Cat found at drug bust tests positive for meth
BY JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
4/24/12 at 8:10 PM
CATOOSA — A cat that was rescued from a home where deputies found multiple one-pot meth labs last week has tested positive for the drug, officials said Tuesday.
The cat was taken by Catoosa Animal Control officers after the drug bust because he was in such poor condition, said Wagoner County Sheriff’s Maj. Gary Handley.
Sheriff’s deputies and Catoosa police officers executed a search warrant April 15 at a home in the 19500 block of East First Place.
Officers allegedly found 30 one-pot meth labs and gas generators, firearms, drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine, Handley said.
Terry Lee Young, 49, and Kristi Le Maner, 45, were arrested at the scene and are jailed on multiple complaints, including manufacturing meth, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, assault with a dangerous weapon and cruelty to animals, Handley said.
Several cats were in the home; the one that was taken from the home was in the worst condition, he said.
The cat is suffering from severe neglect and malnutrition, said Dr. Steven Weir, a veterinarian who owns the Catoosa Small Animal Hospital, where the cat is being treated.
“The cat was terribly neglected,” he said. “The cat has health issues unrelated to the meth exposure.”
He is suffering from a swollen mouth and other infections related to the neglect. Weir said veterinarians are treating him with antibiotics and pain medication and are making sure he has plenty of food, water and rest — the same treatment they would provide any animal suffereing from that degree of neglect.
Weir said the meth test was requested on behalf of the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office to see whether the cat was harmed by the living conditions.
He said it doesn’t appear that the cat ingested any of the drug but had chemicals associated with the drug in his blood because the conditions in which he lived.
“We’re trying to keep him around for a while and see if he’ll turn the corner,” Weir said. “He may not even be an adoptable cat.”
Associated Images:
This cat is being treated at the Catoosa Small Animal Hospital after it was rescued from a home where meth was being made. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
Jessica Cleveland, a veterinary technician at the Catoosa Small Animal Hospital, holds a cat that was rescued from a home where meth was being made. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
This cat, which was rescued from a Catoosa home where deputies found multiple one-pot methamphetamine labs last week, has tested positive for the drug, officials said Tuesday. Courtesy
|
