Actor Could Get 2 Years In Cat Killing

An actor who allegedly killed his girlfriend's cat was arraigned yesterday on a new charge handed up by a Manhattan grand jury, officials said.

Joseph Petcka, 36, was charged with harassment in the second degree in addition to a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals he was hit with last month. He faces up to two years in prison for the latter charge, which became a felony in 1999.

The death of the cat, Norman, a 7-pound domestic shorthair, occurred after Mr. Petcka allegedly had a fight with his girlfriend, Lisa Altobelli, a writer for Sports Illustrated, a spokesman for the Association to Prevent Cruelty to Animals, Joseph Pentangelo, said. The new indictment stems from Mr. Petcka's alleged return to her apartment the following day, which is when the cat killing is alleged to have taken place. Ms. Altobelli brought the dead cat to a downtown animal hospital, where a veterinarian called the ASPCA, Mr. Pentangelo said.

A statement from Mr. Petcka included in court papers filed yesterday gave a different account of the incident.

According to the filing, after being arrested outside his place of work, a bar and restaurant in the West Village, Mr. Petcka told an ASPCA investigator, Richard Ryan, that he "pushed" Norman after the cat randomly attacked him. When Norman bit Mr. Petcka's thumb, knuckle, and ring finger, he "swiped it away," according to the statement.

"I called Lisa a bunch of times to see if the cat had rabies shots, to see if I was going to get sick," he said, according to the statement. "I felt a little light headed, but I always feel light headed. Ha ha."

An attorney for Mr. Petcka, Charles Hochbaum, did not return calls yesterday. A former minor league baseball player, Mr. Petcka has appeared on the HBO series "Sex and the City" and in the 2000 film "What Women Want," which starred Mel Gibson.