind of stale right now. There's not much to go on.
As we Michael said, there was no no microchips that
would helped us a lot.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
The area where they were left was in it's a
single road with tree lines on both sides and no buildings,
so there's no no chance for video evidence of somebody
leaving them there. So pretty much it's to this point
it's left up to knowledge coming from the community of
(05:10):
anybody that might have seen this happen, maybe got a
license plate or something off of a vehicle that might
have stopped, or a description. But right now we're pretty
much stumped with this one, and we were just going
to take care of the cats and hopefully something will
come of it. As far as as the repercussions of
(05:33):
something like this, that would be a criminal deal, Yeah,
I would say most likely a felony, but that would
depend on law enforcement at the time that we involved
them and whether or not they're going to go for that.
It would go to the state attorney's office if we
found somebody to be deemed the owner of these cats.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
So this is a case where you really very much
require the assistance of the public in identifying the human
who's responsible for this and getting that process going, because
you don't have a lot to go on at this point.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Absolutely, Yeah, we have nothing to go on other than
the animals themselves, and there's no microchips. So if we
could have somebody who saw something come forward that would
lead us to finding the owner, that would be great.
At that point we our case would be a little
(06:30):
more wide open.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
All right, First question, I'm going to have to you
to wrap things up is if someone has any information
relevant to the case, who should they reach out to
and how can they get in touch?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So call Manite County Animal Welfare at nine seven four
to two five nine three three. And then when when
you get the recording, it's going to be option number
one that will put you through to our dispatch and
that will that will get the case heard right away.
The other option is when you dial that number, you
(07:04):
can My direct extension is eighty three seventy and if
you'll leave me a message, I'll call you right back.
If I'm here, I will answer it right away. But
that's how we get the process started, all.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Right, And Michael Strolla with the county and when the
process when these animals are ready to be adopted, when
these cats are back healthy and in a state where
they can be put up for adoption. If people are
interested or if they are interested in adopting any of
the other cats or dogs at your facilities, where can
(07:35):
they find out more information.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Absolutely, if you're interested in adopting any of our cats
or kittens, please we welcome you to check out Cat
Town in downtown Brandonson. We are there every day of
the week, so we're excited to welcome new families in
to find their new furry friend. We're open ten to four.
That's Monday through Sunday. We are at Two's sixteen sixth
(08:01):
Ave East in downtown Bradenton. And if you're not interested
in a cat, maybe you're interested in a new dog
or a puppy. You know, people are more than welcome
to come and visit us at our Palmetto Adoption Center.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Steve Bell with Manatee County Annimal Welfare Afield Service Supervisor
and county spokesperson Michael Strollo, thank you both for joining
us on beyond the News
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