73-year-old Wisconsin man facing charges after police find 9 dead cats on woman's property

By: CBS Affiliate

Posted: Apr 11, 2018 3:41 PM CDT

PORTAGE, Wis. -- (WISC) A 73-year-old Portage man faces tentative charges of disorderly conduct and cat-napping after an investigation into reports of domestic cats being thrown onto a neighbor’s property, officials said.

On March 22, a town of Lewiston resident called the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reporting that she had found some dead cats on her property, according to a release. A deputy found what appeared to be dead domestic cats thrown onto the woman’s yard.

On March 25, the same woman called the sheriff’s office to report that another dead cat had been thrown onto her property, officials said.

The next day, the woman reported seeing a man exit a vehicle that was stopped in the road in front of her residence and throw a dead cat onto her property, according to the release. The woman told deputies she knew who the person was from previous contacts with him.

Investigators said nine cats had been thrown on the woman’s property.

It was initially not known where the cats were coming from or how they died, but investigators later learned that the cats had been reported missing from Portage, according to the release.

On Monday, detectives from the Portage Police Department and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the 73-year-old man and issued him an order to be in court April 18 on tentative charges of disorderly conduct and cat-napping, officials said.

The investigation continues and additional charges are expected, according to the release. As the man has not yet been charged, officials are not naming him.