Cat That Nearly Hit Passer-By Was Thrown

A Brooklyn man is facing a felony charge after he allegedly threw his cat out a third-story window last month, officials said yesterday.

Don Carter, 24, defenestrated the 6-pound cat, Midnight, on October 18 after she trespassed into a bedroom where she wasn't supposed to roam, officials said. Agents from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals yesterday arrested Carter, who has a history of convictions for drug crimes.

He faces up to four years in prison on a charge of aggravated animal cruelty, a spokesman for the ASPCA, Joseph Pentangelo, said. Carter was also charged with reckless endangerment because the cat nearly hit a passer-by, he said.

ASPCA agents seized Midnight after they received an anonymous tip on their animal cruelty hotline. The cat had a broken right leg and injuries to her jaw. Seven screws and a metal plate were required to allow her to walk again, Mr. Pentangelo said. Midnight is a tortoise shell-colored domestic shorthair cat.

When Special Agent Adam Gankiewicz initially interviewed Carter, he said the cat had likely fallen out of the window, but he later admitted to throwing the cat, Mr. Pentangelo said.

Carter said he thought that because cats are "nimble," Midnight would not be injured by the three-story plunge, he said.

After Carter was arrested, "he became disenchanted with the arrest process and became violent in Central Booking in Brooklyn," Mr. Pentangelo said. After a short stay in King's County Hospital, he was returned and processed.

This is the 83rd arrest by the ASPCA and its 18 investigators this year, up from 55 for the 2000 calendar year and 72 in 2005.

"People are more aware. People are realizing that people who are violent to animals are predisposed to being violent to people," Mr. Pentangelo said.